Another year has come and gone. On this New Year’s Eve, a time when we traditionally take stock of our selves, I want to turn an eye on this website—and offer a peek behind the curtain.
I’ve been blogging at jweberle.com for many years, but my output has significantly slowed compared to my early days. A decade ago, I used to average over 50 blog posts a year. In 2023, I managed to write 13, but I’ve learned to prioritize quality over quantity and this has lead to those few posts reaching a much wider audience than ever before.
In 2023, nearly 2,700 people read my site 3,500 times. That makes 2023 my best year for visits and views since 2015, despite publishing far fewer posts. My readers came from all over the world; the majority from the United States, where I live, but also lots of folks in India, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Australia, Pakistan, Brazil, Hong Kong, and Chile found their way to my words, which is pretty incredible.
When I look back on my top performing posts for the year, there are the usual suspects, posts that have proven for whatever reason to have an incredibly long shelf life. There’s An Open Letter to Sherlock Holmes, which draws hundreds of eyeballs every year. There’s also the outdoorsy Best Urban Kayaking Spots in Tacoma, which has a resurgence every summer since I wrote it. And there’s Smooth Sailing: My Toast to the Happy Couple, an actual toast I gave for my friends Nathan and Danika when I was the best man at their wedding.
But there were also newcomers to the party. Two posts I wrote this year rocketed up the charts, usurping the old guard: Nostalgia for Things That Never Were (And Never Will Be) and Perilous Times: A Conversation With Fantasy Author Thomas D. Lee.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both posts accompany episodes of my podcast, Dispatches with Jonny Eberle. Since launching the podcast wt the tail-end of 2022, it’s proven to be a good way for me to stretch my storytelling muscles with the side benefit of being another way to grow my audience and direct folks to the site. Every time I publish a new episode, I see a corresponding jump in website traffic.
This is all good news because 2023 was a hard year to promote yourself on the internet. Social media is no longer the best way to spread the word, as Facebook deprioritizes content from people you know in favor of advertisers and the implosion of Twitter/X (which I no longer use). It’s increasingly clear that creatives can’t rely on social media companies to share our work for free—you can either pay to run ads or find ways to curate an audience on platforms you control. With my website and my monthly email newsletter, I can choose to skip the middleman.
It’s been a busy year and I expect 2024 to bring new challenges and new opportunities for connection with all of you. Thank you for reading, commenting, listening, and subscribing. I really appreciate your support and wish you a very happy new year.
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Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, and storyteller. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His writing has been published in Creative Colloquy, Grit City Magazine, and All Worlds Wayfarer. You can listen to his audio drama, The Adventures of Captain Radio, and his writing podcast, Dispatches with Jonny Eberle, wherever you enjoy podcasts.
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