January 2014 – Top Posts & Comments (Plus A Book GIVEAWAY)

jonstolpe 300x200

Here are the highlights from January 2014.  Thanks to everyone who read along and commented.  Your readership and participation in the daily discussions are what make The Stretched Community.  Thank you!

Overall, traffic was up from December (2.63%).  Traffic was down 40.1% compared to a year ago.  The top 10 posts included two posts from 2012, one post from 2011, and two posts from 2013.  If you missed any of these posts, I hope you’ll go and check them out now by clicking below.  Also, please head over to my guest post at Ray Edwards blog this month – This Is What Customer Service Looks Like.  The post with the most engagement was a fun post from January 22, 2014 – 10 Great Things To Do On A Snowy Day.

Top 10 Posts:

  1. Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know  March 7, 2012 (123)
  2. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember February 27, 2012 (98)
  3. Thank You Notes? Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That January 23, 2014 (91) Guest post by Matt McWilliams
  4. I’m Losing My Patients – 6 Ways To Rediscover Patience  April 2, 2013 (79)
  5. 10 Great Things To Do On A Snowy Day January 22, 2014 (78)
  6. Book Review: The Noticer Returns by @AndyAndrews January 15, 2014 (52)
  7. When The Treadmill Stops Suddenly – 5 Tips For Handling Life Stopping Experiences February 11, 2013 (45)
  8. One Word 2014 – Finish January 13, 2014 (42)
  9. 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge STARTS TODAY! January 2, 2014 (42)
  10. The Power of the Next Question May 20, 2011 (39)

Top 9 Commenters:

As promised at the beginning of the month, I have randomly chosen someone from the top commenters list to receive a copy of The Noticer Returns: Sometimes You Find Perspective, and Sometimes Perspective Finds You by Andy Andrews.  The winner of this book is…(drum roll)…Joe Lalonde.  Congrats to Joe!

For the month of February, I’ll be giving away a copy of Life After Art: What You Forgot About Life and Faith Since You Left the Art Room by Matt ApplingThis month, the winner will be chosen randomly from the top 10 commenters.

Thanks to each and everyone for reading and for commenting.  I’m looking forward to February with The Stretched Community!  The month of February will include more STRETCHING posts.  If you’re interested in guest posting here, leave a comment to connect with me.  February should be another great month!

How was your month?  If you’re a blogger share a link to your top post in the comments?  What was your favorite Stretched post this month?  How were you STRETCHED in January?

In case you’re interested, here are a few other interesting stats about January (based on Google Analytics):

  • Visits – Increased 4.41%
  • Unique Visitors –Increased 13.25%
  • Pageviews – Increased 5.51%
  • Pages Per Visit – Increased 0.90%
  • Average Visit Duration – Increased 6.49%
  • Bounce Rate – Decreased 3.40%
  • New Visits –Increased 6.85%

Don’t forget to sign up for the Stretched newsletter.  Check out this post to find out how to sign up.