I meant to do a little blog-iversary post in the fall when we hit our 1 year mark together, but I was so busy with 31 Days of the Simple Things that the anniversary came and went. But it’s still the new year so now is as good a time as any to stop and take a look back over the past year here at ATC.
WordPress (our host) sends out a nifty little report at the end of the year to show you some interesting stats about your site. For instance:
- There were about 11,000 hits last year, our first year. That’s pretty amazing to me, especially since I have done zero marketing or advertising (so far). In fact, the site got it’s start just over a year ago with me sending a private email to 7 of my closest friends. Today there are about 50 regular followers, not including those who follow on the Facebook Page.
- Out of you loyal readers, the top commenters are:
- my Wonder Twin (Serena)
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who has brilliant ideas & I hope to pass on more of her suggestions in the coming year;
- Rebecca from Older & Wisor, who is my new friend found through the 31 Days challenge. Her site is chock-full of creative gems so be sure to visit;
- and my creative pal/idol Beckie who you will be hearing more from in the months to come. She’s going to guest post around here from time to time and you will love her!
- Most of you wandered to this site via Facebook, which is a testimony to all of you who hit the “share” button on a post. Keep it up! But some of you were referred here from some other great sites:
The Paper Studio wrote a great little post on my use of their papers for Natalie’s baby shower. I think I get at least one referral every day from that article. I truly love their papers and hope to use more of them this year. And Paper Studio, if you ever need an affiliate I’m ready-willing-and-able! - I’m getting a lot of hits from Pinterest lately. Various pics get pinned to Pinterest from my site and that leads them back here. I’m not complaining, I hope they stay and share with us!
- Occasionally I will participate in the Linky Parties on other sites, like Thirty Handmade Days. I still get referrals from those link-ups, months later. Thanks to the gals that host those Linky Parties, I know they are hard work.
- Most of our readers are from the good ole US of A however, we have had readers from every continent and countries like Italy, Morocco, New Zealand and Vietnam! How very international we have become!!
- I think this is the most interesting stat of all, the posts. Which posts have generated the most hits, the most searches, the most attention?
For the longest time, this was the number one post, Hudson’s Little Man Party. It got so many hits and for months it was getting all the attention. 
Another really popular post was the DIY Paper Clip Flags I made last year. This one is still getting a lot of hits thanks to Pinterest. - But the number one, hands down, most popular post is one that doesn’t even feature something I made! It is this post:
It was a Friday Recipe I shared from The Chew, Carla Hall’s Mac & Cheese. I didn’t even write that post until October 2011 and in that short amount of time it has far surpassed all other posts in popularity and searches. Dozens of people land at my site every single day looking for that recipe. Now, I could let my ego get in the way and be upset that the number one post on my site isn’t one of my own creations. But here’s the deal: this has never been about me (despite the fact that the site is named after me). Marketing aside, I’ve always wanted this to be a place where we share information, because that’s really what gals do best. We share recipes, cleaning tips, inspirations, highs, lows and everything in between. So go Carla Hall! You make one mean Mac & Cheese!
2011 was a crazy, crazy year. 2012 is looking to be even crazier. But one thing I will continue to do is share with y’all here because I do truly love it. I do get a little overly busy from time to time, and I have to take a couple days off but I always miss sharing with you when I’m away and I have some great things in store for the coming year.
Thanks for coming along with me on this journey!
