Living the Gray Life

A Fitness & Lifestyle Blog

| Posted in: Blogging

2016: The Year of the Blog

Two thousand and sixteen was definitely the year of the blog. Somehow I turned my blog from a small side project receiving 2,000 views a month to a life-consuming passion reaching 20,000+ people a month. I’ve invested hundreds if not thousands of hours into this blog in 2016, and I can definitely say that it’s paid off. Not only has my blog blossomed this year, I’ve become friends with so many bloggers!

I’ve had a few weeks to compile all this data, and honestly it’s amazing. This blog is a representation of setting your mind to something, dedicating yourself to it, and seeing it thrive and prosper. In 2016 I became self-hosted, landed my first sponsored post, finally figured out my branding, developed my own WordPress theme, received countless emails from readers, and found myself. So, to sum up 2016, I thought I’d show you my overall stats, my most popular posts, and set some goals for 2017.

2016 Stats Overview

Total Pageviews: 174,085

Total Visitors: 122,329

Popular Posts

Struggling in a college class or just looking to improve your note taking? Check out this post for tips & tricks to keep those notes organized and resourceful!

College Note Taking Tips – this post alone brought in over 30% of my traffic for the year

Buy This, Not That College Dorm Edition | livingthegraylife.com

Struggling with finding time for friends and school while in college? Here's a daily study routine that works for me to make those A's and B's!

Wondering where to get started in hand lettering? Take a look at how I got started and the resources I use. Beginner hand lettering.

bullet journal for beginners a look inside

What Worked vs. What Didn’t

What Worked

  • Remained active on social media throughout the entire year.
  • Networking, networking, networking.
  • Branding, branding, branding.
  • Finally getting an Insta for the blog.
  • Email companies directly to work with them.

What Didn’t

  • No follow-through with newsletter.
  • Not posting doesn’t help grow stats.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Successfully held the Blogger Secret Santa
  • Became self-hosted!!!
  • 500 followers on Twitter
  • Hit 60,000 page views in August
  • Met Cathleen after a year
  • Finally settled on some branding

My life has forever been changed by the success and happiness I’ve found through blogging, and I hope for 2017 to be just as successful. If you’re a newbie blogger or you’re thinking about starting a blog and you’re kind of intimidated by all of this, don’t be! Blogging has changed my life, and I hope it changes yours. Don’t lose hope just because the numbers aren’t where you want them to be or you’re not posting 20,000 times week on every social platform out there. Follow your heart, and if you have a passion for it, that will shine through.

If you’re a blogger, how was 2016 for you? Was it the year you started your blog? The year you saw your blog blossom? The year you finally figured out your branding? I hope 2017 is as good to you as 2016 was to me!

~abigail gray