One Incredible Year and An Uncertain Future

On November 26th, 2006 I made my first post on the Lonely Marketer. It seems that just yesterday this incredible experience began! Honestly, when I wrote that first post I never imagined that anyone would ever read what I was writing. There are all these great writers already writing about similar topics - why would anyone stop by the Lonely Marketer?

Then, I discovered the power of social media. I discovered a great community of marketing and search engine marketing bloggers and how to integrate myself into these already very lively discussions. I found advice, networking opportunities, resources and most importantly, friendship, from this experience. Here are some statistical highlights:

Readers: 917 (at time of writing this post) Technorati Authority: 344 (14,006th ranked blog) Most Popular Post: Beginner’s Guide To Setting Up A First Blog Site Most Traffic: 15,000+ visitors in one day (from above post) AdAge Power 150 Rank: 89 M20 Client Side Marketing Blog Rank: 4 Chapters Written in Published Book: 1 Speaking Engagements: 4

But really, these stats are meaningless. What I’ve taken away most from this experience is the great people I’ve met and all that I’ve learned. I thought about linking out to all those people, but literally there are hundreds and I was afraid I’d leave someone out. I’ll have to hope they visit and read this post.

I remember sitting at dinner with a group of people in San Jose at the Search Engine Strategies conference. I sat down only really knowing Matt McGee, but left with friends from Search Engine Guide, Pole Position Marketing, and the Worst SEO Blog Ever. This is just one example, but I’ve made more connections than you care to read about. Social media has an incredible way of connecting like-minded people.

With all these wonderful experiences to remember, I don’t know what lies ahead for the Lonely Marketer. With a significant promotion and a growing family I’m not sure I’ll be able to maintain the level of content to which my readers are familiar. But know that whatever the future holds, this has been one of the most amazing and gratifying experiences of my professional (and personal) life.

Thank you friends and readers!!