Every month I like to take a look back at the last month and share with my readers how this blog and its sister site did against themselves for previous months. I know at least one of my readers likes that, but I like to share the information for a couple of reasons. First, for poetry bloggers who may be starting out and not sure of themselves, it could serve as some level of encouragement that growth is possible and may provide some insight into how to obtain that growth. Secondly, I think sharing this information can, and my hope is that it would, be an impetus to discuss what my readers expect in a poetry blog. I particularly like to share what my top posts are because when I look at them I see what may be considered my own strengths and weaknesses as a blogger and I want to play more to my strengths (because I’m selfish that way), but also because I think my regular readers, most of whom I presume are poetry bloggers themselves, can see what people are reading and perhaps find something to take away from the trends they see here and make themselves better bloggers.

That was a long paragraph, but I felt it necessary to explain my larger purpose. It’s more than bragging on myself.

And now, the milk that feeds my ego ….

Top 10 World Class Poetry Blog Posts
I take a look at the top 10 posts of all time occasionally because I like to see if any new posts have nudged their way to the top. If newer posts manage to knock some of the mainstays off the list then that says a lot about what type of poetry discussion my readers are interested in or, at the very least, what may be a big draw for new visitors to the site. So here they are:

• Poetics: The 7 Essential Elements Of Poetry – Up from No. 4 last month. How the poetics of film and Aristotle’s principles relate to contemporary poetry.
• How To Market Your Poetry Online – Was first on the list last month. Internet marketing tips for poets.
• Ushering In Black History Month With Poetry By Langston Hughes – Was top post in February 2008. I’m not sure if it’s due to black history month or if it was the poetry of Langston Hughes. Either way, it has staying power.
• Top 10 World Class Poetry Pages – This is the most interesting new development of all, partly because it’s a new member of the list and secondly because this was my first top 10 post – back on December 1, 2007 when this blog was not even three months old. Note that the top 10 list covers World Class Poetry, not WCP blog posts.
• Hyperbole: A Necessary Evil In Poetry Or Politics – One of my earliest posts (Sept. 12, 2007), and it’s been on the list every month. Last month it was No. 2.
• Blog Critique: Poetry By Stacey – One of my most controversial of posts. I don’t know that it will ever get knocked off the list. People must really like to watch a good fight.
• What About My Copyright? – Only three days old. Wow. But note that if I’d made this list on May 1 it wouldn’t have made it. I predict this one will rise higher on the list for next month.
• 40 Poetry Podcasts You’ll Love – I didn’t realize poetry podcasting was so popular. Evidently it is.
• Poetic Craft: Rilke’s Letters Prove His Devotion To Poesy – This is the shortest post on the list. Still a powerhouse.
• On Being A Poet: 7 Things You Should Know – Frivolous post. Shows my whacked out sense of humor.

What can we learn from this list? That I can write long-assed blog posts, and people like them. Is that strange?

May 6: World Class Poetry Blog’s Red Letter Day
Yesterday was a record-breaking day for me. I hit an all-time high in number of RSS subscribers and I received the third highest in traffic numbers in one day for the blog. Not too bad. You’d think it might have something to do with the dumbest of the 20 worst agents, but I doubt it. It likely had more to do with my post on copyrights, a topic of interest to a broad range of creators online. That post did, after all, make the top 10 list, in just two days nonetheless (these stats are reflected through yesterday). Incidentally, yesterday was the day I broke my record in RSS subscribers. Welcome aboard new subscribers!

Another thing, these top 10 posts are for all time, not just for the month of April so some of them may not have had as much recent traffic but received enough traffic early on to keep them on the list. Still, it is a telling list, don’t you think?

Drive-By Shootings: Poetry Traffic Riddles Me With Bullets Of Sweat
April being National Poetry Month didn’t surprise me at all in terms of setting new records. I expected it. I’ve had an upward climb in my stats for well over a year now. Every time I create a new page, in fact, my numbers go up. I hit over 10,000 visits in one month in March so I expected well over that for April. As it turns out, the poetry site hit 14,393 visits and 13,560 unique visitors. The blog had 3,500 visits last month and 3,040 of those were unique visitors.

The blog numbers for April were pretty comparable to what they were in March, surprisingly, but the bright side is that I’ve got nearly 500 repeat visits on the blog. That isn’t too bad for a niche this small and for a blog that’s only been active for a little over half a year. I’ve already seen the poetry site numbers go back down to the neighborhood they were in during March. That just shows that National Poetry Month interests increased the traffic flow to my website, but it doesn’t seem to have affected the traffic to the blog. I have no idea why.

Where’s The Poetry, Pal?!
If you’re wondering what all of this means, so am I. Personally, I’m glad to see the growth. To me, it’s an encouragement. I hope it is as well for my readers. I’d be interested in your feedback. Do you see any meaning in any of this? What type of posts would you like to see more of? Less of? Want to kill me yet?