Happy New Year! At midnight on January 1st, I always seem to get quite reflective on the past year. The year 2009 was a great one for The Not-So-Blog, so I thought I would share a few of my favorite posts, fun events and accomplishments over the last year.
December 2008 brought over 7,000 unique visitors to The Not-So-Blog. One short year later, and the readership has grown to nearly 25,000 unique visitors a month!
In February of 2009, I came to my senses, bought my own domain name and hosting, and made the switch to WordPress. My blog grew up! I also won a full ride scholarship from Label Daddy to attend BlogHer ’09 in Chicago.
My baby turned one in March, I discussed my obsession with sweet tea, and had my ninth wedding anniversary in April. May brought one of my favorite reviews to date and a brand new blog design by Cat at 3 Kids and Us! The Experimental Mommy was born!
Ironically, in June came the addition of The Not-So-June, one of my best friends to the blog. Jennifer began writing product reviews and hysterical posts that certainly helped me keep my sanity as the blog began to grow and reached a milestone in July….my one year blogiversary!
I attended BlogHer ’09 in July which was held in Chicago, IL. This was my very first blogging conference and I couldn’t have been more excited to be there! My roommate Renee and I, tried to learn as much as we could, meet new friends, and fulfill our responsibilities to our sponsors. The schedule was hectic, but totally worth every minute! Coincidentally, if your company would like to sponsor my next blogging conference, feel free to email me to find out how you can benefit!
August is generally a reflective month for me with the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, but this year it was full of new possibilities with the introduction of the Double Duty Divas, a network that I co-founded to help bring mom blogs and companies together.
The highlight of my year was being selected to attend the Nestle Happy, Healthy Family Gathering in Pasadena, CA this September. I had the opportunity to learn about this company, provide my feedback as a consumer and Mom, and meet some incredible bloggers and new friends. Shortly after the trip, I was asked to make my very first blogging television appearance on the “Good Morning, New Orleans” show to review some child safety products. It was much less nerve wracking than I imagined and I actually enjoyed it!
November began the hunt for the infamous Zhu Zhu Pet and led to a collaborative post between Jennifer and myself. As we talked on the phone, we laughed about how crazy we were for hunting down these little $8 fake hamsters for our daughters and we began to formulate what would be the most popular post to date on The Not-So-Blog. The Top Ten Ways to Score a Zhu Zhu Pet this Holiday Season was picked up by the LA Times and doubled the traffic to the site instantly!
Now that the holidays are winding down, I am hard at work ramping up the giveaways for my loyal readers! I have loved developing a relationship with you and the many wonderful PR reps and companies I have had the privilege to work with in 2009. Thank you for your readership, your help promoting my contests on Twitter and Facebook, and most of all, your friendship!
Wishing you all the best in 2010! Stay Tuned for BIG THINGS from The Not-So-Blog!
You had a great year! Hope that 2010 is even better!
Looks like a fabulous year! Good luck and best wishes for the new year hun!
What a fabulous year! Here’s hoping 2010 is just as exciting and just as rewarding! Congrats!
Leanne
Hey B!!! I’m in awe of all the cool stuff you did last year. I’d love to see your TV segment. Is it archived anywhere?
L