I confessed in my last post that I didn’t always follow the rules of blogging. I must have hit a nerve with other bloggers because that was my highest viewed post since I began the NaBloPoMo journey.
I was totally shocked at the response. Well, not THAT shocked. I got a whopping 70 views that day, but that’s pretty good for my meager little blog. That response leads me to another confession and involves a rule I didnt mention yesterday.
Know your audience. All the great writers and filmmakers and authors and presenters make a point of knowing their audience. Know what they want to read, what they want to see, what they want to hear. So I guess that fact that I was shocked in the responses to my post leads me to one conclusion. I don’t have a clue what my audience likes!
This is not the first time I have been surprised. One of my most viewed posts is simply called The Old Brick House. Somebody looks at that simple story every week! I do not know why.
But my top post of all times, at least since I started blogging in May 2012, was called Can you stand just one more Moonflower update? It was posted on a Friday in January and received 204 views!
Why? I don’t know. Was there a huge snowstorm that day and everyone was trapped inside and wanted to read about something green and growing? Did cell phone service and cable TV crash that day, leaving only WordPress to occupy our time? Is there an unusually high percentage of gardeners in my viewing audience? Was it “feel sorry for Retired Ruth Day”? Maybe it was the scientific name for Moonflower that I used as a tag? Maybe it was the Neil Armstrong tag that attracted attention? Yeah, I know, it was a stretch… but hey… Neil Armstrong… first man to walk on the moon… Moonflowers growing on the patio. Yeah. It connected in my brain.
Nevertheless, I guess I just don’t know what readers are going to like. Some of my favorite, most well-written (in my opinion) posts just fizzled out and no one seemed interested.
For those of you who have made it through reading this far I will ask for your comments. Tell me about a time when you were surprised at your views, either in a good way or a bad way. And here are the links to my most viewed posts, in case you want to help me figure out why people are reading them…..
https://retiredruth.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/can-you-stand-just-one-more-moonflower-update/
https://retiredruth.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/the-old-brick-house/
Retired Ruth 
I’m trying to return to blogging more regularly…at least a post a day. When I fall off my audience of readers disappears and it’s difficult to get them back. It also means I’ve neglected reading others blogs. Not good if you want to maintain readership. As far as what folks want to read, I think personal stories suit most. Stories with which others can identify. Being a boomer myself my topics are mostly about getting older while trying to remain relevant. I must admit though, presidential elections always hit a nerve with me. I can’t help going off on the topic, especially with a target like Trump. BTW…hugs for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. Much appreciated… 🙂
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What strikes me about this post and the comments is that you have encouraged discussion and connectivity. Most of us started this journey without a real clue as to what to do and the lovely result has been connecting with people all over the world. What a gift!
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It is a gift. I now have friends from all over the world. Some of them I feel like I have known forever and others I have connected with on Facebook and Google as well as WordPress. That was the most unexpected part of the blogging world to me…. the new friendships and as you said, the connections!
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Well, now I am off to your previous post to see what it was all about!
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I have spent hours writing a post that I thought was interesting and it got no response, while I’ve hastily thrown something up and it gets a lot of interest. Hot buttons is what it is all about. When you hit a hot button, the comments coming rolling in. 🙂
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Definitely like that “hot button” description!
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I just started blogging recently and am always shocked if I get even a single view! my blog and I are not very in sync at the moment and you’ve mentioned such an important point. I honestly don’t know who my audience is…and have no clue how to find out. The one person I know reads my blog religiously is my mother and that way I get a view everyday. Thank you for sharing your story as this very new and unsure blogger needed this. 🙂
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All the “advice givers” that have sent me messages tell me to write for myself. Don’t worry about writing for others. It makes it more meaningful and true. But writing for an audience seems important, too. I am sure soon you will have more than one reader for your blog. Just keep at it! Hey… you’ve got me!
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Thank you for your continued support. Major appreciation coming your way.
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My highest viewed post is actually a repost of another blogger’s post – a news story about a missing fishing boat and its crew. I reposted it because the novel I had written was about a fisherman and boat out of that same small town in Oregon and it struck a nerve with me, even though my story was fictional. And Even though it was obviously a reblog, there was some confusion for some reason, and a lot of people thought I had written the post, even the wife of one of the fishermen involved! It put me right there in the thick of things, expressing my condolences and redirecting them to the author – a surreal experience. That post still gets several views a month, years later.
One of my first posts – before I knew anyone was reading my blog ( I had twelve followers, all of whom knew me well!) was written completely tongue in cheek about what it’s like being a ‘normal’ Mormon. While it didn’t do a whole lot on WordPress, it just blew up on Facebook, going out to hundreds of people I didn’t know and who didn’t know me, and getting all kinds of responses good and bad. One gal left a not so nice reply on my blog, and that’s how I found out about it! It was a good lesson in what can happen when you decide to blog, though!
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I reblogged once, as well and it was confusing. People don’t always read carefully. And Facebook… well, I do share my blog on a Retired Ruth facebook page, but we all know how things get twisted on that social site! Thanks for sharing. I am going to search for your story.
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One of my most viewed posts was a fact I posted regarding my fondness of wearing odd socks! I write a lot of poetry and I also post my views on random subjects, so I was very surprised that such a random topic got so many people talking. You never know what’s going to pique other’s interests!
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I will be looking for that post! Sounds interesting!
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I had 800 views of a random post one day so I think there must have been some automated something or other going on.
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DIdn’t even know there was automated something or others…. lol
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I’m very new at this and am surprised at pretty much every single comment, reply, like, or even view that I get!
It’s too early for me to throw any light into your ponderings I’m afraid but would be interested to see what others come back to you with!
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I remember those days. I didn’t even realize I would have followers when I first started. LOL
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