You’re no doubt familiar with the philosophical riddle, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
I have a slight variation on that philosophical riddle. “If you publish a post and hardly anyone reads it, does it matter?”
Why should I spend my time thinking about and writing posts that few people read when I could invest that same time and effort doing something that does matter?
I’m proud of what I write. In fact, just the act of writing what I believe to be high quality posts is all that really ought to matter. Having said that, though, I do admit that it’s reinforcing to know that others read what I’ve written, like what I’ve written, and comment on it.
So the question is, should blog stats be the proxy for blogging success?
I try not obsess over my blog’s stats. In fact, I rarely even check my stats. Not more than 15 to 20 times a day, anyway. I check them to see whether or not what I’m writing and posting is being seen by, and resonates with, others.
The good news is that some people do read my blog. The bad news is that fewer people are reading my blog now than they were a few months back.
I started this blog in late May and slowly gained an audience. But, as you can see from the chart below, my views peaked in August, dropped in September, and dropped yet again in October. And what’s even more disconcerting, comments dropped considerably from September to October.
Should I be concerned about this downward trend? Good question.
Each of us, as bloggers, has our own definition of success. We use certain metrics — blog stats, perhaps — to measure success. It may be the number of posts you’ve published. Perhaps it’s the number of views or likes your posts get.
Maybe your primary measure of your blog’s success is your number of followers. Or the number of comments your posts generate.
I admit that views, likes, and comments do matter to me. And the more I get, the better I feel. At least it let’s me know that someone besides me appreciates my efforts.
But, again, are my blog’s stats the best proxy for me to be using? What do you think?
Written for today’s one-word prompt, “proxy.”
*This is “take two” because the first effort somehow got lost in the ether. How does that happen?
This, That, and the Other 
i’ve noticed that the stats go up and down. they are better around the holidays (for me anyway) and the summer. Haven’t a clue why. comments tend to come from a steady group that reads my stuff regularly. I get a wierd comment from strangers every now and again. You may be going through the same sort of up/down cycle.
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I hope that what goes down will eventually come up again.
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As long as you keep enjoying it, or your mind enjoys it, the value is in that process, not the numbers (which are a little different to reality because a lot of people read ‘off wp’ ie through their email or other viewers, and the stats aren’t updated in that case).
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I do enjoy writing and reading posts, so you’re right, as long as I keep enjoying it, I’ll keep at it. Thanks.
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Comments have dropped a lot everywhere. I think it’s a problem with WordPress because LIKES have ALSO dropped, even though I see people ARE reading. So if they aren’t clicking LIKE (and that would be because it isn’t working in many places and I know this because they have said so) and many people are also unable to make comments work … well … it’s going to show up. It certainly has shown up on my site and I get a huge number of views … and often virtually NO comments and frequently, hardly any LIKES either. I suggest you “go” with views. They are what matters.
Remember this also: on click = one view. But many people just come to your site through your main page and scroll down through your posts. Their “one view” may mean they’ve read 4 posts. The stats are a nice round figure, but they aren’t the whole story.
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Yeah, I’ve seen enough stats anomalies to know that they are not always reliable. I’d say they’re more indicative than definitive.
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Sometimes it is impossible to leave a like or a comment when using the WordPress app. I’ve had this problem myself many times when I read somebody else’s post and the minute I try and like it or feedback it takes me on some weird loop and tries to get me to log in all over again and I just give up usually
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I have had that problem too, and I generally close the WordPress app (on my iPhone, which is where I do most of my blog reading) and then reopen it and the problem is resolved.
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Ill give that a try cheers
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I think everyone likes to get a lot of likes and comments. And like others said, sometimes WP keeps a reader from liking a post. I enjoy following you and always find your posts interesting.
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Thanks. I appreciate your kind words.
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A large portion of the blogging world, myself included, are concentrated on their nanowrimo projects. October was preparation month and November will find us holed up in our tiny rooms pounding out the next great novel. I am not sure I have even posted a blog this month. I also work in retail so now until Christmas means long hours making sure the world has enough Fidget spinners and Fingerlings to get them through the holidays. Which means I do not spend the time that I would like to on reading. I apologize for my lack of attention and can only offer encouraging words. Keep up the good work and we will come around.
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