Well, 2012 is almost in the books as they say. It has been a good growth year for Your Friend 4 Life. There were a lot of firsts. First full year with the name change, website, social media, logos and blogging. I feel it is appropriate to reflect and set goals for the upcoming 2013 year. One of the things I reviewed was how my blogs did over the course of the year. What subjects were most popular, where blogs were promoted, how they were promoted in order to learn and adapt to be better in 2013. Here is what I learned about my top 5 blogs using “Google Analytics”.

The most popular blog was $3 Million Cup of Coffee by quite a margin. The lesson I learned from this blog was how important the title is when posting a blog. The title must be interesting enough to make the reader want to click and read the blog. It was actually one of the least commented on blogs I wrote but one of the most shared on social media.

The second most read blog was Math Equation 5 Friends = You. This blog was written to be inspirational about the influence of those we spend the most time with. Somehow it sparked a fire storm of comments.  Still not quite sure how it turned to a religious tone, but it really took a course of its own. This has been one of my most interesting lessons.

The third most read blog was When Someone Asks You What Do You Do? Do You Respond Correctly? This blog is about taking the time to form one’s elevator speech. I believe its success was due to the fact a lot of salespeople and business owners struggle to walk the line between saying too much and not enough. No one wants to sound pushy at the first introduction. But no one wants to lose a potential client as well. This blog helped walk that line.

The fourth most read blog was How Many Messages Should I Leave?  This is also one of those topics that plagues salespeople. Where is the line between being aggressive and persistent and annoying or stalking? There were some interesting comments that came from this blog. In this new world of technology, how do salespeople reach their prospects?

Finally the number 5 most read blog of 2012 was Facts Tell, Stories Sell. Are You A Good Story Teller? The success of this blog really caught me by surprise. Not only was it shared on social media a lot, but I was asked to guest blog with this on a successful social media company’s blog.

Here are some of my blogging lessons of 2012. First, the title is very important. Second just because I like a certain blog doesn’t mean it will be successful. Third, content is huge. Write about things people want to learn about. It needs to be useful information. Lastly, the most successful blogs are about helping others and not about me or my products and services. I will take this information and try to be a better blogger in 2013.

“There are two types of people who will tell you that you can’t make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try themselves and those who are afraid that you will succeed.” —Ray Goforth

yourfriend4life.com

Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.