We had 22 good posts this week, including four lovelinks virgins. Not bad for a global holiday week, not bad at all. Thanks, everybody, for joining in. And, I really appreciate those who stop by and vote each week who don’t even have a post linked up. They understand the importance of promoting good writing, so they support lovelinks by supporting the lovelinked bloggers. I love that.
It’s been months and months since I’ve crunched any sort of page view numbers, and I’d like to do that now. Looking through my stats, each blog averaged an extra 20 hits for each day they were linked up with us, not counting views from Twitter links or links from other lovelinked blogs. That’s not a lot to a blog that receives thousands of hits every day, but that’s significant for a blog that’s just getting started. Or for a blog with a mid-range of regular traffic. Lovelinks often is the difference between getting no traffic and no comments or being on the receiving end of an uplifting or fun discussion blossoming in your space. We are glad to be the difference for those bloggers who need it.
Editor’s choice
…this week goes to Robin of Farewell, Stranger who said goodbye to 2011 with a series of affecting photos from what was a very difficult year for her. I stared hard with such longing at the photo of the guest bedroom in her friend Megan’s house in which Robin spent a few days during a rough four months, and I wanted to crawl under the covers. Congrats, Robin, for coming through to the other side and for being the storyteller of the week. First time lovelinker, first time winner.
@FloodG’s lurker’s favorite
…was Just Jennifer’s ride aboard her family rollercoaster as Jen rages against the machine. Flood chose it because of the hopeful ending to a very serious situation. Congrats, Jen, and we at lovelinks wish you quite an uneventful 2012.
Popular vote winner
…was a bittersweet first place showing for Lolo of the Lyons’ Din as she shared with us the loss of her stillborn granddaughter Parker Anniston. Lori makes her living as a writer, so her posts are always good reads. This is her first popular win, and it’s heartbreaking. Our thoughts are with you, Lolo, and your family and the small white box. We love you very much.
Comment karma
…goes to Eric of I Can’t Brain as he visited each lovelinked blog and left behind encouraging, thoughtful comments on as many as he could. Thanks, Eric, for being such an enthusiastic supporter of our humble little project, both on the blogs and on Twitter.
Win-Win
The thumbnails are sorted in the grid from most yellow star votes to the least. In the case of a tie, like if four blogs all got seven votes each, the thumbnails are sorted by page views. Do not be discouraged if your blog has landed near the bottom of the grid; it is always a tight race, and Flood and I always have a hard time choosing our favorites. The fun is getting better exposure for your blog and in using the spirit of competition as incentive to improve your writing and blogging skills. It’s a win-win for everybody involved.
Thanks, everybody, for linking up, for reading, for voting. And for making lovelinks the most welcoming spot on the Interwebs.
Lovelinks #38 opens Tuesday.
So glad that Robin joined in this week, she led me here and I can’t wait for Tuesday so I can join in!
Congrats to the winners!
Yay! We love our lovelinks virgins. I’ll add you to the list, and we’ll see you Tuesday.
Thanks to you all! Not just for the votes, but for all the love and support you showed me in my time of sorrow. Sad that I had to lose to win, but I’m proud of that post. It will serve as her legacy.
<3
We’re here for you, Lolo.
Congrats to all the deserving winners!!
Thanks for linking up week after week, Alison!
Really great reads, as always 🙂 Looking forward to 2012!
We’ll be here!
What I love about linking up to lovelinks (pardon the pun) is the real sense o’ community here. I love how there is no “Follow me, I follow back!” vibe and that I can actually make my way through all of the posts and read them without rushing, because it’s a nice number. Love how you moderate it too Erica. I think at some point we should all chip in and send you a bottle of peppermint whatever to thank you for creating this cozy community up here. (-:
Ado, those follow back bloggers know by now I will cut them if they try that here at lovelinks. Moderating is always easier when death is on the line. I’m blushing at your offer of a community gift. It’s a nice thought, thanks.
Thanks for hosting, Erica! And congrats to all the winners!!!
You’re welcome, Sweaty! Thanks for linking up week after week!
Wow, yay! Thank you so much, Erica. That means a lot to me.
Really enjoyed participating and reading the other posts. I’ll be back!
Thanks for sharing such an important piece of your life, Robin. I loved your openness about it. See you next week.
I had a great time with it! This really is so much fun!
We’re glad to have you. I almost died reading that Heath bar recipe. Please post more.
Woo-hoo! Comment Karma winner! I didn’t expect that! Thank you so much.
Erica, what you said about 20 extra views making a difference for a new blog is so very true. I had the most hits ever on Tuesday (51) and Wednesday (69) – and it’s all due to Lovelinks!
This is such a great idea and I can’t thank you enough or allowing me to participate each week.
I’ll take some of the credit for those 60 visitors, but most of it belongs to you for writing compelling content that kept them coming back.
See you next year! har har har
Har.