With the passing of another year, I've been in "review and reflect" mode something fierce. I shared my top posts of the year last week and tomorrow will be a photo review. Of course, I'm polishing up my list of 2013 goals, too. And I got to thinking about when this blog started and how it has developed.
Since beginning The Blue Muse in August of 2009 (whoa, how time flies), I've written 553 posts, not including this one. The early posts (see here, here and here for samples) make me smile for their randomness, clear evidence of my place in the world (as an enfianced lady living states away from her beloved and struggling through the first year of a doctoral program), and lack of typical bloggy features like pictures and labels, etc. I got into the swing of things in 2010 and "enjoyed" a blog boost in 2011, thanks to my Southwest 812 experience that generated a lot of exposure for a minute or two.
Now? I've got a pretty steady-but-quiet following including lots of friends, family, colleagues and I suspect, lurkers (you know who you are). Heck, I've even developed a few good "blog friends"--people who I "know" even though we've never met. But I must admit, I don't exactly know my blog follower people very well beyond the few comments here and there, the occasional debate on Facebook, and what the Google stats tell me. I'm not certain how folks find the blog (search, bookmark, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), why they stick around to read, or what topics they find most engaging (or not).
To remedy the not-knowing-you-well business, dear readers (and to make the former marketer in me stop crying), I've developed a super short readership survey for you. It's 10 questions, mostly multiple-choice and you don't even have to study. Click here to take it, please and thank you!
To sweeten the deal, you can enter to win a $15 e-gift card for either Starbucks or Amazon.com. Just follow the directions in the survey.
Survey closes Wednesday, January 2 at 5 p.m. PST and the winner will be announced Thursday.
Thank you in advance!
xoxo,
shawnaLabels: blog, blogging, blue, comments, giveaway, lurking, muse, readership, survey, surveys, writing
