WHO'D HAVE THOUGHT?
18 months ago I wrote a post celebrating the fact that I had reached 250,000 views. It seemed like an impossible number to me at the time. For someone who thought they'd be lucky if they had 50 views, I was staggered to see that I'd reached quarter of a million! I know that some bloggers get this number of views every month (that blows me away) but I was stunned to have reached that number in total - and I must admit to a little Macarena dance to honour the occasion!Fast forward to now and I've just hit the half million mark! That is beyond amazing to me because.... "who'd have thought?!" I'm a Midlife woman writing about whatever catches my fancy and people (not just my mother!) have come to read my stuff LOTS of times. I'm not sure who all those people are, but I am gobsmacked and chuffed and delighted all rolled into one little happy parcel.
RULES AND NOT FOLLOWING THEM
I mentioned in that earlier post that when I started I didn't know there were blogging rules. I learned them as I went along, then realized that I didn't like most of them. I don't have a Wordpress blog, I don't pay someone to host it for me, I don't have dozens of pop-up ads, I don't have email sign-up prompts. I'm just Me - writing and hoping someone might like what I share.The other BIG blogging "thing" is to make money. I don't use my blog to make money - I go to a 9-5 job a couple of days a week to bring in the bucks. My blog is my happy place, it's where I connect with people, it's where I share the random thoughts that interest me. I love that I don't have to fit into an advertiser's box - I can if I want to, but I don't have to do anything that doesn't suit me. Where else in life do you get to do what you like on your own terms?
THE BEST BITS
By far, the best bit of blogging has been meeting people from all over the world. It's like having a group of penpals who all know each other. We share snippets of our lives and we cheer each other on and encourage each other when we feel like quitting. These women have helped me accept myself, accept Midlife, and to see the positives of being in my 50's. We're happy in our own skins and loving this age and stage.Another good bit is that occasionally someone will tell me, or email me, or comment on a post, to say that something I wrote really resonated with them. They've found a similar situation in their own life and how I've approached it in my life has given them the sense that they're not alone (and they're not!) Doing Midlife together and doing it well is what my blog is all about.
Yet another good bit is just starting, From the beginning of June, I have several other Midlife bloggers who are going to guest post for me and share something from their lives. I'm calling it Social Saturday and it's like having a friend stop by for a cuppa and a chat with me (and my friends). I'm so excited to see it unfold over the next few months. Watch out - you might be on my hit list of potential guests! If you see yourself as a guest - then email me and I'll add you to my list.
And don't forget that you're welcome to a copy of my free E-Book if you don't have one already. This was something else blogging has stretched me into trying - and maybe there'll be more down the road.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Holy cow! I couldn't even imagine reaching 1,000 views, let alone half a million! Maybe I'll shoot for another year of blogging and see where that takes me. I find it hard to believe that you might come back and keep reading my stuff (well, I know my Mum will, but I wasn't so sure about anyone else!) How fantastic would it be to come back here in another couple of years and write about having had a MILLION views of my little piece of the interwebbities? Un-believe-able!But, I'm not going to even think that far ahead - I'll just keep going one week at a time and keep having fun. It's all about having fun, or why would I do it? I'm going to think, and write, and chat, and find quotes I love, and pictures I love, and over-share about my family and my life. My kids let me know if it's too much for them - the latest "thing" was that my daughter, who teaches High School English, told me that one of her classes managed to find baby pictures of her online - from my blog! Fortunately she was okay with it - I'm not sure how I'd ever have gotten rid of them!
A HUGE THANK YOU!
So, if you are one (or more) of the 500,000 views I've had - then I want to say THANK YOU!! I want to say how much I love that I seem to have organically found myself and my people. I love the comments, the interaction, reading other blogs and commenting on them, the Facebook groups, and the huge boost blogging has given to my well-being and my self esteem.I never imagined writing this post - when I wrote about hitting ¼ of a million views I thought that was a fluke and I'd over reached myself. I was sure it would stop after that and I'd run out of things to write about. I was wrong, and I'm so glad I was wrong because now I feel like maybe the journey has just begun. I hope you'll continue on with me and we'll keep sharing this adventure that is Midlife. xxx
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Congratulations! Well deserved... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo - I'm a little bit stunned to think that I'm still going with this blogging adventure and that people actually visit me :)
DeleteOh Leanne, that is so awesome and so well deserved. You've already reached the moon, my friend, and you're carrying right on to the stars, the galaxy, the universe. I may be a quite recent member of your group, but I promise you that I will be a long term one... and I'll love celebrating you again when you hit those million views. But as you say, that's not your focus now. Your focus is to enjoy and celebrate and KNOW that people are reading you because they love what you have to say and how you say it. It just doesn't get any better than that!
