We Missed a Million Views

Although I had no plan to stop, I never dreamed I'd still be blogging daily when I started this blog on August 10, 2010.

We celebrated so many "view: milestones: the first, the first time we reached ten views in a day, twenty-five total, fifty total, one hundred total, five hundred, a thousand, almost five hundred thousand, and on our way to a million total views.

A million! Think of it! We couldn't wait to watch the BryonySeries blog turn to one million!

And we missed it.

I was checking the stats for a completely unrelated reason and found that, somewhere in this blur of an autumn, the BryonySeries blog reached a million views.

Yep, we missed the big milestone.

Now, I'm sure some (many) of these views are bots. 

But judging by the analytics, all the views are not bots.

And it's heartening to know that, even in a stretch of some very challenging few years, we're still doing somethings right - and we're doing them consistently.

That's a nice slice of good news for the last day of the calendar year called 2024.

Thank You!

A WriteOn Joliet member and I emailed back and forth the other day about the possibility of WriteOn starting its own blog.

WriteOn Joliet does have a blog page.

We currently have two years of our "Writers Are Readers" blog that was my co-leader Tom Hernandez's passion project.

And we point to WriteOn member James Pressler's longtime and very excellent craft blog: "Writing and the Process."

So this member and I discussed possibilities and he hopes to talk "blog" at tonight's meeting.

That led me to check the BryonySeries' blog's all-time statistics.

I used to check those weekly but fell off that habit sometime between the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall of Twitter.

Now, I do keep an eye on the daily, weekly, and monthly statistics. But all-time, no.

Perhaps that's because getting writing seen is so challenging these days, whether it's my journalism writing or my blog writing.

At any rate, I looked.  And I was pleasantly surprised.

Granted, the first blog was still on Aug. 1, 2010. 

And I blog daily.

And some of those views might be bots (I'm pretty sure some of those views are bots).

But I took the screenshot at the bottom of this post approximately ten minutes ago. So these are my most recent numbers.

Yes, I'm not hitting a million anytime soon. However, I will quietly (or maybe not so quietly) celebrate that number when I reach it.

What helps is that I have so much evergreen content, that some really old blog posts still get views each day. So that helps a lot.

Now, this is a free blog. I'm not monetizing it or will ever monetize it.

Nor does the blog drive book sales.

So it really doesn't matter to me if I get three views a day or three hundred.

Because to me, the blog is part of social media. And social media, to me - still - is about connection.

Nevertheless, I really was humbled to see those all-time numbers. Most of them represent people who clicked through to watch a video, listen to a song, or read something I wrote.

Thank you so very much for connecting with me in this way. I am so very grateful.

Thank You, Aaron D. Brinker

On Twitter recently, Aaron D. Brinker, who writes in multipe genres (including horror and thriller), asked if any author wanted to be featured on his blog.

So I messaged him.

Brinker's blog is mostly interviews with other authors with a standard questions and answer format.

However, many of the questions are not standard and made me think.

And the post itself was retweeted more times than I could count by other authors (including authors that people I personally know follow, a very pleasant surprise).

However, between working for the media during a pandemic and a smattering of family emergencies, I was not one of the people sharing that post (multiple head thumps for me).

So here it is, for your enjoyment today. 

https://aaronbrinker.com/denise-unland/

And please poke around his website a bit. You might discover a new author.

Thank you again, Aaron D. Brinker, for the opportunity.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: How I Ran My First Blog Tour

Saturday, July 7, 2018

How I Ran My First Blog Tour

I've had "blog tours" on my brain even before I published Bryony. 

I loved the concept, a virtual book tour. Instead of driving from bookstore to bookstore, you post on other blogger's blogs. 

I feel both types of tours are useful, but that's for another post.

My research into blog tours turned up lots of places that charge for touring and one that asked for donations only. For my series, I did not find them useful, for two reasons.

One: I don't have the money to spend (and, frankly, I didn't want to spend the money to post on someone's blog).

Two: None of the blogs I found had anything to do with my genre. True, my series crosses genres, and one reader thinks I've invented a whole new genre. It was her comment that led me to create my own tour. A custom genre deserves a custom tour, right?

Writers often hear, "Write what you know." Well, I reasoned, I'll start with WHO I know.

This is how I created a tour in ten easy, but time-consuming, steps. I have not seen another tour quite like it on the internet, so maybe I've created something new here, too.

Note: Don't let "time-consuming" frighten you away. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Including write your book, marketing your book, and ESPECIALLY asking people to give you real estate on their personal blogs.

And here we go.

1) Decide your tour length. 

