2015 In Review

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So I was checking out some blog posts and I came across Tiffany, creator of Endless Bliss, post about her grand year of 2015. I thought it is pretty dope how it was constructed with stats and personal favorites from each month of the year, with a brief summary to go along with it. While she had pictures and videos from her YouTube channel, I'm not there yet, so give me a while before I get on her level of blogging lol. I thought it was so cool that I decided to start doing one for myself here on Cold Knowledge. I'm not one to take ideas and run them like they are my own like some other bloggers do. I will give proper credit where it is due and I thank Tiffany for having that great idea. Once again check out here post here when you get a chance: Endless Bliss 2015 In Review.

January
(9,186 Views; 4,101 Views Increase)
(24 posts for an average of 383 views per post)

So I prepped myself for this year long journey of planning five blogs a week. This week was mainly the coming out party that I had in terms of releasing my first blog of the year. What has become a tradition of sorts, I released My Kingdom on New Years Day. This was the first month that I tried a few different types of writing and I was nervous and excited to say the least. It was also a sad month initially seeing as how my idol and reason I believe I can do anything in this line of work and still have fun passed away. Stuart Scott was a class act, that's why I wrote My Role Model | Stuart Scott. Other than that, January was a very good month to me blogging wise.

Top Blogs of The Month
2. When One Isn't Enough | 750 Views
4. The Lonely Hour | 621 Views
5. My Blogging Process | 597 Views

February
(7,037 Views; 2,149 Views Decrease)
(24 posts for an average of 293 views per post)

 February was no different than January in terms of excitement. I think after a month of releasing blogs for five days straight, I kind of got into the rhythm of things. While the numbers weren't as strong as January was, (I saw a drop off of about 2,149 views), I was still pleased with the overall results. My book review for Single People Who Still Understand The Value of Relationships By Rob Hill garnered some attention and opened a few more doors with some people that like my book reviews; I'm thankful for that. Like I said before, not a strong month numbers wise, but a great month nevertheless.
 
Top Blogs of The Month
1. 20's By Lauren Gayle | 596 Views
5. Daughters | 402 Views

March
(11,249 Views; 4,212 Views Increase)
(27 posts for an average of 417 views per post)

In terms of numbers, March saw a dramatic uptick in them. I don't know whether it was because the warm weather finally kicked back up or what but seems like a lot of people came to the blog to read what was going on. It wasn't just in the overall top 5, it was pretty much spread across the board. At least 11 posts are at 400+ views with another 9 coming in at 500+ or better. That's 20 posts around 400+ views or better, (which clocks in about an increase of 4,212 views), and that makes me extremely happy. I think this is the month I switched promoting styles and used Facebook as one of my tools as well.
 
Top Blogs of The Month
1. Wanderlust, Part 1 | 762 Views
3. Jackpot | 668 Views
4. The Choices We Make | 659 Views
5. I'm Just So Awesome | 654 Views

April
(12,017 Views; 768 Views Increase)
(25 posts for an average of 481 views per post)

This month was better than last month because I had four blogs almost hit 1000 views! That's pretty awesome and April definitely set the standard. I definitely saw another increase in numbers, even if it was a marginal 768 views, an increase is an increase none the less. I'm just happy that there were blogs in particular that people read and clicked on. The one thing that  I did take away from this was that I need to work on getting comments and what not. But getting these views were a great first step.

Top Blogs of The Month
2. Behind Closed Doors | 1,066 Views
5. Change of Heart | 802 Views

May
(9,870 Views; 2,147 Views Decrease)
(26 posts for an average of 380 views per post)

Not a bad showing for May seeing as how it comes in at 3rd all time at this point on the list. I saw a decrease of about 2,417 views but that's ok, I'm thinking around the 9,000 views is my typical target area if I'm just promoting on Twitter. May also saw a steady numbers in terms of posts people read. I had a couple in the high 400's and the rest in the low 400's to low 300's. May was a pretty good month considering that people are more active when they are outside and what not.

Top Blogs of The Month
1. My Way Or The Highway | 803 Views
5. Don't Poke The Bear | 699 Views

June
(12,849 Views; 2,979 Views Increase)
(25 posts for an average of 514 views per post)

So I stand corrected about my theory of people not reading as much during the warmer months because there is more to do. June saw an increase of 2,979 views and I'm right back to almost 13,000 for the month. I think this is the month I utilized hashtags on twitter for accounts to promote my posts. I also utilized Facebook groups and networked among my blogger buddies and that helped me out tremendously here as well. This saw about the same numbers for the top five, or about just a smudge under them.

Top Blogs of The Month
1. Keeping The Pace | 806 Views
4. Staying Great | 684 Views
5. The Feminist & I | 679 Views

July
(13,756 Views; 907 Views Increase)
(26 posts for an average of 491 views per post)

Another month, another high. I've seen my views jump up due to a blog going viral of sorts. That's pretty cool that I could have one for April and now July. I really dug my feet in with my whole routine of scheduling and going out and networking. For some reason I just felt really into it and rejuvenated by the time this month came around and the numbers did not lie at all.