ReplyDeleteKaren I'm so pleased we found each other - your encouragement and kind words really are a blessing to me. I'm looking forward to our ongoing blogging friendship and to celebrating more achievements together xx
DeleteCongratulations on hitting 500,000 views, Leanne. This is very well deserved. You are hardworking, honest, sincere, thoughtful, creative and an excellent writer. So your success is not a surprise to me at all. Take some time to celebrate. I look forward to following your posts from here.
ReplyDeleteDonna you are such an encouragement to me - you always have something lovely to say when you visit and it's bloggers like you (and Sue) who have kept me going over the last year or two! Looking forward to continuing our journey together x
DeleteSharing in the joy of your post!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
I'm so delighted for you!
Looking forward to reading many more wise and witty words from your blog!
Take care!
:)
Thanks so much Amy - I love that you stop by and that you always have something kind and thoughtful to share when you comment - thanks so much for finding me xx
DeleteCongratulations! As long as you love it, keep writing. I'm fairly new to your blog, but thoroughly enjoy reading it.
ReplyDeleteHi Laurel - I popped over to your blog and saw that you were pretty new to this whole Midlife blogging gig - left you a couple of comments and I really hope you'll join us on Wednesdays on #MLSTL - your posts would be a perfect fit x
DeleteCongrats! I look forward to reading more...
ReplyDeleteThanks Janet - I'm so glad we met through the AtoZ - that's one of the bonuses of all the intensity of the Challenge - a pay off I think I'd call it! x
DeleteFantastic Leanne :) Congratulations - and well deserved. Your blog is just like having coffee and a chat :) xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo - and we really need to do an IRL coffee together again sometime soon - time just keeps getting away from me but that is a pathetic reason!
DeleteCongrats. That is really cool
ReplyDeleteThanks Patrick - it's probably a drop in the ocean for a lot of bloggers - but a big deal for me :)
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteIt's good to have milestones so that we can remember why it is we began something - congrats! Like you, I consider blogging as something to satisfy myself first, and if others find something fun or meaningful from it to share it with me, all good and well. It is true that it is akin to penfriends we had as teenagers. It is a joyful thing. May you have many more years of talking to the ether! YAM xx
Thanks Yam - you summed it up beautifully - it's such a joy opening my blog each day and chatting with friends and reading new stuff and opening my world a little bit more each time I do it. So glad we met through the Challenge xx
DeleteThat's so amazing!! It goes to show that you have really made people feel special and that's just the best, Leanne!!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Jodie, you're probably one of those bloggers who have half a million views every month - so I'm really pleased you pop by and visit me in amongst all your other writing, commenting and replying :) x
DeleteCongratulations Leanne! I like blogging for the same reasons you do. You know what - I wouldn't have a clue how many views my blog has had. I rarely look at my stats. I guess I should! #TeamLovinLife
ReplyDeleteMine has a counter in the sidebar Min and I noticed it creeping towards 500,000 a few weeks ago and I got all excited about it :)
DeleteCongratulations on achieving such a huge following of loyal subjects. Mind you, nothing you do surprises me. When you set your mind to do something, you go in boots and all. As your most loyal follower, my day starts with opening my iPad to see what revelations are unfolding on your morning post. I missed this morning as I was busy packing the car to head home after a lovely week with my three wonderful children. Thank you for spending the day prowling the shops with me yesterday, it was great and thankyou for being such a beautiful daughter, inside and out. Mum.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mum - I'm not sure that they're all as loyal as you are, but it's lovely to have found a community for myself and to have such great support and encouragement. It's lovely having you onboard (although I do have to be more careful what I write these days!)
