On reaching 2 million views and other milestones

Photo: Forrester

Thank you. All I ever wanted to do was write. You have rewarded me by reading, responding, challenging me, and in a few cases, hiring me. As my blog hits 2 million views today, I’d like to reflect on what’s happened so far and what’s in the future.

A few key milestones

I launched this blog on March 26, 2015. I have blogged every weekday since then, a total of 705 posts. At least 95% of those posts have been substantive, rather than promotional. I write for you.

As I look back on two and half years, here’s the tale of the tape:

  • The blog has logged 1.3 million visits and 2 million views. The blog has close to 3,000 subscribers. The subscriber number would be much higher if I used more aggressive tactics to get people to sign up, which I refuse to do.
  • I try to mix up the topics with tips, observations, and various kinds of critiques. The top post categories are Media (194 posts), Politics (177), Corporate (174), Tips (126), and Marketing/PR (123).
  • One year after my book launched, it has 53 reviews on Amazon. I cherish them all, and 90% are positive. Based on what people tell me, the book continues to spread through word of mouth.
  • Twitter and Facebook are the two places where I promote my content. My Twitter profile @jbernoff is up to 25,000 followers from 19,000 when I started this journey. My Facebook page reached 6,000 people last month. Every week I meet new people in these social networks who are believers in what I have to say about writing — or want to tell me how wrong I am.

What you read most

Here are the top posts on the blog since its inception. It’s a healthy mix of useful tips, analysis of corporate writing, and topical political analysis.

I’d also like to mention Deathly euphemisms: “rest in peace” and “thoughts and prayers” which gets a surge of traffic every time there’s a mass shooting. A lot more people are now protesting politicians’ empty words in the wake of these tragedies.

What’s next?

I’ve just begun working on another book. I’ll say more when there is more to say.

I blog every day, not just for you, but for me — it creates structure in my work life and the streak of weekday posts keeps me sharp, engaged, and thinking. Not everything I post is going to be on target, but unless I’m trying with a regular cadence, I won’t get to the next key insight. Thanks for being my audience and my foils and for continuing to challenge me.

And if you need help with thinking about a business book or with a company that needs a kick in the pants about writing better, let’s talk.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

6 Comments

  1. Congratulations on reaching a very significant milestone, Josh.

    I note with interest that there’s one post you regret. Yet you never took it down, and you never (to my knowledge) made significant edits in it. I applaud you for that, and — as a blogger who’s posted a few things I now regret — I wonder if you’d comment. Would taking that post down have somehow been dishonest? Are you simply a don’t-dwell-on-past-mistakes guy? Something else? Thanks.

  2. I wrote it. It would be dishonest to delete it. It is part of what I honestly thought at the time

    This is not a universally held perspective but I feel it is necessary for a no Bullshit blogger. No whitewashing.

    I correct typos and factual errors, not opinions that I changed my mind on.

  3. Congratulations on this accomplishment. Your father is impressed. To bad that your grandfather, the printer, is not here to see this. He would be proud, amazed, and astonished.

  4. Congratulations! Having read your blog for a while now, I’m not surprised by your success in this. I discovered you through the editing and plain language courses I’m taking, and I’m so glad I did. You have helped me become a clearer communicator and have helped me to cut through the bullshit. Thanks!