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A year in blogging: a 2013 retrospective

a year in blogging nzmuseInspired by Stephany!

My favourite post was Can we all realistically expect to to love our jobs?

My most popular post was Sometimes we push people away when we need them the most.

My most helpful post was Couchsurfing vs Hospitality Club vs Staydu vs Global Freeloaders – what’s the best hospitality exchange site?

A post whose success surprised me was Food delivered to your door – what’s not to like?

A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved was Seven things travelling has taught me.

The post I was most scared to push publish on was Bullshit-free bride: on marriage and name changing

The post I am most proud of was After the wedding, some thoughts.

Apparently some of my best posts are also my most vulnerable. Perhaps that’s not all that surprising. Hard as they are to write, they’re also the most rewarding, which makes them some of my favourites.

I always get a kick out of reading over stuff I’ve written once a little time has passed in between. Sometimes I surprise myself and wonder if I can possibly do any better (which isn’t really as arrogant as it sounds, I promise – it’s more a function of impostor syndrome than overconfidence). But as Ashley points out, the beauty of blogging is that you have a record of everything – so don’t forget to look back on it once in awhile.

18 thoughts on “A year in blogging: a 2013 retrospective

  • Reply Debt and the Girl January 7, 2014 at 10:09

    I love the posts! Good luck to you in the new year.

  • Reply Brian @ Luke1428 January 7, 2014 at 15:58

    I’ve spent a good deal of time trying to analyze which posts of mine do the best, as far as views, RTs, shares, etc. It’s still a bit of a puzzle to me. Those that I pour tons of effort into sometimes don’t gain much traction. Some that I consider “blow off” posts (just don’t work on them as hard) have been some of my best. Hard to know sometimes what readers really want.

    • Reply eemusings January 8, 2014 at 09:21

      Yeah, I find there is no hard and simple rule. Sometimes posts I SEO up do well, other times not. My top post wound up doing really well in search even though I did zero SEO on it and it’s one of those posts I just bashed out. Usually when I’m in ‘the zone’ the words flow and those tend to be my best posts (though one of my most commented posts ever I am still not happy with and keep going back to tweak over the years! https://nzmuse.com/2011/01/the-job-that-you-wake-up-excited-for-propaganda/) But the one common thread I think is honesty and authenticity – that is the secret sauce, and that will always resonate with readers, even if those posts might not get a ton of traffic, people will engage and relate.

  • Reply SP January 7, 2014 at 18:33

    I don’t think i posted enough this past year to emulate you and do a similar post. I love reading (and writing!) more vulnerable posts, but it takes emotional energy (if nothing else).

  • Reply Dear Debt January 7, 2014 at 18:45

    Great stuff! I loved your bullshit free bride post. My most popular hands down is my brand ambassador post. Which is good, because I spent three hours on it. Looking forward to reading more 🙂

  • Reply Martin January 7, 2014 at 20:34

    My favorite: start writing an article, look through archives for reference, quickly realize that you already wrote this article!

  • Reply Teffany @ Critical Financial January 8, 2014 at 01:08

    Happy New Year to you! Waiting for your upcoming great posts!

  • Reply Broke Millennial January 8, 2014 at 17:16

    People love reading about personal lives. I’ve found similar things on my blog, when I share a childhood story or a personal story from the present it performs better. I’m going to have to go through and read all these — especially the one you felt didn’t get the attention it deserved.

  • Reply Michelle January 8, 2014 at 17:36

    What a wonderful list! I’m looking forward to reading them.

  • Reply Stephany January 9, 2014 at 02:33

    How fun! Happy you did this. 🙂 I had a blast reading through my archives and seeing what posts resonated with people and what didn’t. It was a worthwhile experience, and one I definitely want to do on a yearly basis.

  • Reply Emily @ Urban Departures January 9, 2014 at 04:26

    Thanks for the compilation. I loved reading your “Seven things travelling has taught me”; it was one of my favourites when I started perusing your blog!

  • Reply Tonya@Budget and the Beach January 9, 2014 at 15:20

    I always think it’s interesting that the posts I pour my heart and soul into sometimes do nothing, and ones I write quickly and without much thought sometimes to incredibly well! Go figure! But I find myself proud of everything I’ve done because I put myself out there. And you should feel the same way! And look at what you’ve done this year! Amazing!

    • Reply eemusings January 9, 2014 at 23:01

      I can definitely assure you Tonya that your heartfelt posts are your best (I think that goes for any blogger really). The only thing about those posts is sometimes you don’t know what to say, or anything you could say seems trite, so you might not get a whole ton of comments. It is funny though when off the cuff posts blow up unexpectedly.

  • Reply Financial Roundup: New Year Edition | Suburban Finance January 12, 2014 at 06:30

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  • Reply Deia @ Nomad Wallet January 18, 2014 at 10:34

    I haven’t been blogging for half as long as a year, but I’m also starting to see how posts don’t perform the way I expect them to. One easy post on which I spent no time writing actually became really popular on StumbleUpon and brought what’s usually one month’s traffic for me. Crazy!

  • Reply I think we'll keep at it for a bit longer | Bucking the Trend April 10, 2014 at 16:18

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