Monthly Meta for June 2015

June 2015 was the fourth consecutive month with more than 13,000 page views.  Before this streak began, the blog had reached 13,000+ page views in a month only three times.  It was also the most page views during June in the history of the blog.  I'm impressed with those statistics, but they weren't my readership goals for last month; these were.

June 2014 saw 11,998 page views, so the minimum goal is for 400 page views per day for a total of 12,000.  The medium goal is 12,400 to finish a day ahead and 12,600 for a five percent increase, each of which will require 413.33 and 420 page views per day respectively.  I'm trying to do that while posting no more than 43 entries during the month.  So far, I'm meeting all these goals.  Wish me luck on doing so for the rest of the month.

I succeeded in meeting all these goals.  The blog earned 13,114 page views, an increase of 9.3% over June 2014, well over my high goal for the month.  It did so from only 38 entries, five below the maximum I set for last month.  These numbers translate into rates of 437.1 page views per day and 345.1 page views per post.  The first is slightly higher than May's 443.61 page views per day, while the second is slightly lower than the same month's 352.62 page views per entry.  I'll take that, as I'm more interested in page views per day, which tell me that readership is still higher than last year.

While I don't make goals for comments, as any efforts I make to prompt more are less effective and predictable than what I can do to increase page views, last month was another good one for people responding to my posts at my blog.  Readers left 36 comments last month, the highest since February 2014 with 42 comments.  This is also the most per month so far this year.  I'd be pleasantly surprised if I could do that again this month, but I have no expectations.  Just the same, I'll celebrate this occasion  by awarding an honorable mention for most commented on entry to "Monthly meta for May 2015," which had 4 comments, enough to tie for second place.  However, it only got 85 page views.  In terms of comments per page view, it would have come in first!

The rest of the most commented on posts also made it into one or both of the ten most read lists for June, so I'll pass out those awards later.  Right now, I'm recognizing the most liked entry of the past month.  "'The Last Ship' returns and other summer TV fare" earned 22 pluses on Google Plus--all this with only 82 page views.  The post earned its "likes" though my sharing it in "The Last Ship" community on Google Plus, where the community members voted it up again and again.  That's one enthusiastic group of fans!  It's possible this may be the most "liked" entry on Google Plus in the history of the blog.

Follow over the jump for the top fourteen, which consists of the top ten for the month as of 11:59 PM EDT on June 30th plus three that had been on the list and the tenth most read entry actually posted during June, as well as my goals for July.

Honorable Mentions

The tenth most read entry posted during June 2015 is "Pope Francis and Congressional Climate Message Day."  It earned most of its 126 page views according to the raw counter by being shared at The Archdruid Report.  Unlike the rest of the ten most read entries posted during June, it didn't get into the default counter's top ten for the month.  This entry also received an honorable mention for most commented with four comments, which ties it for second.

"WXYZ finds local angle on data breach," one of three entries about cyberwarfare this past month, was the ninth most read entry posted during June 2015 with 151 page views according to the raw counter.  It was briefly in the default top ten at tenth place with 132 page views.  Sharing the link at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs earned the post its readers.

The eighth most read entry posted during June 2015 was "Bird flu in Michigan."  It had 162 page views according to the raw counter and briefly appeared in the default top ten, where it had 132 page views at the time.  It got most of those from my sharing the link at Greer's blog.

Before I begin the top ten as of the end of the month, I'm sharing an entry that was in the top ten all month except for the last day, when it fell out.  It's "Overpopulation: student sustainability video festival 32."  According to the default counter, it had 220 page views during June, good enough for a tie for seventh, and ended the month with a total of 362 page views according to the raw counter since it was posted at the end of April.  The entry earned its views by being shared at Kunstler's blog on the first day of June and catching fire.  It gets an honorable mention for its trouble.

Top ten as of 6/30/15 at 11:59 PM EDT

It's now time for the top ten proper, which begins with "The full meme about cougars and Twinkies includes bacon."  It had briefly been in the top ten, but it popped back up in tenth place to stay at the end of the month with 175 page views, 185 according to the raw counter.  Nearly all those page views came from being shared at Greer's blog.  This entry was also the seventh most popular among those posted during June 2015.

Next in the top ten is "Vladimir Putin, Macho Man," which came in ninth on the most read list for June 2015 and sixth among the entries posted during the month with 182 page views, 187 according to the raw counter.  It got views from my sharing it at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs, then received a final post over the top from Infidel753 sharing it at his blog.  He did that with several entries last month, including one where it made a big difference.

The eighth most read entry overall and the fifth most read among those posted during June was "Sith Jihad's use of social media a double-edged sword."  This was the second entry about cyberwarfare in this month's top ten.  It ended the month with 182 page views, 217 according to the raw counter.  It got those page views through my sharing the link at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs.  It also tied for second among the most commented entries with 4 comments.

Only three entries from the back catalog made it into June's top ten.  The first was "The science of fatherhood for Father's Day" from June 15, 2014.  It earned 220 page views through being shared on social media, particularly as my Father's Day link on the Coffee Party's main Facebook page.  That's most of the 309 page views it earned in its entire history and enough to give it seventh place overall for the month.

The second entry from the back catalog in June's top ten was "Duverger's Law works, a response to Kunstler" from July 2, 2014, exactly one year ago.  I shared it at Greer's blog, which attracted 234 page views, enough to place it sixth overall for the month.  That's more than half of the 422 page views the post earned over the past year.

The fifth most read overall and the fourth most read among entries posted during June was "Presenting the colors for Flag Day."  It earned its 239 page views, 267 according to the raw counter, by being shared on the drum corps Facebook groups.  Only later did I share it as part of a comment on Kunstler's blog, which had little effect.  On the other hand, the drum corps people loved it!

The final cyberwarfare entry of the three this past month was "Putin's hackers and agents," which came in fourth overall and third among those posted during June.  It earned its 269 page views, 311 according to the raw counter, from being shared at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs.

"Trump is Penguin for President" was the first of two entries about Donald Trump in June's top ten.  It came in third overall and second among entries posted last month with 311 page views, 319 posted last month.  It earned its readers through the links shared at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs.  It's because of this entry that my label for Trump on this blog is The Penguin.

The second entry about Donald Trump in the top ten was "Trump combs in second in New Hampshire poll; hilarity ensues."  In addition to being the second most read post overall last month, it earned two titles.  First, it was the most read among all entries posted during June with 341 page views according to both counters.  Second, it was the most commented on entry for June with 6 comments.  It achieved all of these through Infidel 753's efforts.  First, he shared it at Crooks and Liars, which attracted 166 visits.  Then he shared it at his own blog for at least another 28 visits.  Thanks, dude!

The most read entry of the month and the winner of the Revenge of the Back Catalog trophy is "Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts," posted April 6, 2014.  It earned its 455 page views in June almost entirely through web search with minor social media promotion.  This entry has been in the monthly top ten all this year.  It currently has 1381 page views, 2940 according to the raw counter, and ranks third on the all-time list.

Goals

I conclude by sharing my goals for the month.  First, July 2014 saw 12,764 page views, so the minimum goal is for 412 page views per day for a total of 12,772.  The medium goal is 13,184 to finish a day ahead and 13,402 for a five percent increase, each of which will require 425.3 and 432.3 page views per day respectively.  I'm trying to do that while posting no more than 44 entries during the month.  So far, I'm meeting all these goals.  Wish me luck on doing so for the rest of the month.