Here at Happenchance, 2011 looked a lot like 2010, only with a bigger readership, a clearer message, and a bit more self-deprecation. (My original title for this post was ‘2011: A Slow Year at a Mediocre Blog’).
In the late winter and early spring, I focused on writing longer articles. For the middle of the year, I slowed down my posting as I tried and failed to make a living outside the 9-to-5.
In the fall, at the request of my more faithful readers, I revived the roundup posts. While the roundups are easier to write (2 hours vs. 15-20 hours), they attract far less engagement than the longer posts and are of dubious long-term value to you. Whether they’ll continue in 2012 remains to be seen.
As I said before, my strategy for 2012 is to do less, better. With a baby on the way, a full-time job, and fiction to write, I’m going to be a busy boy, and as much as I enjoy writing for you, I only have so much energy and attention.
For now, I intend to take a couple months off from regular posting here at this fine site. I’ll likely start something up again in the spring. Until then, watch for longer, resource-rich articles, perfect for bookmarking and sharing (not just quick consumption).
A Few Stats
For 2011, Happenchance had 71,283 total visitors, about 5000-7,000 visitors/month. Most people read about 2.8 pages per visit.Of these visitors, 85% were new, 15% were returning. As of today, 165 people receive updates by email.
I created no products and earned less that $500 in commissions from the General Store and a couple affiliate products. Since I’ve never put any serious effort into monetizing this site, this comes as no surprise.
Popular Articles
Perhaps because it was picked up on Y-Combinator, this silly-yet-fun article on standing desks was far and away my most viewed post.
Here are a few other popular articles I’m still proud of:
- 7 PhD-Approved Ways to Increase Your Happiness
- 8 Lessons in Creative Work I Learned From My Garden
- How Creating Systems Can Make Your Microbusiness Rock (My microbusinesses actually sucked, but that’s because I had too many of them. However, the principles are still sound: creating operations manuals and checklists for your endeavors will make your life easier)
- Information is Overrated
- 5 Simple-Yet-Power Tools for Defeating Resistance
- Stop Whining and Start Grinding
This year I’ve also received several kind emails from readers. For the most part, they just wanted to thank me for writing something they read here. This feedback is enormously gratifying, and if you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see in the coming year, please contact me and let me know. Your feedback helps me shape this site.
See You Later!
As always, thanks for reading. I’ll be back in a couple months. Until then, I hope you create something amazing!
Photo credit: jurvetson