Are the Google gods smiling on me?
I noticed a spike in member signups to my little corner of the Internet, a very pleasant if unexpected surprise.
In fact, the past 30 days have seen a 25% increase in members and email subscribers. If I rewind 90 days, that increase nudges up to 43% – wow!
It seems most of the newer members among you have landed with me by finding my free blank flatplan. The best part about this is most of you have arrived organically via Google – a sign that sometimes the mysterious creature that is SEO does yield results after a while.
Right off the bat, I want to say thank you for signing up and I hope the flatplan has been useful for those of you who downloaded it.
I thought this would be a fab opportunity to introduce (or reintroduce) myself, tell you about my website, share some of my favourite posts, and lastly ask for your help: specifically by trying to understand what kind of content you’re looking for from me and enjoy most.
Reader, meet Ben
My name is Benjamin but you can call me Ben. I’m 32 and I live in Norwich, UK with my fiancée and cat.
I’m the senior editor at a B2B publisher startup overseeing two digital magazines – one on tech and innovation, the other on supply chain, procurement and logistics.
I used to work in museums and archives as a public historian, with a memorable year working as a ranger in the New Mexico desert in the USA closing that chapter. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to move back home to the UK before accidentally stumbling into a career as an editor with a commercial content company and then a major regional UK newspaper publisher.
In my spare time I love to work out in the gym, run (slowly), play about with my Fujifilm XT-2 camera, cook, read, and watch movies – with a distinct bias for sci-fi and dystopian stories in the latter two hobbies.
But why start a website?
A bit about benjamincraske.com
For a full breakdown of why I started my blog, head on over to my very first post.
My motivation and intentions have shifted slightly since I launched this website, something I learned as I posted more and turned my hand at a 30 blog posts in 30 days challenge.
But in a nutshell, I wanted to forge my own space for creative outlet and write about my interests.
Broadly speaking, these include personal development, writing, working in the media, and navigating the demands of creating online, without losing yourself online.
A crucial component of this website is the concept of learning by doing and reflecting along the way – in the hope it not only resonates with you, as readers, but perhaps helps you as well.
Highlight reel
Here are some of my favourite or top-performing posts which might help you get a better handle on the type of content I share:
The motivation behind creating a free flatplan
Confessions of a procrastiplanner and how I shake it off
The one piece of writing advice I have for the stuck and un-started
The Queen has died: Making sense of major historic moments
Those who don’t ask, don’t get, right?
As I alluded to, I’m still figuring out my ‘niche’ and what I want to write about.
For any creative endeavour online like this, it only works if I engage with my readers, accept feedback, learn, and improve.
So with that in mind, I’m asking for your insights – please and thank you.
A lot of you arrived here looking for a writing resource, namely a free editable flatplan.
But in terms of topics and styles, I’d love to hear what interests you most with a blog like mine.
Is it long form or short form blog posts? Perhaps you’d prefer some videos in a more social media/YouTube style?
What are the topics I’ve touched on that spin your wheels?
Personal development? Writing tips? Creating online? Perhaps a hybrid of them?
I would be incredibly grateful if you could let me know in the comments below or send me a message on Twitter – at least until I create a dedicated contact email for the website.
Thanks again for joining my little community here and I hope to hear from you.
Cheers, Ben.
While you're here...
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