A week? A month? Whatever you decided, schedule your tour several months in advance. You'll need the time to properly plan.

I picked May/June because I made a commitment this past year to schedule one marketing event a month. Events in May and June, I figured, would have low turnouts, due to weddings, graduations, Memorial Day, First Communions, etc. But everyone (it seems) is on their phones these days. (I myself am guilty at reading marketing posts through dreary graduation speeches). So be strategic in your timing.

2) Make a list of bloggers you know. 

Don't worry if they are in your genre or not. (This contradicts an earlier paragraph but just follow the rabbit trail, please). Make it a long list, about twice as long as your tour length. Not everyone will say yes. Don't take it personally.

3) Spend some time reading their posts. 

Get a feel for the tone of the blog and what each particular bloggers likes to post. Bookmark the ones you really like. You'll need them later.

4) Brainstorm some topic ideas for each blogger that reflect both the tone of your book and the tone of their blog. 

A blog tour should be mutually beneficial. I don't care if you're pitching your cousin. You should not ask for space on someone's page unless you're offering to give free content that could potentially benefit that blogger. Period. No one owes you anything.

5) Politely contact prospective blogging partners. 

Explain what you're setting up and pitch your ideas.

6) Make a blogging schedule.

And let your blogging partners know the day you're linking back to their pages, so they know what day to post your content.

7) Write your posts in advance and submit to each of your partners for approval.

They may suggest some editing. Don't balk at this. Again, if they're posting submitted content on their pages, they should be thrilled with the content and excited to post and promote it. If not, you're wasting everyone's time (including your own), and you won't meet your tour goals, either.

8) Promote the heck out of your tour, before and during. 

Not in a spammy way, of course. But the average tweet has a 15-minute life. The average Facebook post has a three-hour life. The average reader will recall your post only until he scrolls through his feed to someone else's. Gentle reminders in advance bring the focus back to your tour.

9) No bait and switch. 

Make sure any loyal readers you have don't feel sold out when you redirect them to another's page. Make sure they know well in advance (read No. 8) that the tour is coming. Assure them the content they will read on someone else's site is the type of content they expect to read (and with an unspoken understanding you are redirecting them to a safe and reputable site). Encourage them to explore the other site. Readers are always looking for great new things to read. They may find it in one of your hosting sites, good for one, good for your blogging partners.

10) I added an element to my blog tour I've not seen elsewhere: a TurnAbout Tour. 

This was an extra "free" tour as my "thank you" for all my tour hosts did for me.  I reintroduced the hosts and provided links to three posts I really enjoyed. And I promoted these posts with the same gusto as I did mine. It continued the fun and extended the promotion for my hosts with zero work on their part. That's the "free" part. They received additional promotion by linking back to three blogs they'd already written and posted.

And BTW, if any of your tour hosts wants to run his/her own tour and is looking for hosting sites, please raise your hand.

Now, was such a tour useful?

Ah, the numbers. We always want to know the numbers.

Here's what I gained from the tour:

1) I stretched my creativity in new ways and learned to promote my series in new ways. I wrote my first poem. And I connected vampires to social justice (who'd have thunk, seriously). I wrote a post in baseball terminology (And I know nothing about baseball. Except you need a ball. And a bat).

2) My blog stats for May and June shot up by thousands. I've retained those numbers into July. I averaged nearly 15,000 for each month.

3) My website stats also shot up, over 600 percent in June, according to Google, most of them through readers directly accessing the site (i.e. not through social media). I had 2,600 visitors in June and 2,800 pages viewed. Meaning, a few people stuck around to check out the other pages.

4) I sold five Kindles: two Bryony, one Visage and one Staked!. I have not checked Nook and Smashwords, so I may have a few sales there, too.

5) Last, and certainly not least, not one tour host has expressed displeasure or disillusionment at the experience. That's eight blogging partners and me. One blogger said she intends to re-promote my post at a later date. 

All in all, a successful tour, especially for a first time.

I intend to make this an annual event. In the meantime, I'm going to archive the entire tour onto its own page on my website and promote it from time to time. That's the great thing about a virtual tour. It can be perpetuated long after the tour has ended.

In the meantime, you can "meet" the tour hosts at https://www.bryonyseries.com/promotions

(Do you see what I did here)?

Want to run your own tour? Got questions? Email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com. 

Thank You, Dear Readers

Yesterday morning when I posted the blog, I was very close to another milestone, which quietly arrived without notice or fanfare from me as I worked.

For bloggers that are famous and bloggers that attract huge traffic to their sites, this milestone may not seem like much.

But for me, who started with nothing except an idea and a desire to build, it's enormous.

