I was inspired by Julie over at Paper Doll School who wrote a really nice post about her 2019 year and I thought, I should do that. I like the idea of doing that.
So, here I am, doing that very thing!
Blog Numbers
93 Paper Dolls were shared on the blog in 2019, which isn’t bad all things considered. Of those 93 paper dolls, 31 were dolls and 62 were clothing posts. The vast majority were Jewels and Gemstones, as I basically abandoned the 2019 Collaborative Paper Doll along the way. More on that in a few paragraphs.
I had an average of 3563 users per month. There’s some difference between the months were I was posting a lot and the months were I was posting less, but not as dramatic of a drop off as I would have anticipated. I need to think about what this means in the long run.
My most commented on post was my Lapis, cybergoth experiment. Beyond that, comments were way down this year on posts in general. I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but I definitely noticed the decrease. I think blogs are just not as strong of a medium as they once were, though I have no intention of giving this one up.
Calculating my most popular post is a little harder, because my most popular post has been for years has been my foray into making Jesse Brown style rag dolls, closely behind is this collection of black and white Marisole Monday paper dolls and this historical paper doll round-up that I desperately need to update.
One thing I think is important to remember when I look at my blog stats is that all of my paper dolls are what is known as “evergreen” content. They don’t really go out of date, so this means that the longer a post is on the blog, then it has an advantage over new posts for being popular. I also think its interesting that a lot of my black and white paper dolls are more popular, over the long term, than my color ones.
Something to think about.
But of things I posted this year:
The 23 Fairy Paper Dolls was my most popular post.
My second most popular post was Amethyst in her regency underwear.
Things That Went Well
Remarkably, I didn’t end this year hating the Jewels and Gemstones series with a passion. In fact, I ended it wanting to keep drawing for them. After my less than happy feelings about Dames and Dandies by the end of 2018, I was really happy that I was still enjoying working on the series once 2019 wrapped.
I actually submitted something to the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild this year. This has been a goal for… I have no idea how long, so I am super happy that I finally got my act together enough to complete the project. I’ll share here in more detail soon- maybe next week.
While Patreon didn’t grow massively, I loved doing my Friday Patron Outfits and I finally feel like I’ve found something I can sustain for my patrons. So, I’m super happy about that.
Additionally, on a personal note, after about 18 months of intense job hunting (and a lot of interviews), I landed a position back in my home state of Alaska. That meant leaving Alabama and driving up to Alaska with my partner. The fact that the blog even managed to run during this last half of the year amazes me.
Things That Could Have Gone Better
Shall we talk about the 2019 Collaborative Paper Doll?
First off, I have no one to blame on this one but myself. We decided on themes in 2018 and it’s not like I didn’t know what was up coming, but man I did not keep up this year. There were a lot of reasons for that, but mostly I just didn’t have time. At all.
Because of the disaster that was the collaborative paper doll in 2019, I don’t think I’ll be taking on one in 2020.
Additionally, I started a 100 day project, didn’t finish and told myself I would finish before the end of the year. However, my plans ran into a slight snag when… well… did you know that if you store a sketchbook in a dark navy cloth bag in a car and then drive to Alaska, things can happen. One of those thing is if there’s condensation and then… the dark blue ink will transfer onto the pages of the sketchbook?
I didn’t either, but I learned!
So, yeah, most of those drawing got pretty badly ruined in transit and I just didn’t have the heart to continue the project after that. A few were salvageable and will become product on Etsy in 2020.
Goals for 2020
- Continue with the Jewels and Gemstones.
- Work on my 365 (or should it be 366?) Paper Doll Project for my Patrons
- Self Publish a Book/Other Print Product
- Continue creating for the OPDAG magazine- Paper Doll Studio
- Maybe go to a Paper Doll Convention?
I think it’s amazing that you accomplished so much considering how busy your year was! So glad you aren’t giving up on the blog. It would be a sad day if blogs die out!
This is a terrific wrap-up. When I’m in the thick of doing EVERYTHING it always feels like I’m accomplishing nothing. Seeing your list of accomplishments & goals just proves how much you really did accomplish. Looking forward to a creative 2020 from PTP!!
Blog comments in general are down for everyone. So, don’t take it too much to heart.
I still thoroughly enjoy reading your blog, and will try to comment more (I know you weren’t asking for that, but I got lazy with commenting).
Great idea with thoughts. It inspired me to do it on my blog. Thanks :). I am waiting for your next paper doll and all 2020. Nowfor me this year write really good story. 😉 And how is inyour life now?
I love this round-up: the completed, the incomplete, the great, etc…. And I’m sorry about your sketchbook. That’s tough. Chalk it up to better drawings in 2020!
I think I’ve maybe commented maybe six or seven times on a blog this year. Maybe most of those were here? I always mean to, but it feels like I never have time to sit and really focus. I’m always quick clicking on the posts to make sure the blog gets those metric points and bookmarking for that fantastical day where I have time for more. 2019 was the year of being behind on everything, that and not taking time for things I enjoy. Both things I hope to prioritize this year.
One thing I think is that social media has replaced a lot of the types of interactions that used to happen on a blog. It’s not better or worse, it just changed the way people interacted on the internet.