I have posted 101 blogs since I began, rather hesitantly, back in 2016 and, my goodness, was that a steep learning curve. I see that I have covered a lot of subjects – from the frazzled: Dejunking One’s Life: The Cupboard of Doom; and the slightly bonkers: Napoleon’s Toothbrush; to literary criticism: Is Mr Rochester really a Woman in Disguise?; to travels abroad: The Park of Monsters (Italy); and visits to interesting places in and around London: A Visit to Kensal Green Cemetery. There are posts on Jane Austen’s novels: Jane Austen: The Power of Money; and visits to Art Exhibitions: Celebrating Artemisia Gentileschi; as well as posts on simple pleasures: The Rose Beetle (as seen by Gerald Durrell in Corfu, and me in Albania), and: I Love Cambridge Market.
Easter daffodils in my garden
However, try as I might, I can’t see a connection between them – except that they are all subjects that interest me. My top three posts until December 31st 2017 were: Jane Austen and the Missing Grandparents, The Case of the Shocking Red Dress and The Whitechapel Benn Foundry. You see my problem. Should I narrow my focus and concentrate on one subject? I honestly don’t know.
Solitary Easter tulip in my garden
And, at the moment, I can’t work out why The Rose Beetle and Shoe Heaven get lots of hits, and others, which I thought might interest people, don’t get so many. So this week I am taking a break and I’m trying to work out which direction I ought to be going in. Does it matter that I like History, and travel, and clothes, and gardens, and reading, and music, and Art, and talking to people, and want to blog about them? I need some thinking time.
I wish you all a very Happy Easter and I shall return next week.
Elizabeth Hawksley
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Hello Elizabeth,
For me, one of the joys of your blog is that I never know what I will find from one week to the next – from shoes to ancient ruins via soup, literature, libraries, art, bell foundries, royal exhibitions, and lots more besides. I should be so sorry to see you cut down on its variety, because it truly does add a little spice to my inbox.
Hello Prem. Thank you so much for this; I was a bit worried about the pick and mix nature of my blogs and you have cheered me up no end. I have a magpie mind – I like lots of different things.
Like you I have an eclectic mind. I love the variety of your posts so please keep on going – in all directions.
Happy Easter
Thank you, Pauline. Your approval is much appreciated. I don’t know why I was getting all het up about it. A happy Easter to you, too.
I always look forward to retrieving my Sunday morning emails, knowing there will be something interesting and unpredictable from the life and mind of Elizabeth Hawksley waiting for me. I appreciate the enormous energy and discipline you put into this, week in and week out, and encourage you always to follow your muse in these matters. My partner, Mary, suggests that eye-catching photos (and you have many) might prove a link to hit count.
Be well and carry on. You are loved.
Steve
Thank you both, Steve and Mary. I’ll bear Mary’s thoughts on eye-catching photos in mind. I think what I really enjoy is making links – like looking at the psychological effects of owning money in Jane Austen’s novels, for example. Muses need treating with respect, they can be perverse as well as inspiring. A Happy Easter to you both.
Agree with the others. I thoroughly enjoy your posts, always learn something, and like the unpredictable nature of them. Keep doing just what you’re doing!
Thank you, Elizabeth. I feel very encouraged by all this support. It’s much appreciated.
Hi Elizabeth…I LOVE all the different subjects you cover. Okay, maybe not each one fantastically but I very much like being exposed/shown something I wouldn’t necessarily have found on my own.
Here is my theory why the 2 posts (Rose Beetle and Shoe Heaven) got more hits than you expected. My theory is based on something similar that happened on a blog I help with on Community Gardening.
It has to do with the words Rose & Shoe. Rose people are always looking up stuff (as are Shoe people). The more hits you get, the more you advance up the algorithm so you get even more hits.
The blog post that got the most hits on our Community Garden site, was on Melons…. Me in my innocence couldn’t figure out what was going on…until we realized MELONS, oh….ahem, some people call boobies melons and so it turns up in their search results. Because as we dug deeper into seeing where the hits were coming from, well, they weren’t from gardening sites….
We thought about trying to figure out a really popular word/tag to put in and on posts from time to time to create more traffic but we never did.
The one thing to consider is if you narrow your focus, will the blog become a chore to you and not as interesting to write.. Especially, since you enjoy writing about anything and everything and tracing connections. Jut a thought.
Vicki
Bless you, Vikki! This is so helpful, and, once you’d explained it, it made perfect sense. Thank you so much for explaining it all so clearly. I added ‘Shoes 1920s’ to my ‘Jazz: The Shock of the New’ post on March 18th and I shall watch its stats with interest!
I was amused by the interest your ‘melons’ attracted!