Today is The Cozy Reader’s 5 Year Blogoversary!
WordPress
I switched to WordPress a couple of years ago. I LOVE it. The widgets, plug-ins and the customization far outdo what I had when I was using Blogger.
My favorite plug-in is a template loader, Easy Content Templates. If you run WordPress you NEED this.
Here’s a snippet from my WordPress Dashboard showing my totals for posts, comments, pages, tags, and categories. The most staggering stat from this is the spam comments! Thank goodness for Akismet!
Followers
I want to thank you, my dedicated followers!
Since June 2012 I have had an average increase of followers by 25%. That’s a growth of about 5% each month.
Linky is new to me but I’m all about making it easier for followers to follow. What’s your preferred method of following? I have noticed a decrease in Feedburner followers over the year. I lose at least one follower per month, depending on how often I post. I know how annoying it can be to get email alerts of new posts. I just hope you are also following in another way instead of leaving altogether!
Blog Goals
I hate setting goals because I hate failure. Honestly, I just hope to continue blogging as often as time permits.
A goal that I have been striving to stick to is writing my reviews before I start my next book. I am happy to announce that I have been successful in doing this recently. I have a few blog tours coming up and I wanted to be sure I had the books read and reviewed in plenty of time. I have one more book I need to read and review for December but overall I am very pleased with my progress.
I would like to increase the amount of reviews I do post so hopefully with my new method of writing the review before starting the next book will help me with this goal.
Personal Goals
Ten weeks ago I re-enrolled in online college courses to finish my Associates in Business Administration. I just finished my first ten week semester and will start my second semester next week. I will be taking three courses instead of two like I did last semester and I am prepared to invest more time into my studies for those ten weeks. It is extremely important to me that I finish this degree. Therefore, if I am not as active over the next ten weeks you’ll know why. My final semester will be two courses.
Thank you for reading The Cozy Reader!
Giveaway
A blogoversary wouldn’t be complete without a giveaway!
One winner will receive a book of their choice up to a max value of $15.00. I have a Prime membership at Amazon and will order the book from there.
This will be open to US Shipping ONLY. Sorry! Tis the holidays and funds are tight!
Please fill out the below Rafflecopter widget to enter. I appreciate followers but it is NOT required, extra points are given if you are already following or wish to become a new follower.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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I prefer to follow blogs via email.
I love following by e-mails, that way I don’t miss a post and I can focus on one at a time.
I like the variety of genres that you review on The Cozy Reader. I would like to see more books that appeal to all ages and less of YA books that aren’t cross-over.
Sorry, I don’t have any suggestions, just keep up the good work!
Congrats! I LOVE your blog:) I think your reviews are lovely.
I actually prefer subscribing via email because it’s easier for me that way. I also follow the other ways too:)
I’d love more cover reveals, tours:)
Thank you and congrats!!
Happy fifth year blogoversary! you have really come a long way 🙂 may it bring you many more years. I like following through email or something like twitter. I think your blog is full of content that keeps it fresh, new and entertaining 🙂 wonderful job
I follow by email usually.
1)What is your preferred method of following blogs? email
2)What do you like most about The Cozy Reader? The posts 🙂
3)What do you wish to see more of? What do you wish to see less of? Any other suggestions? Nope 🙂 No preference
Thanks so much for the post and giveaway! Congrats on the blogoversary!
My preferred method of following is by email. What I like most about The Cozy Reader is your reviews and giveaways. Thanks for having this giveaway.
Happy blogoversary! That’s terrific, especially with all you have going on! I don’t know how you do it. I’m home and my kids are mostly grown but I’m still sporadic with my blogging. Congrats on taking classes too! That’s amazing!!
I’ve enjoyed your blog almost since the beginning. You have such a nice mix and I really enjoy it here. I’ve found and won great books because of you. I follow in a few ways – GFC, RSS and I have you on my blog roll. I don’t really have any suggestions because I like how you do things now! 🙂
Congrats again and thanks for another great offer!
I prefer to follow via email.
I think you’re doing a great job. I never have much to say in terms of people changing things about their blog…it’s whatever works for you. I like following via GFC, but email too b/c GFC doesn’t work too well for me lately for some reason. I don’t know! LOL
My preferred method of following is by email, because it’s the easiest way for me to see new posts 🙂 And I love that your blog is so aesthetically pleasing to the eye!
My preferred method is via email.I love the reviews , the easy navigation, layout and giveaways you have.You totally Rock!!!!
I like following via e-mail, because I’m not a social networker or eager to follow publicly (GFC particularly irks me, privacy-wise). Your site layout is very pleasing! Congrats–five years is very impressive!
If it’s a blog that I really enjoy reading, I always follow by email. That way I’ll never miss out on a post and I’ll be able to check in daily through my inbox. CONGRATS on your 5 year blogoversary! That is a huge accomplishment! Keep up the amazing job!
i prefer using GFC. thanks for the giveaway
kmichellec87(at)yahoo(dot)com
I like following blogs through GFC or something like that. I don’t really care to have my inbox full of blog pages.
I love the variety you have on your blog. It’s always good to have different things posted because it appeals to more readers. Def something I am trying to do with my blog.
I like to follow blogs by rss. 🙂
I think I am in the minority here. I prefer to follow blogs by GFC or RSS and then view them on a reader. If I followed every blog by email I would never get through them and I already get soooo many emails.
Congratulations on 5 years! Great blog! I prefer to follow blogs through GFC or RSS. Thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks so much for this giveaway, and congratulations on an amazing five years! My preferred method of following is through GFC, but I also don’t mind email.
Congrats on 5 years! My favorite way to follow blogs is by GFC or RSS, so I can just check them in my Google Reader.
I prefer to follow blogs via GFC or email, although I rarely subscribe by email.
Happy blogoversary! I think writing reviews before starting your next book is a good idea!
Oh, and I generally read blogs through Google Reader. I don’t subscribe to any in email because my inbox would be flooded otherwise!
I perfer to follow by email! 😀