You may or may not have noticed, but I would define my writing style as that I write as I would talk had we been having a conversation face to face. I have always wanted to add a podcast to this blog so I can read out my articles to you, and you don’t have to wonder what I sound like… looks like guys at WordPress has been thinking of the same.
Podcast
Following a partnership with Anchor you can now have your WordPress.com hosted blog converted into a podcast either with using an automated voice or you can upload your own custom voice.
I haven’t started doing this yet, as you will need to create a new Anchor account for this service if you already have an existing account. I am not quite ready to do that yet, maybe I will wait until they fix up how I can integrate my already existing Anchor Podcast.. You can check it out below:
Stats
I usually tell people not to worry too much about their stats or get a bit obsessive with checking as mostly one will end up caught up in looking at the numbers and it can be a distracting ego-metric.
But that doesn’t mean one cant get meaningful information about their traffic which can help you assess other aspects of your blogging, for example if you want to work on your social media marketing and search engine optimisation.
Checking your stats for Referrers can show you where your traffic comes from, so you can then process if all those hours you are putting into a platform are worth it, if you are effectively utilizing a platform, need to change your strategy or focus your energy on a particular one.
From a casual look at my Stats above, Twitter earns me the highest referrals from Social Media, and I have noticed it’s that way for a lot of bloggers who use Twitter, incase you are wondering what platform to base from… Clearly, Instagram doesn’t really work for me, few people actually click that link in bio thing, but it’s great optics for branding and just being noticed so people don’t ask if you are still doing that writing thing.
WordPress.com Reader
I shouldn’t be surprised, but it always catches me off guard that 60% of my traffic comes from the WordPress.com Reader… The WordPress Reader is a powerful tool that doesn’t get enough recognition.
I use it to find new bloggers, to find bloggers who have written similar things to mine, mentioned a particular topic such as my blog or a book or movie I am reviewing; honestly, it’s a Search Engine all on its own.
I use the reader to catch up on particular blogs by grouping them into lists which I can then browse through, I follow tonnes of blogs so I need a way to streamline how I catch up with them.
It also works just to check out articles from blogs on a particular theme for example finding bloggers who have posted content for WinterABC2021
The Reader is also available in the mobile WordPress App, for on-the-go catchup of blog posts from your phone. You won’t be able to create and manage lists from there but you can still access the lists you created from the Desktop Browser version.
Reading and interacting with other blogs is a great way of connecting with other bloggers and you should pencil in time for such activities as part of your blogging related activities jut as you schedule time to actually sit down and write
~B
PS What interesting WordPress Features, tips and tricks work for you?
Becoming The Muse 
Your thoughts.. if you will?