Reflecting about my blog articles performance in the past year, I looked up the best performing articles in 2014. Now that I know which posts performed the best this past year, I know which types of articles I should plan on writing again as well as how to better approach companies about reviewing their products. I listed the top 5 best performing blog posts in the order of highest views for the year.

Top 5 Best Performing Blog Posts

1.) Shark Steam & Spray Mop Review & Giveaway

On the day that I announced my giveaway for this product, the article received the most hits that I ever received on one post. Over the year, the post continued to receive hits from viewers. My review of the mop is my most popular article in 2014.

Photo from www.sharkclean.com/

Using the mop in my home, I can still attest to the quality of the product. I’ve only had to purchase one refill of the liquid and replace the batteries once, even though I use the product often. The swivel head makes the item easy to use. Washing the mop head is simple and makes me feel better about the cleanliness of my home. I also like that the liquid doesn’t have the chemical smell that some other cleaners have. Since I’m mopping in a house with two kids, using kid-friendly cleaning supplies is a must. I still urge my daughter not to walk on the liquid, but I’ve found that the liquid dries incredibly fast, so the item is very practical.

2.) Tabeoke Karaoke Player Review

Another post that received the next most views, without even offering a giveaway, was the Tabeoke karaoke player review. My favorite feature of the product was that it had Bluetooth speakers so you can stream music from the internet. When a new hit song comes out, you don’t have to purchase the CD, but you can still sing along with the speakers.

I would also recommend the Tabeo E2 kids’ tablet, which recently helped me tremendously. When my younger daughter caught the stomach flu two nights ago, the only thing that would calm her down was playing One Direction’s acoustic version of “One Thing” on one of the tablet’s apps. The tablet helped me get sleep on a night filled with continuous toddler vomit – the worst night ever.

3.) Seam Collection Clothing Review & Giveaway

Before school started this past fall, I offered my readers the chance to win a $100 gift card to Seam Collection for back to school clothes shopping. As a mom, I knew most parents would appreciate some extra help with clothes, especially with all the school supplies you have to purchase in the fall. With the help of my daughter Samantha, the giveaway was announced in a YouTube video, filmed with the Panasonic GH4, as well as in my blog post.

Photograph by www.theresasreviews.com

My kids both still wear their Seam Collection dresses. Now that it’s winter, my daughters layer the dresses with tights and cardigans. Both of the dresses are very practical and receive many compliments.

4.) Nutri Ninja, Ninja System Auto IQ Review

One of the best PR gestures I received this year was the Nutri Ninja, Ninja Auto IQ. As my fourth best performing article, the post is incredibly successful considering that the product debuted on the market around mid-November of 2014. On a daily basis, I notice that this article regularly receives numerous views from Google searches for the product.

I’ve considered doing a weekly blog series about how frequently I use the product, which is often. Whether I’m mashing potatoes with the food processor or whipping up milkshakes for my kids, the item never leaves my kitchen counter because I use it all the time. Since a lot of people seem to want to read reviews, possibly before they purchase the product, I might consider giving my readers more information about how practical the item is in my household in the future.

5.) Karaoke Night USA Sing-a-Long Karaoke Machine Review & Giveaway

Even though I already owned a karaoke machine, I reviewed a second karaoke machine and this time, I also had the awesome opportunity to host a giveaway. The cool thing about the karaoke machine, other than the fact that it lit up and changed colors, was that the kids finally had a product for playing their CDs.

Using the second microphone hookup and a microphone we already owned, both of my daughters regularly use the item to sing their favorite songs. The item has a central location in our living room for family karaoke nights.

Why Analyzing Your Blog’s Performance Matters

From analyzing my top blog posts, I learned that including a giveaway with a review helped influence more readers. Since in the same year, I also held giveaways of less expensive items, I could tell that giveaways that had a retail value of $50-$100+ performed the best. Also, giveaways with a practical item that people needed did very well. While I hope my readers visit Theresa’s Reviews for more reasons than just free items, I realize that giveaways can be a valuable start to building readership on a blog.

I also realized that reviews of electronics and household items generally performed the best. Reviewing brand new, trending items helped the posts reach a bigger audience.

While studying the blog posts, I noticed that three out of the five articles used photos taken with the Panasonic GH4. I’m not sure whether there is a correlation between the photos used in the blog post and the posts’ performance, but high quality photos seem to be appealing. Is the Noctricron lens in my blog’s future? In 2015, my blogging resolution is to continue building my family’s photography and videography kit, although the $1500 Noctricon lens might not be viable at this point in my blogging career. Poor lighting seems to be a problem when I’m indoors, so I might research how to get great lighting with the GH4 when natural lighting isn’t possible. As a working blogger, I usually don’t have the luxury of getting natural light for my pictures, unless I only write on the weekends.

Another factor I considered was the price of the items I reviewed. At ToysRUs, the Tabeoke machine costs $39.99, but to function, it requires the Tabeo e2 tablet for an additional $129.99, which I also received. At the company’s website for Karaoke Night USA, the sing-a-long karaoke machine costs $49.99. Seam Collection kids’ dresses are generally $70-$100, and since I received two, the company invested close to $200 worth of inventory before even including the price of the giveaway. The most expensive item I wrote about was the Nutri Ninja, 13-piece Ninja system, which retails for $249.99.

From studying the prices of the items I reviewed, and considering the additional price that many companies invested in when they provided a giveaway, I realized that the companies investing the most in their blogging relations tended to get the most views. I was better able to showcase what a company wanted to share about their brand when companies sent their best products and offered my readers an incentive.

Now, when I approach companies about reviewing their items, I have a better idea of how to describe my blog. Theresa’s Reviews focuses on some of the best products on the market for home, for the kitchen and for kids, while also focusing on top children’s fashion trends. My best performing articles have, in some ways, helped define the niche for Theresa’s Reviews.

Doesn’t analyzing your top blog posts seem helpful? Bloggers, you can really learn a lot about what is working and why if you look back over the past year’s best performing articles. 

Disclosure: I previously received free items, but it in no way influenced my opinion.