DeleteI'm definitely not your Mum and I visit your blog regularly and not just for MLSTL linkup. Congratulations, I feel another Macarena coming on. I blog differently to you but there is room for all of us, isn't that wonderful. I love the sound of your Social Saturday, can't wait to read those posts.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan - I really hope you'll think about being a guest on Social Saturday - I'll be hitting on all my favourite bloggers as the year progresses. I also think it's great that we all blog differently - or it'd be a pretty boring experience wouldn't it?
DeleteHello Leanne, just found you from Blog Share Learn. So serendipitous! I write about people who bloom creatively in midlife and beyond. Congrats on your milestone...looking forward to reading more of your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Debra - I'm so glad you found me! I'll be over to visit you to say Hi and to check out your blog. I love this Midlife community and I hope we'll get to connect more in the months ahead x
DeleteWell done you!!!! Quite the milestone, and very exciting :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Cherie - at the rate you're going, you'll be celebrating yours too - I love reading your posts - commented on one today but watched my comment disappear into the ether - I hope it magically finds its way to you (in your spam folder??) xx
DeleteWell done Leanne! Your blog is fantastic and I look forward to reading it every week here on the Lovin' Life Linky. #TramLovinLinky
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy - and thanks for being one of the lovely people who contributed to me getting this far in my blogging journey - the support from the Aussie contingent has been wonderful :)
DeleteCongratulations, Leanne, and well deserved! I look forward to reading your upcoming posts and your Social Saturday idea sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI'll be hitting on everyone who's interested in guest posting over the course of the year Natalie - so beware!
DeleteThat's awesome! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy - I was really honoured to think I'd had so many visitors over the last few years - I've met so many lovely people!
DeleteCongratulations Leanne. I have to say I never look at my statistics so I have no idea how many views I have. lol Blogging has a big learning curve and I am still learning.
ReplyDeleteI have a little counter in my sidebar Victoria - I noticed it was edging up to 500,000 the other day and when I told my husband he replied with "there must be a blog post in that" - you can tell he's been around my blogging for too long!
DeleteCongratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you - I was so pleased about it that I had to write a post in honour of the occasion!
DeleteOh, wow! Can I say I knew you when . . .?
ReplyDeleteWith all the posts you do Diane, and all the visits and comments I think you'd be running circles around me for visitor numbers :)
DeleteCongratulations! That’s marvelous. Thinking of all the silly rules you broke-I hope your blog is your happy place for a long time to come. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI'm such a careful person Alana and really wanted to do this blogging thing right when I first started, then I realized it wasn't fun when I started following all those rules - so I just wing it and hope people keep visiting :)
DeleteI'm late to the party Leanne but you know you are my BBB and a heart felt congratulations. You have done so well and I learned much from you and our friendship of 3 years - can you believe that! Not many can say they have had 200,000 pageviews so you are in an elite club and doing all on your own with no VAs or extra promotion. What an inspiration and now the only way is up, my friend so keep going. I hope you will still talk to me know that you are 'famous'. LOL:) Love and friendship, Sue xx
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't for you cheering me on over the years Sue I'd have thrown the towel in and would probably be doing macrame in my spare time! Thanks so much for being my BBB and for all your kind words on a personal level during tough times too. I think you're also more famous than I am with your MC'ing gig etc - so we'll just keep having fun and hopefully we'll both still be doing it in years to come xx
DeleteHuge congrats to you Leanne, you are an inspiration and I love reading your posts. I’m like you in many aspects of blogging and love my own space to share. I often wonder what I’d be doing if I wasn’t blogging! All the best for your future of blogging and I look forward to reading more from you.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how you discover something and it just clicks isn't it Deb? I would never have dreamt that blogging would be such a good fit for me. When I started I had absolutely no idea about anything and yet here I am today with a fantastic group of blogging friends, a blog that I love, and no desire to move on to anything else - we're all in this together x
DeleteWow. Just wow. As a member of that mid-life tribe, I’m glad you’re continuing to help us feel we are not alone in the journey. You are one of my must-read bloggers. It’s not just your mum!
