blogging_at_iliyanastareva.com_in_2014

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a fantastic time welcoming 2015.

The first day of the New Year is often the time when we look back at what’s happened in 2014 and what we’ve learned and achieved. And we also make some New Year’s resolutions (admit it, cliché or not, you have done so too!).

Just as I did for my 2012 and 2013 blogging at iliyanastareva.com reviews, today I am going to dive into my Google Analytics to see how the blog has performed in 2014 and what posts you liked the most. I will then tell you a little bit more about my New Year’s blogging resolutions.

But let’s start with a few things I want to mention before I move onto the data.

First, I want to express my deepest gratitude to you for following my writing. I can't believe the blog is now 3 years old! :)

Second, I want to reflect on my biggest wish for 2014, which was to seriously advance in my career. I achieved that by joining HubSpot as a Channel Consultant in December, which was a significant career jump for me. I’m now looking forward to challenging myself at my new role, learning a lot and sharing that with you. I also can’t wait to get to know my new home and country better – Dublin, Ireland. :)

Third, over the past few weeks you've probably noticed quite a few changes to the blog with a completely new site and design. After joining HubSpot I transferred my blog to it. I've been meaning to make the blog more professional for quite a while now, so the integration with HubSpot was just the perfect fit. It also gives me the opportunity to expand on my writing to not just offer you useful information, but also lots of free resources.

To be able to base that content on what you like, I had a look at the most popular posts published in 2014 and by traffic.

Blogging at iliyanastareva.com: Top 10 posts published in 2014:

Looking at the top 10 most popular posts published in 2014, here’s what I learned:

You like practical hands-on advice in easy to digest form such as how-tos or infographics.
Infographics are very popular with five of the posts including such a visual.
Long-form posts do very well: No. 3, 9 and 10 are over 1,500 words; No. 7 - over 5,000!
Current trends around social and digital are found useful.
Storytelling as a subject is quickly gaining popularity.

Blogging at iliyanastareva.com: Top 10 posts with the most traffic in 2014:

Looking at the top 10 posts with the most traffic, I learned that:

Evergreen content still rocks – three of the posts were published in 2013, seven in 2012, but they are still getting a lot of traffic. (As you can see, the 2014 posts didn’t make the list.)
PR content continues to be most popular, particularly when it comes to why work in PR.
Long-form posts do very well. For example, No. 3 and No. 4 on the list have over 1,500 words.
You seem to like quotes and lists with advice, I guess because it’s easy to digest that way.
Sustainability and business as topics are gaining more popularity.

Another interesting data is that 34% of my visitors are 25-34 years old, followed by 18-25 years old that account for 28% of all readers. 16% are between the ages of 35 and 44.

About 19% of you read this blog on mobile or tablet, so I’m glad that with HubSpot my site now has responsive design so that I can offer you a better mobile optimised experience.

The majority of visitors (67%) find my blog on search engines. Social media is also a strong driver with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn leading the pack in that order. Last year it was almost exactly the same with LinkedIn being third. I guess with Pinterest jumping one place ahead I should be pinning even more content!

Looking at the top keywords, many people come to my site by searching for “why work in PR” or “why are you interested in public relations”. With this post I want to say “I hear you, I’ll give you more content on that.” So, here’s my pledge to you for 2015:

What to Expect in 2015 on iliyanastareva.com:

1. As a starter for me to master the inbound methodology with HubSpot, you'll be seeing a lot of PR content that is strongly targeted at students and graduates. That includes:

blog posts, guides and free resources for students who are thinking of writing a dissertation about PR (and social media or sustainability) or are already diving into their research, for example choosing the right topic or what literature to go for. To learn how to make a solid plan for your dissertation, here’s a free checklist you might like:

blog posts, guides and free resources for young graduates looking to get into PR and excelling at their first job, for example what is it to work in PR and how to nail the application process (CVs, interviews etc). If you're wondering whether PR is the right career for you, download the free career profile fit by clicking on this image:

2. I know it looks like only PR, but don't worry, it's not just going to be PR! A lot of exciting things in the areas of social media and sustainability as well as inbound marketing are coming too, with a lot of free resources, practical how-to guides and infographics. So please stay tuned! :)

I hope you enjoy all the new content. Feel free to drop me a line with ideas or suggestions of what you would like to see more. I want to make this a great experience for you!

Cheers to a very happy New Year!