2017 Blog Recap

It’s always fun to reflect on my year of blogging. I don’t intend to make a living doing this and I don’t obsess about numbers, but it does make me feel accomplished to look back on my year and see how the blog has grown (or not grown) and what posts have been the most popular.

This year I struggled to keep creating content. I was applying to grad school, feeling nervous about my future, and staying busy working. Like I said the other day, it’s so nice to always have this space to come back to no matter what’s going on in my life. I feel guilty when I don’t post for a while, but sometimes it’s necessary! Blogging was something I never knew I’d love so much but I’m eternally grateful for this space and the people I’ve met. Okay, now that I’m done being sappy let’s talk about the most popular posts on the blog in 2017:

2017’s Most Popular Posts:

1. Where to Eat and What to See in Nashville

I was SO exited to see this post take off. We had so much fun in Nashville and we really tried to live it up while we were there! This was one of my first “travel posts” I published on the blog and I can’t wait to write more for you guys.

Biscuit Love Nashville

2. 10 Things to Do Before the Semester Begins

This sponsored post with Jiffy Lube got a lot of hits this year! I still love writing college posts even though I’m technically no longer a college student.

3. Music for Your Weekend

Honestly a little confused about this one but I’m not complaining! Usually my music posts are not the most popular but this one got a strange amount of hits. Let me know if you’d like to see more music and playlists here on the blog!

4. All You Need to Know About the GRE

I loved writing this post because I knew it was going to help so many people! Taking the GRE was one of the most stressful things ever and I loved compiling this list of resources and answering questions that might put other prospective grad students at ease.

5. Perfect Planners for College Students 2017 Edition

Not surprising, but I love writing these for you guys! My goal is to keep adding little-known planner brands to help you discover the perfect planner for you. I already have a bunch of ideas for the 2018 edition!

day designer

Favorite Posts to Write.

1. How to Ask for Letters of Recommendation

I loved writing the grad school/SLP posts this year! It’s my #1 goal to help future SLPs be prepared in undergrad and grad school so this was one of my favorites to write, as well as the GRE post I already mentioned above.

2. How I Stayed Organized in College

This post was really fun to write! I don’t write many “college” posts anymore but I do still love talking about ways to succeed and keep organized. This post was written on a whim but I thought it was fun to write and you guys seemed to love it too!

mia ellsworth co planner

3. A Bucket List Update

It was fun to see how many things I could cross off of my bucket list after a couple years.

4. 2017 Reading Goal Update

I love writing about books and sharing what I’ve read. This post was really fun to me to write and I loved all the comments I received!

wonder rj palacio

5. Some Recent Purchases

Seems weird that I’d like writing about something so simple BUT I really like sharing those random, minute details of my life. I like recommending products I’m using IRL. Which brings me to the next thing I want to talk about…

In 2017, I started thinking about the blog in a different way. Instead of ensuring every post was a certain length, had a certain number of photos, and had a nice Pinterest graphic, I started just writing and sharing what was going on with me in a more natural, (hopefully) authentic way. I had a decrease in the number of posts I published as well as the number of sponsored posts I took on. I’m not sure if those are correlated or not. I really am just starting to think more about sharing posts that are similar to the posts I want to read on other people’s blogs.

Some of my favorite bloggers write about their personal lives and struggles. Not everything is picture-perfect. I don’t want to be picture-perfect. I want to be the blog you pull up because you’re curious what I’m up to. If you just want to browse around and find good books, that’s cool too. I want you guys to *like* being here. I want you to be excited about seeing something new published. I know that might take a little work on my part, but I’m determined to grow this blog along with me. I won’t be a student forever! I want to be that girl you tell your mom about like we know each other in person. Is that weird? Maybe. But if you’re telling your mom about me, that means we have something special going. Let’s start off 2018 on the right foot.

2017 Blog and Social Media Stats.

Posts published in 2017: 32 (-46 from 2016)

Number of Sponsored Blog Posts: 5 (-12 from 2016)

Number of Page Views: 486, 616 (-29,037 from 2016)

Number of Unique Visitors: 438,399 (+129,554 from 2016)

Twitter followers: 1,899 (+324 from 2016)

Facebook likes: 801 (+133 from 2016)

Instagram followers: 3,098 (+361 from 2016)

Pinterest followers: 5,308 (+1,609 from 2016)

Bloglovin’ followers: 841 (+5 from 2016)

YouTube subscribers: 400 (+214 from 2016)

Also, excitingly, I hit 1 million unique visitors in 2017! I can’t wait to see where the blog goes in the new year.

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4 Comments

  1. December 30, 2017 / 6:52 pm

    I always love following along with your blog Kayla! I always especially adore your yearly planner post, but this year I loved seeing more personal posts from you as well!

  2. December 30, 2017 / 11:42 pm

    Congrats on everything you accomplished this year Kayla! I’ve been reading your blog for a little over a year now, and I can say that you are one of my favorites! I wish nothing but growth and prosperity in the upcoming year for you!

    Kathlyn | Kathlyn’s Korner

  3. January 4, 2018 / 1:04 am

    Love your year recap! Congrats on what you’ve accomplished! Happy 2018!

    Narhee | Made in Mauve

  4. January 12, 2018 / 3:08 am

    Congratulations! It’s great to see how much of a positive impact blogging can have on yourself and others!
    thequarter.life

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