In this photo from 2008, I'm holding Sydney, Rachael's bearded dragon lizard, so popular with my blog readers.
A recent post by my friend Roland Yeomans of Writing in The Crosshairs inspired me to pay some attention to my post headers, I quote: "One key to a popular blog is to be aware of what your reader base wants out of the Internet. People go to Google to find the answer to their problem. If you write the answer to their need, Google will direct them to your blog."
This was part of his advice for writers. Now I don't have any books to sell, but Roland made me curious to see what I had named my most successful Posts. Why would certain titles draw people by the thousands, while other posts, equally good, if not better, get less than 50 views?
I suspected that folks are drawn to other people's misfortunes, but maybe not. So I set out on a journey back to September 2009 when I started my blog. I was somewhat correct about misfortunes, but lizard, Dumb Swede, and a couple of California towns also drew a crowd.
Trolls by Swedish artist John Bauer.
Two caveats: Of course the older posts will have had a chance to draw more visitors simply because they have been posted longer. And participating in the A to Z also gives an advantage. Swedish Rhapsody, my A to Z of 2012, where I wrote about Swedish customs, nature, cities, important people, and, yes, Dumb Swede, was my most successful A to Z to date.1. Cough, Ouch, Sigh - An Update (This, the title of my most popular post certainly indicates some distress.)
2. Pogonip, Rain, Hail, Sleet, Snow, Wind, and Today - Brilliant Sunshine (Maybe this one hints at some distress as well, unless people just wondered what in the world is pogonip.)
3. The Murals of Exeter
4. T is for Tomtar och Troll (2012 A to Z)
5. D is for Dumb Swede (2012 A to Z)
6. Lizard Love or How Sydney Met Rachael.
7. Mojave - Small Town/Big Desert
8. Q is for Quest - Eastward Of The Swedish Vikings (2012 A to Z)
9. Sydney Goes To Malibu
10. I Don't Know What to Call This Post - An Update, Perhaps - Or This and That From the Canyon
The murals of Exeter, CA are incredible. Go visit if you're in the area.
My conclusions:
The two most popular post titles included a little bit of misfortune, perhaps.
A Swedish Rhapsody of posts for the 2012 A to Z was a very good theme choice.
A bearded lizard named Sydney attracted two of the ten most viewed posts. Go Sydney, I love you, and I always knew you had IT!
Two small California towns, Exeter and Mojave, drew a lot of readers, as I'm sure did the mention of Malibu in one of Sydney's post titles.
Mojave, CA - There's more to it than just a two-traffic lights town. Civilian space flights are being developed here and a a large graveyard for old airplanes stretches out into the desert beyond. Huge windfarms and solar panels also eat up the surrounding desert.
Would you like to read one or two of my most popular posts? Dumb Swede, perhaps? Let me know. I probably will repost Lizard Love since it's my favorite short essay on true love.
After reading a few of your comments, I hope you all understand that I did this research just for fun, not because I wanted to validate my blog in any way. Just thought it would be fun to see what attracted visitors.