ReplyDeleteI'm the same with yours too Pat - I love what you write and that we've connected. I'm still awestruck that you stuck with me through the AtoZ - that was commitment! My mum will be happy to know that she's not the only one reading my posts too :)
DeleteCongratulations Leanne, and very well done. That is really cool. And to think that not so long ago you were wondering if your blogging muse may have deserted you! Clearly not!! And thank you for all the ways you encourage and support your fellow bloggers xx :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sue - this is the thing with blogging isn't it? You get to encourage others while you get supported right back. I love the connections and friendships and the joy blogging brings - I never had an inkling of what lay ahead when I started - if I did, I'd have started years earlier!
DeleteThat's my mother in law, the champion blogger with half a million views!!! :-D Congratulations, you really have done incredibly well, and since I've started blogging myself I've come to realise just how well!Keep at it, and I'll be cheering with you when you reach a million :-). xox
ReplyDeleteAhhhh Favourite DIL and my little Padawan (it took me a while to remember the Star Wars term for protege! I'm getting old!) I don't think anyone has any idea of what this blogging madness is until they jump into the fray and start riding the wave. I'm so glad I've been able to make some of it easier for you - and maybe you'll reach a million before me now that you're on the bandwagon :) xx
ReplyDeleteHighly unlikely! I'm sure you will have many occasions to say to me "Much to learn you still have, my very young apprentice." ;-) :-D
DeleteCongratulations, Leanne :-)
ReplyDeleteBlogging is so much fun.
We meet and connect with so many people from different parts of the world.
Wish you best.
Take care
Pradeep | bpradeepnair.blogspot.in
Hi Pradeep - I've been so pleased with how you've connected into our #MLSTL group and for your kind comments on my blog - meeting new people is such a bonus from the AtoZ.
DeleteCongrats to you! That is such an accomplishment, and I love that you have created your blog and grown it on your own terms. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI love how different all the blogs are that I read Candi - so many different things that get focused on and so many overlaps to keep the connections going. It's been such a joy meeting people and growing my blog x
DeleteCongratulations on such a big milestone. You deserve all this success, it's obvious you're passionate about what you blog about and put a lot of effort in. I like that you've thrown the rule book out of the window and are doing things your own way-it's obviously working!
ReplyDeleteHi Tizzy - it's been great meeting you through the AtoZ and I love how we are all different and yet can appreciate what is offered and support and cheer each other on. Thanks so much for stopping by with your lovely thoughts.
DeleteHi Leanne! Congratulations for hitting your high number. But even more importantly than that (at least to me) is that you did it your way AND you are still having fun. I too decided a long time ago not to write for money or try to fit into the "rules" of the expert bloggers. If it isn't rewarding and fun for me, I would give it up. But like you, I get so very much out of the experience that I plan to continue indefinitely. Keep spreading the positive and uplifting because the world needs it now more than ever. ~Kathy
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind words Kathy - you were one of the first bloggers I ever came across and one of the only ones I follow. I love your thoughtful posts and always learn something from them. Mine are a little lighter on content - but that's all part of the variety of this blogging tribe isn't it?
DeleteCongrats on your milestone! I think we all had to 'learn by doing' when blogging but the main thing I do is have fun and post what I want to post.
ReplyDeleteThat's the secret really isn't it Betty? Having fun, sharing thoughts, meeting new people, and doing it in a way that makes us want to keep coming back - I love blogging!
DeleteCongratulations on your half a million mark!
ReplyDeleteLove the fireworks picture to go along with your great news.
I chose them for how celebratory they looked Trisha - couldn't resist having them to accompany my self-cheer!
DeleteWhat an amazing feat!!! Congratulations. So proud of you and happy for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leslie - it's nothing to some bloggers, but it was a big deal for me xx
DeleteCongratulations Leanne! I love your blog, and I see that I am not alone; I'm in good company. Keep doing your thing, and we'll keep coming back to view and comment and share. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's all about the connections isn't it Christie? I'm so glad we've met and I'm sure I'll be sending congrats your way sometime soon x
DeleteYay! And "you're welcome". :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for both of those Leanne xx
DeleteCONGRATS!!! Here's to looking forward to one million!!!
ReplyDelete