It's around 5 months & 6 days since I started this blog, back in October. It was on a whim, a totally spontaneous decision, founded on the need to express my thoughts, my opinions, my views (alright, they are all the same thing!) on the Wayne Rooney saga. I wasn't even a guest author on some established blog, so it seemed the only way to do that. So I started this blog, which was first called 'Traffordshire.com' - a name I had in mind way back since 9th grade. Then one friend told me (like Justin Timberlake tells Jesse Eisenberg in 'The Social Network') that cut the 'dot com' part in the name, coz in the end I'd confuse the handful of readers, who would type in the name as the URL next time only to get the 'Error. Page Not Found' result. Since the name Traffordshire alone did not suffice for me, Traffordshire County was born.
I know I haven't been able to write more of late, as regular readers (if there are any!) might have observed the decline in the frequency of posts as every month passed. But then, my schedule doesn't allow me either to write as frequently as the best guys in the business, say Republik of Mancunia, The Busby Way, United Latest or someone like them. Honestly, I would've written more had my current routine not been so exhausting. But then, everytime I get down to write something on the blog, it's always felt great!
Now as the headline may have indicated, this post relates to the stats of the blog. Ideally, I would've written this when I'd have completed 6 months, but my super-occupied pre-exam time during the next one & a half months will probably stop me from writing much, or anything to be precise. So I present to you, the readership results of Traffordshire County, at the end of 5 months!
I'm pleased to say that Traffordshire County achieved 5500+ visits (courtesy Blogger Stats) as on 20th March 2011, with a substantial rise in readership from late December 2010. The first 2 months had some 900+ visits, but the last 3 months have recorded 1500+ visits each time to propel the figure beyond the mark of 1100+ readers every month! Thank you so much all of you readers!
The readership of my blog is highest in the United Kingdom (900+), followed by the United States (650+) and my native India coming third (500+) on the list. Also, notable mentions to our readers from Indonesia, Denmark, Singapore & Malaysia (250+ each). I'll say I'm not surprised by the highest numbers coming from the UK, given the fact it's the birthplace of football. But India coming below the US? That's not something I anticipated. Where are you my dear Indian readers? I need my countrymen to read my blog! Looks like I'll have to fare much better in reaching out to more United fans in India. Maybe Sid of 'Bangalore To Old Trafford' (read his awesome blog) gobbled up all of them before I even started writing!
The most popular post has been the one which reported the fact that Man United was the most supported club in India. The post was liked so much that it even got a reckon from 'EPL Talk' (listen to their weekly podcast, it's simply awesome!), which actually helped push further traffic onto the site! Only a small bunch bunch of Scousers came out denouncing this, as expected. Apart from that, I'm pleased to tell that the unique (yes, I can claim it) blog feature 'EPL Weekly Round-Up' has been very popular, alongside other blog features 'Rival Rendezvous' & the club transfers special 'In & Out'. I plan to convert the buzzing weekly feature 'In A Nutshell' into a sort of newsletter soon, given the fact that it's been attracting readers in recent times. It's my promise that Traffordshire County will keep bringing new & innovative features to all the readers of our blog!
This blog has also helped me gain some standing on other blogs. I first got an opportunity to write a guest column for the blog 'Bangalore To Old Trafford', and then I was given the chance to co-write the United section of the excellent football blog 'BigFourZa' on a regular basis! And all of this because of you, readers. Had the readership of the blog dwindled, I would've left writing out here long time back. But since you guys kept coming back, it gave me great encouragement to continue my passion for writing. Thank you so very much!
As to the feedback part, it's not very often that I get comments on my blog. I've written over 45 blogposts, but the total number of comments till date is just 13. I've always held that readership is important, but if a reader tells the writer how good or bad he is, the writer can only go on to become a better one. So it's my humble request to you, if you feel like commenting, please do comment! It's a gesture I believe even the most popular blogger in the world would appreciate.
As I told you before, I've been busy of recent. So I think I won't mind having another writer on my blog, either a regular one or even as a guest author. I know there are many guys out there who have it in them to write, but for some reason haven't done it yet. So if you got something to say to the world (including non-United fans), you can write in to me anytime at abhinav.c.208@gmail.com & I'll see to it that it gets published to the modest readership of Traffordshire County.
Hope you liked the new 'RED' look of the blog. Even if you didn't, feel free to tell me that by leaving your comments below or drop me a line on Twitter @AbhinavCJ & I'll get back to you right away! And don't forget to check out the new poll question on the blog!!!
In case you want to read the best football insight ever (including mine!), you can check out my writings on the excellent football blog 'BigFourZa' by clicking here.
That's all Folks!
Yours,
CJ
Amazing Deals on Amazon.com - get the excellent book 'Owen Hargreaves: Biography of Manchester United's Midfield Maestro' written by Ian Macleay for a best price of just $1.29!!! And even if you don't buy it, do spare a thought & pray for his return to football action for the Red Devils!
