For instance, last Friday's post, A small rant.... has gotten 164 hits, 28 comments (well, 56, but that's because I replied to them all) and 4 shares on Google+! It's not a surprise that some judicious grousing about something got attention, and there was some equal commiseration, and also some good discourse. I do want to emphasize that I don't dislike small dogs; I dislike irresponsible owners. Often the two dovetail, to my dismay, but to my relief, nobody seemed to think that I hated little dogs. So that's good.
Another popular post lately? The Doberman: Color, which I first posted on April 5. Are you ready for this? That one has gotten 1250 hits. I hope for people to be interested when I post Doberman specific things (this is kind of a "Doberman blog" after all, in addition to being a dog ownership one), and my color post has consistently received readership in the months since it first went live.
To give you a sense of scale, my total hits to date since starting this blog on April 7, 2011, is 57,257. I wonder how much it could have been if I did that color post earlier! Still, more than 50k is pretty good, in my estimation.
I'm not sure how many email followers I have, but I have 82 people who publicly follow The Elka Almanac using the Google widget dealie. Many of you also common with good regularity, which I really appreciate! I enjoy the dialogue that having a blog like this fosters with other dog owners. It really helps me get my nerd out. We're all on this road with our dogs, and I like talking to the people who are sharing the journey and seeing where it takes us.
WOOF! I thinks we are all here to learn, grow, and share in our lives as pets/pet owners!
ReplyDelete~Stinky Kisses, Mason
I agree! REading and sharing stories is a really good way to learn!
DeleteYou never know what type of post is going to hit a chord with your audience. When I first started my most popular posts caught on in social media(StumbleUpon, Fark, Reddit). Now my most popular posts are the one's that have become popular with the search engines.
ReplyDeleteI love sharing and chatting with my fellow readers and bloggers too. One of my favorite parts of blogging!
It's definitely interesting to see what sparks the interest!
Deleteso glad you mentioned your rant post again, i hadnt seen that one and really enjoyed reading it just now. i love a good rant :) i know exactly what you mean, its such a shame all dog owners dont do a bit of training with there dogs. i loved how elka looked a the little dog then at you and then you gave a treat, i might have to try and get that one with stormy xxx
ReplyDeleteHah, thanks!
DeletePart of the whole point in having a dog is the training. From my perspective, anyway. It's part of the continual human learning process, but also part of what it makes them such a pleasure to live with!
We think there is nothing better than the occasional good rant. Have a fabulous Friday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Catharsis can be pretty amazing.
DeleteI am surprised sometimes at the posts of mine that get the most hits. It seems like they are the posts where I was venting, and expecting no one to read:)
ReplyDeleteI hear you! There are times you just need to vent something to somebody, regardless of whether you get feedback!
DeleteWe like sharing our thoughts too like how mom dislikes any dog owner that allows there dog to charge at us while yelling, "he's friendly."
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
I see a lot of posts about the "He's friendly!" crowd, all across the dog-o-sphere! Definitely a peeve.
DeleteI agree - my dog blog helps me get "my nerd out" too. I just don't know that many people that love talking about their dogs as much as I do - at least not anywhere that isn't the blog world.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and Elka is VERY photogenic!
Very occasionally, I'll run into somebody who will just dish about dogs until we both realize we have someplace else to be.
DeleteThanks, Elka is photogenic! It makes up for my clumsy photography skills!
Usually a rant by one dog owner is a rant we all share.
ReplyDeleteI daresay you speak the truth!
DeleteIt'S always interesting which blog posts get the most hits isn't it? A big one one mine is the Paws R' Us seizure... I actually just posted about it since it's such a good traffic generator! Another oddly enough, is my rare breed, the chippiparai. Go figure!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I've never heard of the chippiparai other than on your blog, so it's like you're a world source!
DeleteI seem to have similar reactions to my posts. I just never know what is going to be popular, and I usually make the wrong call, and then end up being surprised. I can certainly see why your small dog post was popular, and I didn't think you came off hating small dogs. You (like many of the rest of us dog owners) are just fed up with small dog owners who don't bother to train their dogs...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that it came across in the manner that I meant it! In person, I have trouble sometimes with people thinking I'm angry or being mean, because of my tone of voice. Usually, it's just because my sense of humor is often dry, so I'm delivering the straight line, y'know?
DeleteI think you're right...you just never, ever know what's gonna get a rise outta your followers. Sometimes I post stuff that'll get a lot of comments and nada. Then I post something and get more comments than I ever dreamed. You just never know.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Mom is with you on the "people let their little dogs get away with a LOT more than they'd EVER let a brindle pit bull-type doggie get away with" thing. And don't even get her started on why peoples think it's okay to take their teensy dogs into the grocery store but would flip out if there was a Doberman in there. BOL!
Wiggles & WAgs,
Mayzie
Sometimes, I'm just so in awe that I have as many followers as I do! I guess I can assume that we're at least somewhat likeminded....otherwise, y'all wouldn't be following me, right? ^^
DeleteYeah, people flip out sometimes even when my Doberman isn't DOING anything!
In the second sentence I meant to say, "Sometimes I post stuff that I think will get a lot of comments..."
ReplyDeleteIt's not easy to type with paws, you know.
You cope pretty well!
DeleteI love looking at my stats LOL! Our highest hitting post is "why I'm fed homemade" which has 2,680 views (someone pinned it). We have 48,836 views, 7,103 comments,169 followers on Google friends and average about 25 comments per post. We get anywhere from 800-1,550 views a week. And the number one key word? Dachshund Nola and widows peak LOL
ReplyDeleteNola's Mom
P.S. I loved the color post :)
DeleteYeah, I might have a slight obsession with whether people on the interweb think I'm awesome on a given day ;)
DeleteWidows peak? That's not a phrase I've associated with you. Maybe I'm missing some subtext?
Nola's not your most common Doxie color. Part of her pattern (sable) is. Her widows peak
DeleteI had to stop looking at stats because it was getting me down. I must have the slowest growing blog in all blogdom. Totally my "fault". I don't do hops, giveaways, reviews, (or even useful posts) twitter, FB, Pinterest or anything that might be of help to Georgia in her quest for worldwide fame. Poor dog. Maybe I should rant more. That, I CAN do ;)
ReplyDeleteIt can be really discouraging to look at stats sometimes. Especially on days where it feels like you really gave it your all, and still have minimal response. I do blog hops, but I do try to have more "real" posts than hop posts...or make a hop post a real one. Sometimes the hop theme helps, other times it feels like I'm copping out.
DeleteMaybe we should ALL rant more....it's a great destresser!
So your post made me go and look which of my posts has gotten the most hits of all time, and it's a super-goofy family portrait. LOL So much for being a serious blog!
ReplyDeleteColor is such a touchy subject in some breeds! Both of my Border Collies are blue merle, which is a completely acceptable color for everybody except the herding people. It can be such a headache, though.
I am glad I found this blog :)
I didn't know that Blue Merle wasn't acceptable to the herding people, though I did know that breeding merle to merle is controversial (and should be freaking outlawed). Breed politics can be nuts, regardless of the breed.
DeleteThe super-goofy family portrait is adorable ;)