Happy 1st Blog Birthday!
November 29th, 2008
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Photo by Crystl
Today my blog turns 1 year old. (If you’d like to give him a present, he likes time-saving plugins.) The first birthday is a significant milestone for a person, but more so for a blog because most don’t last that long.
Not too long ago I wrote about hitting 500 subscribers, and I don’t really have anything new to add as far as blogging tips go. And I plan to give an update about my problogging, but now isn’t the time. Instead, I just thought I’d share a few stats and events from my first year of blogging.
I wrote 177 posts. That’s almost exactly one post every other day. I was surprised I had written that many, as I started off planning to post every 5 days or so. I’m still more on the Tim side of the Tim Ferriss/Gary Vaynerchuk spectrum.
I received 2,378 comments. That’s an average of 13 comments per post (counting my own), and again that surprised me. I thought that I almost always get less than 13 comments per post even now, and much less when I started. But hey, the numbers don’t lie.
I wrote 4 ebooks. (One of them will be released next week.) Ebooks are great because you can get into so much more depth than with a post, but as something gets longer, the time required increases exponentially. If I write a 2,500 word post and a 25,000 word ebook, the ebook is 10 times longer, but it probably took 100 times longer to write.
I gained 700 subscribers. A lot of people ask why anyone cares about subscribers. I agree that not every subscriber is a regular reader, but I think it’s the best metric we have for measuring regular readership. I don’t really care about page views because I’m not selling advertising or pursuing significant AdSense income, and a flood of StumbleUpon traffic doesn’t matter as much to me as gaining new readers who stick around.
I hit the Digg front page once, with my guest post Introverts And Extraverts: Can’t We Just Get Along? Though in my opinion, this was not even remotely my best post.
Average time to write a post: I don’t have an exact figure, but it’s often hours per post. This post you’re reading now was an easy one, but it takes a lot longer when I need to do some research first, or I’m forming my opinion while I’m writing, or I have to do a lot of editing, or it takes forever to find a good photo. The one that took the longest might have been The 10 Most Uplifting Songs Of All Time (fortunately, it got good traffic).
Most popular post: 10 Reasons Japan Is Better Than America. People sure can get defensive about their country. 29,000 visitors, 11 thumbs down in StumbleUpon, and several comments that had to be deleted, some calling for my deportation. Also record AdSense income.
Favorite thing about blogging: Reading comments on my posts.
Least favorite thing about blogging: Thinking up ideas for new posts much faster than I can write them. Also not having time to respond to comments and read all the posts I’d like to.
One year down, many more to go!
I scheduled this post in advance, and I’m probably not around right now. Apologies if your comment doesn’t get through moderation right away.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Happy Birthday!!
Well done, Hunter. You’ve done an excellent job, and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.
Jamie
Jamie Harrop´s last blog post..Saturday Tidbits & Guest Post at JohnChow.com
November 29th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Congrats on one year! I’ve enjoyed reading your blog, and I especially like your personal development/pop culture posts. Don’t see that in too many places!
Amanda Linehan´s last blog post..Letting Go Of Others; Give The Same Space You Would Want
November 29th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Happy blog birthday!
Congratulations on having a wildly successful blog after only 1 year. I’m impressed
I hope that the next year goes well for you!
November 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Congratulations, some great achievements over the last year – keep it up!
Chris (from Lifestyle Project)´s last blog post..What will you do today?
November 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Congratulations! My blog is just a few weeks younger as yours. He’s not growing quite as fast (although he is certainly packing on a few posts!) but doing well. Here’s to your success!
Mark Dykeman´s last blog post..The value of an idea
November 29th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Happy B-day! It is indeed a cause for celebration as in blog infant death rate is so hight.
Akemi – Yes to Me´s last blog post..My Gratitude Journal Online – Thanksgiving Edition #18
November 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Congratulations and best wishes for the future!
With kind regards
: XiongShui
November 29th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Happy Birthday!
Looking forward to your update on pro blogging.
Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post..Worst. Mom. Ever.
November 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Hey hunter, great to see you are still working hard
I think reading comments might just be my favourite thing as well!
Cheers,
Glen
Glen Allsopp´s last blog post..How to Get Someone or Something, Off Your Mind
November 29th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Happy Birthday Hunter’s Blog! May you have many more
November 29th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Happy Blog Birthday Hunter! You’ve had a very accomplished year.
Davina´s last blog post..When Fear Closes In, Take Action
November 29th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Congrats Hunter – not many of us make it to the 1 year mark! Keep up the great work.
Mik
Four Pillars´s last blog post..Questrade Discount Brokerage Review
November 29th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Happy Birthday to you!! Happy Birthday to you!!! Do your blogger friends get a slice of the yummy cake too??
Congrats about making it to the one year mark!! Wow…you’ve certainly written a lot of posts. Not bad in terms of getting ebooks written too!!
Well, hope to continue to see this blog around in the next few years!! My blog says to your blog: “Let’s grow old gracefully together!!”
Evelyn Lim´s last blog post..7 Ways To Center Yourself In Gratitude
November 29th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Light the candle – your blog is one!! That’s awesome – what a great year! Now…blow out your virtual candle here – and make your wish for you and your blog!!
Happy Birthday Blog!!
Lance´s last blog post..Like a Thanksgiving Day Parade, Only Faster
November 30th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Congratulations and Happy Birthday! 1 year is a true accomplishment in the blogging world and your statistics show your true dedication to this blog. What an inspiration!
November 30th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Happy Blogging Birthday! And may you have many more! A year is quite an achievement; I read some where that 60%+ of bloggers quit after the first few months. I wish I remember where I read I read that. But anyway, Congrats!
Gini´s last blog post..10 Amazing, Unique Artists You Have to Check Out
November 30th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Congrats! and to the next year!
Juliet
November 30th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Hi Hunter – congratulations. That’s a decent amount of posts in a year.
I did not realise you got so many thumbs down on stumbleupon. Some of the folk on there make me laugh. Instead of thumbing down stuff they don’t like they vote down stuff they don’t agree with.
November 30th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Happy Birthday to your blog! Thank you for helping me to stop sucking and live a life of abundance this past year
Conrad Hees´s last blog post..Are You Marketing Yourself Using the Most Powerful Tool that You Possess?
November 30th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Congratulations, Hunter! Wow, you’re old!
Thanks for providing informative edu-tainment! I always look forward to what you have to say.
Betsy Wuebker´s last blog post..GRATITUDE
November 30th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Congratulations, Hunter.
Glad to hear that it’s not just me who toils over a blog post for hours (and then sometimes scraps it..oops)
Anna Conlan ~ Healing and Insight´s last blog post..What we’re doing when we’re asleep
November 30th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Feliz Cumpleaños!
Great job,
Jim Gaudet´s last blog post..What is uSocial.net? Spammers?
December 1st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Happy Blog Birthday!!! Congratulations on coming so far in such a short period of time!
Kathy – Virtual Impax´s last blog post..Small Business Marketing Strategy & Tactics