I'm talking about total reader views. 

Yesterday, I hit 300,000 total views since I began this blog on Aug. 1, 2010.

Yes, it's taken a long time to reach it.

Back in 2010, when my daughter Sarah Stegall offered to help collect recipes for the BryonySeries cookbook, she became so entranced with the project, she created the Bryony Facebook page as a Mother's Day gift (I had no idea how to start a page and probably still would need help today) and the next month, she offered to build a website (She had no idea how to build one. But she had the time, at the time, to figure it out and she did).

Then she created a Twitter account and a Flickr account (we've never used the latter). I'd read authors should have something called a blog. She researched that and set up this blog. then she researched SEO, keywords, and hashtags. For the first year, I wrote the blog (based on Sarah's ideas because I had no idea what to write) and she tagged them because tagging was a concept I could not grasp.

We cheered the first few views, the first double digit views, the first 50, the first 100.

With blogging nearly every day, it took almost six years to the day to reach that first 100,000 in total views. And we cheered that, too.

The next 100,000 took just fifteen months. That number got a bit of a boost late last year when I began blogging twice a day to attract a wider audience. Since the start of the blog, I'd posted links to all my feature stories on Friday, a story round-up. But the bulk of my work since I became an employee in 2014 doesn't have a byline and yet contains valuable information for the Joliet area community: local events and the great projects people are doing. 

So I began adding links to those in a second blog, posted in the evening, as a way of letting readers know those stories are available, too. The analytics show some people are reading them.

And we attained the third 100,000 in slightly less than nine months.

Since that time, my youngest daughter Rebekah Baran has become my partner in all things BryonySeries.

Every now and again someone mentions to me he or she reads my blog. Every now and then someone posts a comment on Facebook. Overall, I really have no idea who you area. Comments on the blog are even more sparse than the ones on Facebook.

But the analytics also show all those views aren't (albeit some probably are). I hardly ever have huge jumps in traffic that would alert me to bots.

Most of the traffic comes from Facebook, followed by Twitter, and then Google. 

Whoever you area, I'm thankful. Thankful, thankful, thankful, thankful.

And so I'm sharing this with you today. Because it's your milestone, too, probably more than mine.

Without you, dear readers, there would be no milestone to celebrate.

Thank You, Thank You

In 2010 I reluctantly started a blog because I'd read authors should have blogs.

My daughter Sarah Stegall, who was teaching herself the technical side of BryonySeries things (web design, social media, SEO, keywords, all the while collecting recipes for the BryonySeries cookbook) researched blogs, narrowed it down to WordPress and Blogger, and decided on the latter, for many reason, none of which are important here.

But I had a bigger problem. I had no idea what to write. Features, fiction: fine; ideas abound. But, blogging? Is't that like "Dear Diary," but online?

Sarah had ideas. Write about anything and everything connected to me writing: my work writing, my fiction writing, the setting, the plot, the characters, the themes (Victorian, 1970s, food, Irish, leprechauns, blood, roses, piano, white cats, fishing and fishing villages, gothic architecture, gothic literature, and so on), self-publishing, my struggles, my victories, and some of me personally.

People would want to read that? Sarah assured me they would. And she was afraid.

Still, I was afraid of being spammy, a fear that persists to this today and helps keep me on track. For instance, here's a piece I'd bookmarked four years ago: http://annerallen.com/2013/10/social-media-secrets-for-authors-par/

We decided to launch the blog Aug. 1, several months in advance of a November release date, never guessing my June surgery would be postponed until August and that the small I press that was readying Bryony for publication would push the release date out a year (and eventually go out of business).

Still afraid of running out of material, I prewrote the first month's worth of posts. Except for some exceptions in 2013 when we were losing our home, I've blogged every day. I haven't run out of ideas and have some new (and will be resurrecting some old) ideas for 2018.

Sarah and I together cheered the first couple of post views, then cheered again when views hit double digits (Ten people read it??? Really???) We cheered when we hit 50 views and when we hit 100. We celebrated 100,000 all-time views in mid-2016 and watched the numbers continue to climb.

Before the holidays, the blog averaged 13,000 views a month. And we almost closed out the year at 200,000 all-time views. I can't tell you how humbling that is.

And yes, even when one doesn't count the Throwback Thursdays (another of Sarah's ideas), some of those older posts still get views. Amazing

I'm convinced the experience Sarah received from learning this stuff helped her land the job (and manager's role) she has today in her company; I'm convinced I work as a features editor today because of the skills I acquired while writing, editing and marketing novels.

Although Sarah is now too busy to play "web administrator" to the BryonySeries anymore (her exact current title is "web administrator emeritus"), my other daughter Rebekah Baran has stepped up into that role.

