Here we are in 2015 … hard to believe. I thought I’d take this first “official” blog post of the year to share my top posts from 2014.
Admittedly, I don’t have the largest blog … in fact some of my friends have said, “Dude, I don’t share your blog because it gives me a secret advantage. I actually don’t want to share with others!”
(I will take that as a compliment, I guess … )
My web traffic this year hasn’t increased by a large amount, it’s actually very similar to last year. However, my mailing list has nearly doubled. Go figure. It’s encouraging to know people want to hear from me via email (more on this later).
What I think happened is that the readership of this blog changed from people interested in ministry content to those interested in marketing or personal development.
If you have ever shared this blog, thank you. If you’re new to my blog, this is a great way to check out some of my past content.
Here are my top twelve posts from 2014:
- Michael Hyatt “Owns” Platform … And 4 More Reasons The NSA Blew It On Rebranding
- Personal Update: Why I Stepped Down as Pastor
- How To Get Clearer on Clarity
- 3 Musts For Leading People Older Than You
- 5 Reasons Opportunity Isn’t Knocking At Your Door
- Why I Spent $4,102 To Spend A Few Days with Copywriter Ray Edwards
- Why People Donate … and Other Things Every Missionary Should Know
- What To Do If You Hate Marketing Yourself
- Why You–Yes, YOU!–Should Launch A Blog
- Climbing the Eiffel Tower … And Other Things We’ve Done In Paris (So Far)
- How To Transition Out of Your Ministry (With Honor)
- The Ordinary God & Our 5-Mile Walk of Faith
My main takeaway:
There is a healthy mix between business / ministry / personal posts, which is very reflective of my life this past year. I made a major career decision in stepping down from vocational ministry, and got more focused on serving people primarily in marketing and business.
Yet without fail, the foremost thing that all these posts have in common: they are injected with a bit of my personal journey or experience. The human touch still works, I suppose.
No matter what happens with my blog, I’m committed to weaving in elements of my personal story with my content. I see that is what resonates … even if I have readers that might want to keep my blog a secret. =)
The major change I plan to make:
I actually plan to blog less this year. I’d love to do once a week, but I’m going to scale back a bit so I can craft content that will be better than what I’ve put out in the past. To do that requires more time, intention, and yes, research.
That said, I’m going to spend more time creating content specifically for my mailing list. Why?
I have really good email convos with people on this blog’s email list. The talk is more private, conversational, and specific. I estimate I get three times the number of messages via email as I do on my blog comments section. Simply put, the email list is the best way for me to know how I can best serve those that I’m connected with.
If you are on my email list:
You will receive word shortly on what I plan to be doing. My goal, lofty as it may be, is to make you look forward to opening your inbox because of the quality of content.
I’ll be sending some really valuable giveaways (tools that will actually help your business, not just content), share much more private content (like the letter I used to land my CMO job), and special opportunities for me to serve you.
If you’re not on my email list, just click the DIY Blog Guide at the bottom of this post and you’ll be all set … it’s that simple.
The bottom line: I want to serve the people that truly feel I can help them. Those folks are the insiders on this website’s email list.
If you don’t want to opt in, no worries. You can still check out my podcast, and I’ll be posting new articles here about once a month. If you need other resources, check out my resources page. There will be tons of content there to keep you moving in the right direction.
Thanks for checking out this post and making this blog a small part of your week. Happy New Year!
What is your top blog post from 2014? Leave a link in the comments, I’d love to read it.
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