Organize Your Family History

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It’s my 4th blogiversary!

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happyblogiversarylgI published my first post on Organize Your Family History four years ago today, on June 14, 2012. This is my 282nd post. I can’t believe how quickly time flies!

I love writing this blog. It helps keep my genealogy research top of mind.  I learn so much researching the posts. But I think what I love most of all is interacting with my readers. Your comments are so educational and so appreciated!! And I’m grateful to have met some of you in person.

The readership of the blog grew very quickly in the first few years but growth has slowed down as the blog matures. That doesn’t surprise me–I can’t expect that kind of growth forever. I was delighted to surpass 100,000 pageviews last year and I certainly hope to do that again this year, though I’d better start blogging more frequently if I’m going to accomplish that. (It’s been a year of competing priorities.)

At the risk of boring you, but for the sake of continuity, I’ll spout some statistics here about the blog, as I’ve done for each blogiversary post. I find it interesting and it’s helpful for me to be able to look back.

In the fourth year of Organize Your Family History there were (as compared with last year):

  • 60 posts (72 last year)
  • 94, 172 pageviews (84, 270 last year)
  • 451 comments, about half of which were from me (compared with 245 last year)
  • 344 subscribers (272 last year)

If you’re interested in data from the previous two years, check out my 3d blogiversary post.

I have so loved meeting readers at genealogy conferences and look forward to meeting more at the Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference in Indianapolis next month (please let me know, if you haven’t already, if you’re going to be there and you’d like to meet up!).

On this, my fourth blogiversary, I just want to say thank you for reading the blog. It’s such a joy to know you’re reading!

It’s my 3rd blogiversary!

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happyblogiversarylgJune 14 marked three years since I published my first post here. (That post was called My quest to learn more about my family history.) Time goes by so quickly. I am so glad I decided to start this blog, for lots of reasons. It has done a wonderful job of helping me stay focused on my family history research. It has prompted me to go to genealogy conferences. It has brought me closer to family. And it has helped me make new friends.

The most popular post on the blog so far has been Reading hard-to-read gravestones, in which I discuss using aluminum foil to make a gravestone legible. I had read about that technique elsewhere and documented my use of it, with my husband’s help, on a family cemetery trip. That particular post has gone my small-scale version of viral: In the last two days, it has been viewed over 5,000 times!

Speaking of statistics, in my first two blogiversary posts, I gathered and published a few statistics. In the interest of consistency, I’ll do it again:

In the third year of this blog:

  • I wrote 72 posts (74 in year two, 79 posts in the first year).
  • There were a total of 84,270 views (35,198 the second year, 6,424 in year one).
  • I had 245 comments, about half of which were my own (compared to 316 and 106 comments in past years).
  • 272 people subscribe to the blog (that number was 160 a year ago and 82 on 6/14/13)

So it looks like I’ve remained somewhat steady in terms of the number of blog posts (though I would have guessed that I’d posted more!). Pageviews and subscribers are growing. In the 2014 calendar year, I had about 55,000 views and I set a goal this year of 100,000 views. I’m on track for that, which is great. (I love having goals.)

I’ve had the opportunity to meet several blog readers at conferences this year and that has been so wonderful! (I was even recognized by a couple of people at the NGS conference!) I hope to meet more of you in the coming year.

Thank you so much for reading this blog. If there are any topics you’d like me to address in Year Four, please let me know!

It’s my 2nd blogiversary!

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happyblogiversarylgI can’t believe I missed this milestone a few days ago, but on June 14, my blog turned two. (I’ve now added the date to my calendar so I won’t miss it next year.)

I’m grateful for this blog because brought me closer to my family and helped me make friends. If it weren’t for the blog, I wouldn’t know about (let alone be attending) the Brown family reunion I’m looking forward to in less than two weeks. I’ve also become acquainted with a distant Adams relative. And the blog helped me make a new friend at RootsTech, who made that conference so much less overwhelming.

Last year on my blogiversary, I listed a few stats. I thought I’d update them to see how things are going.

In the second year of this blog:

  • I wrote 74 posts (79 posts in the first year).
  • There were a total of 35,198 views (6,424 in year one)
  • I had 316 comments–counting my own (106 comments in the first year)
  • 160 people subscribe to the blog (that number was 82 on 6/14/13)

I like the trajectory I’m seeing, though I’d like to see the annual number of posts grow.

I so appreciate how interactive my blog readers are–I’ve been blogging on my organizing blog for six years and I don’t have nearly as much interaction, so thank you! If there are any topics you’d like to see me cover, please don’t hesitate to let me know!

Happy blogiversary to me!

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happyblogiversarylgA year ago today, I posted my first blog post on Organize Your Family History. This feels like a great milestone.

I’m so grateful for the blog, because it’s helped motivate me to give family history research a higher priority in my life. I love thinking of and writing the posts. I love sharing my discoveries. But let me tell you the greatest thing that’s happened as a result of this blog: I’ve been in touch with family members I never (or barely) new before. My mother’s cousin, Jerry Brown, who’s been researching the family for years and years, found the blog and reached out. Then he sent my contact info to email list of cousins and many lovely conversations have ensued.

I even met some of my Missouri cousins earlier this year, thanks to Jerry’s reaching out to me. He’s also shared some great genealogical information.

I’ve added one organizing package  related to family history, my Heirloom Explorer package, to my organizing business and I hope this summer (if life calms down enough for me to do it) to add some pages to Organize Your Family History that will outline some services offerings related to organizing your genealogy life.

As far as the blog goes, here are a few stats (via WordPress) about what’s transpired here in the last year:

  • I’ve written 79 posts
  • There have been a total of 6,424 views
  • I’ve received 106 comments (which doubtless counts my replies to comments)
  • 82 people subscribe to the blog

My goal is to blog at least once a week, preferably twice a week. I appreciate your pageviews and your comments. If there are any topics you’d like to see me cover, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Here’s to a great Year Two!