I consider myself reserved which is subtly different from shy . I have not really announced to all my friends in Facebook or all of my family members , whether immediate or distant , that I have a blog. I only inform them as needed, as you’ll see in my review of my blogging experience in 2020.
My journey hasn’t been that long. I started posting in August , 2020 so by December , I had been posting for 5 months. I’m working with a small set of data, still it’s nice to see what transpired, to see how things worked, or not. Perhaps those who are seasoned bloggers who are following me or visiting the site have their own assessments.
Most Viewed Posts
Creative and Productive Ways to Survive Quarantine/Lockdown
- Sharing – I shared this with my friends who were mentioned in the post and whose pictures I used. I also mentioned it to friends who were not mentioned in the post but who expressed to me their boredom during the quarantine.
- Timeliness/Relevance – It was written at the height of quarantines/lockdowns, people could relate
This is a close second and I think same reasons made second most viewed.
- Sharing – I shared this with my family when I greeted them last Christmas.
- Timeliness/Relevance – It was written during the Christmas season.
First Liked Post
This was my 6th post and I was probably getting more familiar in the Reader section of WordPress. There’s a possibility that they are doing what I’ve read on some blogging tips that it’s important to like others’ posts to make the blogger’s presence felt or to generate interest on our own blogs. But why this post, not my earlier post? I believe we do not like for the sake of liking , there’s a connection somehow no matter how slight.
Being liked gives a boost. The likes also made me interested or curious about the blogs of those who liked my post.
Most Liked Posts
Tags – Travel and photography, as I observed, get views and likes as compared to other tags. I’m still figuring out though why this post when I have other posts on travel/photography.
This is a close second. I suppose kittens are such lovely and endearing pets that readers love to read about them.
Month With Most Visitors – August
Sharing- I posted Creative and Productive Ways to Survive Quarantine/Lockdown, the most viewed post, in this month.
Post Reached Through Search Engines
Tagalog sa Pagbabalita sa Telebisyon at Pahayagan
It probably got the interest of students of Tagalog or languages.
Post reached Through Link
Traditional Filipino Family Names
I made a comment on a site which specializes on Filipino surnames and linked my post. Views still come up months after I posted.
Country With Most Viewers
Aside from my country, the Philippines, most of my viewers came from the US. Thanks to WordPress , I had views from different countries all over the world.
Some Conclusions:
What Worked
- Promotion – the most viewed post were those I shared with friends and family. And when I’m not sharing, the WordPress Reader does the promotion among other bloggers. Corollary to this, my most viewed month was August, the month I posted my most viewed post.
- Tags – the most liked post had effective tags.
- Link – links to another site led to visits coming from that linked site.
- Participation/engagement with other bloggers – I got interested in the blogs of those who liked my post and those who followed my blog. I also liked their posts which I really resonated with me and followed some of them to learn more about blogging through them.
- Topics – those which were liked or viewed were about universal topics. Some topics did not get any likes e. g. Buwan Ng Wika and Ber Months .
What Didn’t Work
- Limited technical knowledge – Creative and Productive Ways to Survive Quarantine/Lockdown while it was most visited, didn’t get any likes. My friends told me that they wanted to like it but they were required to sign in to WordPress and since they have no plans of blogging they did not sign in. Perhaps, we just haven’t found the way.
Also, I need to improve on format or layout.
2. Insufficiency on those things that worked like I could have promoted more, used tags more effectively, and the like.
So, you might ask, why am I still blogging if I’m so reserved to do those tips which successful bloggers have shared? I want to capture my thoughts, my views on things I’m interested in like our culture and language and my reflections on some aspects of life.
You might ask further, why blog if I just want to capture my thoughts, views and reflections? Why not maintain a journal instead? I’d like to share so that some kindred souls out there who will chance upon my blog might learn from my writings or somehow be glad to find someone or some experiences they can relate to.
Meanwhile, as things are now, while I still have much to learn , areas to improve on , since I love writing blogging has given me fulfillment. And that’s already rewarding.
Here’s to a better and happier 2021 for all of us. Cheers!
Just Sharing 
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