Top Blogs of The Month
1. The Renaissance | 1,225 Views
2. Justice Now | 884 Views
5. The Beginning of Now | 625 Views

August
(11,182 Views, 2,574 Views Decrease)
(28 posts for an average of 399 views per post)

 August saw a decrease in views but I attribute that to the fact that I had a blog go viral last month and it really boosted those numbers all around. This month I actually had another blog go viral and it pushed the numbers again bringing August in at #4 on the list of highest views for the year. I may have lost a lot of views, but I didn't fall out of the top five either.

Top Blogs of The Month
1. Dear Female Black Bloggers | 1,055 Views
3. Light of My Life | 553 Views
5. Wise Up & Shut Up | 489 Views

September
(9,303 Views; 1,879 Views Decrease)
(33 posts for an average of 282 views per post)

I'm proud of September for the simple fact that I had one of my blogs go viral and almost hit 2,000 views. It was a modest blog and people really liked it from the comments on twitter and the shares that I received. Another post received some buzz but it didn't crack 500 views for the year. The decrease in views comes from the fatigue starting to set in from writing posts constantly this year. After posting two of my best months ever in consecutive months, this month saw the first signs of me getting tired and slowing down.

Top Blogs of The Month
1. Invest In Self | 1,897 Views
4. Hi There Little Bear! | 411 Views
5. Stay Low And Build | 399 Views

October
(5,439 Views, 3,864 Views Decrease)
(32 posts for an average of 170 views per post)

Third month in a row which saw a decrease in views and I was beginning to struggle a bit by this point. I took a break from the blog as well for my colleges homecoming and Halloween because October is jam packed with events and what not. Towards the end I was already heading towards the finish life short of wind and effort. All the posts did relatively modest numbers from my lack of promoting and what not.
 
Top Blogs of The Month
1. Pixels Movie Review | 407 Views
3. Nona Lisa | 269 Views

November
(3,433 Views; 2,006 Views Decrease)
(28 posts for an average of 123 views per post)

While I didn't promote as much as I should have, I still did a 30 Day Challenge as posed to be by a friend. I successfully completed that but didn't really promote anything beyond it. Plus November saw the likes of my birthday, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and an increase workload. In lamest terms, I did the best I could do with what I had at the time. In retrospect this makes me want to start blogging full time, I have a lot to say and not enough time to put it down on paper.
 
Top Blogs of The Month
1. 30 Days of Thanks | 2015 | 639 Views

December
(389 Views, 3,044 Views Decrease)
(9 posts for an average of 43 views per post)

I made it all the way to December only to call it quits on the blogging for five days a week deal. The biggest reason is that I had to work the weekend rotation at my job and I also got a part time gig so all of my time virtually went out the window with this one. I didn't promote or write anything for a good 3 weeks of the month and only returned to do year end posts. Since I'm writing this on the last week and I didn't write any posts prior to this week then the numbers would naturally be really low.
 
Top Blogs of The Month
3. December 2015 | 48 Views
5. My Kingdom II | 45 Views

So that's all stats for each month for the year of 2015 in it's entirety.  As I looked at the numbers while I was editing, I started to beat myself up. Who wants to see more red than green when they're doing something that they love and want to succeed in. But I also reminded myself that this is my first year doing this with some effort and it was a big learning process for me. I learned what worked for me and what didn't work for me. I also learned what people wanted to read from me and what they didn't want to read from me. Most importantly I found my voice and wrote about the things that needed to be written about.

While it irks me to see red on here and not enough green, I realize that I've accomplished a lot in 2015 in terms of my blog and I only have the next level to go to. I see it as my duty to keep up my efforts and doing what I'm doing so that not only more people feel comfortable telling their stories or sharing their passions with the world, but also to show my fellow brothers that it's ok to write or simply share how they feel about the world and life. When you do that and reach out, there will be awesome people there to support you.

That's why I'm proud to say I went all in with no remorse and I went from a 28,164 page views in 2014 to 105,710 in 2015. That's an increase of 77,546 page views overall and also the number to beat in 2016. I'm extremely humble that so many people stop by to read my words, offer words of encouragement or wisdom or simply just to tell me that I wrote something pretty dope in passing. 2015 blog wise has been perfect and I owe to you guy, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm going to leave you guys with the top ten most read posts here on the blog. If you have a particular one or few that you like that aren't on the list, just drop a message in the comments below and I will definitely respond to you on the matter. I hope everyone has a dope 2016 and pretty awesome night wherever you're bringing in the new year.

Until next time!
 
Top Ten Most Viewed Posts
2. Invest In Self | 1,897 Views
3. The Renaissance | 1,225 Views
4. Behind Closed Doors | 1,066 Views
5. Dear Female Black Bloggers | 1,055 Views
8. Justice Now | 884 Views
10. Keeping The Pace | 806 Views
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