Rebekah designed the current website at www.bryonyseries.com. She does most of my book formatting and cover creation. She formats and uploads the eBooks. And she's gradually teaching me how to do these things, only calling on Sarah when she runs into a snag.

I never could/can do this without my girls. Their help, expertise, willingness to learn, and ease of navigating technology is invaluable and appreciated beyond measure.

Why am I sharing all this?

Because if you're a writer, hang in there. Be persistent; be consistent. Take the long view of building a writing/editing business. While overnight successes are rare, this industry has a way of rewarding those who keep learning and improving, possibly because the competition quits too soon.

While I'm far, far, far from being a household name, I spend most of my hours (weekdays and weekends) writing and editing something, which is the career I've wanted ever since I was a little girl. The career grows a bit more each year.

If these are your goals, too, I want to help you get there. Because it's possible, you know.

If you'd like to self-publish a book this year for little cost, and you live in the Joliet area, check out this event on Jan. 11: https://goo.gl/aRY4uC

If you're a WriteOn Joliet writer, I want to hear your writing, editing, and marketing goals so we can help each other in 2018. We have local memberships (for those who can attend meetings) and remote memberships (those who live far away and cannot). So the group is open to all adults writers age 18 and up. For more information, visit www.writeonjoliet.com.

If you're a reader, I'm humbled with gratitude.

Thank you for finding something worthwhile to read here.

Thank you for checking back each day.

Both add up to encouragement to me. Page views help let me know what readers are enjoying; they help shape the future of this blog. They fuel my inspiration for yet another post on another day.

Ultimately this blog is meant to entertain you, provide you with information, share great stories from the greater Joliet community, and help connect us with each other.

So readers, if there's something you'd like to see on this blog, message me at bryonyseries@gmail.com. I'd love to hear your feedback and ideas.

For me, 2017 was a hard, challenging year for my adult children and me in terms of work. In fact, as soon as I post this blog, I'm working the rest of this day. Praise God it's work I enjoy!

But.

I'm leaving 2017 with sharper skills than I began it and so are my kids. I hope 2017 brought, for you, many blessings, even if they came disguised.

I look forward to journeying the new year with you. Here's to 2018! (virtually cliinking my coffee mug against yours).

Do You Blog (Should You Blog?) Some Thoughts

It seems as if everyone has (or had) a blog these days.

If you're one of them, you may wonder if you should start (continue or revive) a blog.

First of all, what is a blog? Merriam-Webster defines it thus: 

1: computers :a website that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks, videos, and photographs provided by the writer; also :the contents of such a site

2: a regular feature appearing as part of an online publication that typically relates to a particular topic and consists of articles and personal commentary by one or more authors a technology blog.

So a blog is basically a regular online feature that centers around a topic, the blogger, or both. If you'd like to write about particular subjects (including your perspectives and experiences) and then share them with the world, then maybe a blog is "write" for you.

When I was studying book marketing during the time my first book Bryony was in the editing stages, waaay back in 2010, I read authors should have blogs to help establish "platform" and "branding." I didn't know anything about blogging past that.

I handed off the task of researching this mysterious thing called blogging to my daughter Sarah Stegall, who was also building my website and learning about other mysterious concepts, such as SEO, keywords, etc.

Sarah, in turn, reached out to people she knew, who recommended either WordPress or Blogger, unfamiliar terms to me. Although WordPress is more popular today, we, being online amateurs, found it clunky to use and went with Blogger.

Sarah created the account, tagged all the posts that first year, and monitored the analytics. I was to provide the content. I came up dry. 

It was Sarah, again, who suggested I write about the various topics in the Bryony, the process of creating the story and the inspirations behind some of its elements, my life as a writer (and woman, mother, grandmother), my "other" writings (in short, my day and nights jobs), etc.

"People won't want to read that stuff," I protested.

I was't even certain I wanted to write about them, either.

"Yes, they will," Sarah insisted.

She was right.

Side note: And I laugh now at how difficult it was at the time to add videos and photos.

During the time I've blogged, I've watched friends and acquaintances start (and end) blogs., Many people start out enthusiastically and fade away. I've blogged nearly every day since I started this blog on Aug. 1, 2010, and here's what I've learned.

1) Formulate a purpose for your blog.

Why, and for whom, are you writing this blog? Give it some thought.

My blog is for anyone who likes the BryonySeries, likes any of its basic themes, for other writers, and for readers of my feature stories (who may be curious as to what I do off the clock).

2) Decide how often you will post.

