It’s been a sweet ride

I’ve surprised myself.  The Bodrum Peninsula Travel Guide has made it to it’s first birthday – unscathed!

12 months + 200 blog posts = Cause for celebration

Why am I surprised?

To be honest, mid-way through the year, I just didn’t think I could maintain the momentum.  But just like the pony on my carousel ride – I stayed the course and kept moving forward.

Blogging Newbie

At the beginning of the ride, I had no idea how much effort it took to set up and maintain a blog. Naively, I thought I’d just spout out a continuous stream of articles, illustrated with my travel photo’s, and that’d be enough for me.  And in the beginning it was.

Until I discovered Google Analytics.  Then the chase was on. If you’re a blogger, analytics can give you a bigger sugar high than the pony’s tail on my birthday cake.

It’s all very well blogging about a topic that you’re passionate about (and that’s certainly true for me and the Bodrum Peninsula) but if nobody’s reading your content – what’s the point!?

Putting in the Time

In the first couple of months, getting 10 visitors a day was an achievement – but soon it wasn’t enough, and that’s when the social media element of Blogging kicked in.

It takes continuous effort to raise the profile of a blog, and I hadn’t anticipated the level of effort required for that essential blogging element.  At one point, it became a high-wire juggling act, as I tried to successfully balance the continual creation of blog content and regular social media interaction, with the joys and benefits of actually having a life outside the confines of a 32″ computer screen and hanging onto a mouse’s arse for dear life!

So here I am, a year later.  Daily triple-digit visitors are the norm, I’ve built a supportive network of fellow bloggers, and I love the steady stream of interaction I have with fellow visitors to the Peninsula.

So “a big thank you” for your support and interest – YOU make the effort worthwhile.

Birthday Presents

In honour of my achievement, I gave myself a couple of presents:

1. Complete overhaul of my theme and layout:  I purchased 3 WordPress themes – discarded all of them, and finally settled on this great free Graphene theme.  I loved it so much, that now all of my blogs use it.  Hope you like the new look and feel – and especially the enhanced navigation functionality.  I also created new look and feel “Welcome to the Best of” pages, as a way to introduce you to the different destinations located on the Peninsula. Take a look around, and let me know what you think.
2. Dragon Dictate arrived yesterday.  I’ve been suffering for my Art! As a Project Manager by Day and a Blogger by night – I type so much, that the backs of my hands have been aching, so I invested in this dictation software for my Mac at home, and will be sharing a review of it on my Roving Jay blog.

What’s in store for my 2nd Year?

As you can see, my second year is shrouded in organization. I have 16 articles ready to unleash, and another 143 in the wings.  For such a small area in Turkey, there’s still so much more I have to say on the topic.… and, I’m always on the lookout for Guest Bloggers to share their own stories and experiences of the Bodrum Peninsula, so feel free to send me an email… and share your knowledge!

As well as blog articles, I’m expanding my content output.  In March 2012 I’ll launch my monthly newsletter, and also my Quick Reference Travel Guides.  The first of these will focus on Gümüşlük.

Last but not least, I’m dipping my toe into pod-casting – so that you can listen to Bodrum Peninsula Travel Guide content on your ipod and smart phones.

It’s a busy track — I hope you’re along for the ride!