I post something every day, but as a writer, I write every day, so that seemed the best for me, at least in terms of keeping me on task. 

Daily posting may not be ideal (or even necessary for you), but do create a schedule and adhere to it. You can always vary that schedule once the blog is established, but a blogging routine helps you stay focused and committed, and gives your growing community of readers something to anticipate.

3) Write an introductory blog.

Announce you and your blog to the universe and give readers a taste of what's to come.

4) Write some posts in advance before you begin. Then you will always have something to post.

I wrote a month's worth before we launched. I did this for three reasons. 

One, I had surgery scheduled at the end of the month and knew I would not write for a few days. 

Two, I didn't want to wade through writer's block early in the blog's launch. 

Three, it's nice to have a few sitting in the wings (for tired days, sick, days, blah days, etc). 

This way, you take advantage of inspiration when it comes, instead of trying to force words when the muse is sleeping.

5) If you do blog everyday, consider "themeing" your days. 

This gives your postings and muse focus and, again, creates anticipation in the reader.

For the BryonySeries blog, those have shape-shifted through the years, but the current lineup is: a Sue's Diner recipe (Sunday), miscellaneous (Monday), writing (Tuesday) video (Wednesday), Throwback Thursday (recycling of former blogs, Thursday), story roundup (my features writings for the week, Friday), and all things Irish (including Ed Calkins, Saturday).

I do deviate from these from time to time for special occasions, but not often.

Recently I added a second posting Monday through Saturday for all the non-bylined community briefs I edit for The Herald-News. I put a lot of work into those briefs and feel strongly about the sharing people's accomplishments with others.

Although I do send these briefs out on Twitter, assembling them into one post on Facebook seems less "spammy" then posting them one after another all day, and it gives readers another way to find them.

6) SEO, keywords, quality content

Don't get too hung up on these. Algorithms are constantly changing. There's no magic formula for building a readership. SEO and keywords help readers find your blog, but there's no guarantee people will hang about once they find it.

Don't write content that sounds like an artificial you. Don't write content for the sake of SEO and keywords. Write what you want to write. If you're passionate about a topic, chances are, someone else is, too. Those people will find you, trust me, although it won't happen overnight.

That said, don't be sloppy. Brush up on grammar. Use spell check. If you don't invest time into writing a polished post, readers won't want to invest their time in reading it.

6) Keep expectations realistic and give the blog a chance.

Many people begin blogs with false expectations. Making money, going viral, attracting thousands of followers, etc. When these don't happen (and they don't for most of us, repeat: they don't for most of us), bloggers become discouraged and quit.

What's realistic? Readers, in any amount. If you have a tribe of loyal readers (no matter how small), you are doing something "write."

7) Celebrate successes, no matter how small or trivial they appear to be.

We did. 

The first view.

The first two-digit view.

When views consistently hit the twenties and thirties.

The first fifty views for the day. (Because now I had a backlog of content for new readers to check out).

The first one hundred views.

The first one thousand views (yes, it has happened a few times).

When we hit 100,000 total views (in 2016, after nearly six years of blogging).

8) Be transparent but professional

No one appreciates haphazard rants, but thought-provoking posts on ideas near to your heart may touch chords within readers. 

9) If you're an author or business owner, don't sound like a spammy advertisement for your books or services.

Meaning, don't inflate you or your products' popularity. Don't write like you're a rock star and imply readers sit up half the night waiting feverishly waiting for your next installment. Readers can see through it.

In terms of this post, I'm not running a "must flock to" blog. I'm not Stephen King or JK. I don't get a millions views a day. I do, however, average 150 to 400 per post, 300 to 500 views a day (due to back posts) and 13,000 for the month.

Nothing stellar in terms of the thousands of blogs out there. A crazy amount of work (Remember, I've blogged nearly every day since Aug. 1, 2010). No guarantees readers will drop off. And no clever scheming as to why certain posts resonate more than others.

But a certain amount of consistent readership is gratifying. And that's why I'm writing this particular blog today. To encourage you on your own blogging journey.

Which leads to...

10) Stop if you no longer enjoy it, no matter how popular (or unpopular) your blog becomes.

And I'm not talking about the sporadic feeling we all get from time to time that we want to quit something. I'm not talking about fleeting moments of tedium. 

If you really, really don't want to blog or continue blogging, then stop. There's no shame in discovering a certain activity is no longer enjoyable or serves a useful purpose. The world is full of worthwhile projects. Some last a lifetime, some are for a season.

But if you DO decide to blog, enjoy the season, whether it's long, short, or somewhere in-between.

And feel free to reach out at bryonyseries@gmail.com if you have any questions.