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As the year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect upon the year that has gone by. A tradition that I’ve been following for close to 6 years now, sharing my Blogging Report Card. One of the main reasons I’ve been doing that is to make myself aware of the achievements of the past year, the ups and downs and the areas of improvement.
If you’ve been closely following my blog, you must be aware of this tradition very well. Before I do a recap of the year, you may want to have a look at the previous years Blogging Report Cards 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015. (That’s quite a lot of years of blogging, while I started blogging in 2012, the reporting started only in 2015)
Socialmaharaj Blogging Report Card 2021
The Good
Coming straight to the point – the Blogging Report Card 2021 for Socialmaharaj. 2021 might not have been a great year otherwise, but has been fantastic for Socialmaharaj. All thanks to you – my readers!
We were close to a 6 Million impression mark on Google Search (Yes, 6 Mn in a year! We have more than doubled since 2020) our share of visitors and views grew more than 100% since 2020!
These numbers are just the motivation I need to keep going. The year started at a slow pace, the views picked up around May and there has been no stopping since then. For the last quarter itself, we have been clocking just about 20,000 views per month! The Domain Authority has been stable while the Page Authority has improved marginally.
In terms of the number of blog posts, we fell short by 10 blog posts compared to 2020, and have managed to post 110 blog posts in 2021. That’s about 9 blog posts every month in 2021. That’s pretty amazing considering the blogging landscape. The average number of words per blog post has improved marginally and stands at 1100 words per blog post.
Talking about brand collaborations, it has been a good year for Socialmaharaj. Amongst the biggest names that we collaborated with include the Ministry Of Tourism, Govt. Of India, Gujarat Tourism, Novotel Hotels, Le Meridien, Mercure Dineout, Intel, Spinny to name a few.
Apart from these, thanks to the lockdown, I got an opportunity to take webinars of Blogging with different universities across India – Govt. College for Women, Jammu, Govt. College for Women, Chenani, Andhra University and more. I also took a session on blogging for AI Lab which is a joint collaboration between Intel Corp and CBSE.
Areas of Improvement
While all the things look good, there is always scope for improvement. While the focus for 2021 was to improve my social media activity, there was a slight improvement when it comes to Instagram. I’ve been the most consistent ever on Instagram in 2021. There have been a good number of posts, lots of stories but reels are the one segment that I’ve not been able to get a hang of. Also, few my last posts, I haven’t been able to interact much by means of comments on the posts. So this definitely has to improve in the next year.
Talking about Twitter too, I haven’t been that active in the last few months compared to what I was at the beginning of the year. That’s something I will need to work upon in 2022. Even my engagement with people I know on Twitter also fell short, and that’s something I don’t like. So will look forward to being more active and consistent on Twitter.
The next thing would be reading. While it has improved considerably in 2021, I still feel I’m not reading many blogs, magazines, websites. I want to dedicate some time every day to reading. So that’s going to be another focus for 2022. Lastly, the podcast. I have no excuses to give, except my laziness to record. I have everything that I need to record episodes, but still, that hasn’t happened that much in 2021. So that’s another area I’d want to improve in 2022
Look back at 2021 – Recap
Below are short monthly updates for 2021.
January
The year started with a few outings to cafes and lounges. I visited Santosh Dhaba (in the first week of 2021!) The Chocolate Room, The White Rabbit and Exotica. I also got my Raspberry Pi 4 and started experimenting with it, so shared a few blog posts around it. Read all my January blog posts here.
February
In February I explore a unique destination in Hyderabad – Unique Trees. It’s basically a nursery with exotic plants and has an upcoming garden soon. I also spent a few days in Delhi for my friend’s wedding (made it my 4th year in a row in Delhi in the first quarter of the year!) I also visited Cyperhub, Gurgaon for the first time and totally loved the vibes of the place. Visited United Coffee House in Delhi and met a couple of blogger friends there. Read all my February blog posts here.
March
I also happened to visit my friend in Jaipur after Delhi so posted about one of the best breakfasts I had there at Samrat. Visited Subbaya Gari, Once Upon A Time, Prost, Ironhill Brewery & 10 Downing street and MyFroyoLand too. (visited 3 breweries in a span of 10 days!) All of them are great in their own way. Also visited a calm new cafe in Madhapur, Hyderabad – Teal Room Cafe. Read my March posts here.
April
April was a shocker as someone created my fake Facebook profile and sent requests to my friends. The imposter asked for money from all of them. So that was something April started with. Apart from that visited a few more restaurants, Frat House, Repete, Tilt, Mumbai Masala (vegetarian restaurant in Hyderabad) Pakka Local & Marathi Kattha. Again a lot of breweries and pubs. Further, I did fall ill after returning from Marathi Kattha and wasn’t well for a few weeks I should say. (No Covid thankfully) Read all my April posts.
May
May was when my OnePlus 3T went kaput and I had to look for a new phone rather early. Originally planned to upgrade in January 2022, I had to do it immediately. So bought the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G – one of the best phones in the market! It was also when I spent time at home, so no eating out. Also shared my weight-loss journey too 🙂 (I haven’t been consistent for the last few months now) Read all my May posts.
June
June again was a month where I didn’t step out, guess it was the lockdown. So I spent time developing my new Android App, CueTweet. It didn’t pick up like my first android app, but I’m happy that a few people are using it. Apart from that nothing special in June. Some random musings and articles here and there. Wrote a piece around Veg Biryani in Hyderabad (Google to know more 😉) and it kind of broke the internet sort of. Read my June posts.
July
It was the first time I stepped out after a couple of months. I went to Lucknow and Bhubaneshwar (my first time). Loved my tryst with Odia cuisine. Visited Ram Mandir tiffins, a popular food joint in Bhubaneshwar. I didn’t have much time, else I would have surely explored more. Back in Hyderabad, visited Noya and Manchi Baphe. Manchi Baphe is a new buffet restaurant with lots of food! Read my July posts
August
I wrote posts about my Lucknow trip in August, so having the Basket Chat at Royal Cafe, visiting Cafe Repertwahr etc. However, the highlight had to be my collaboration with Novotel Hotels and Resorts. I got an opportunity to stay in a private suite at Novotel HICC and it was a superb experience. I was also invited to an event by Dineout to celebrate the Savan food festival at Parampara in Hyderabad. So all in all a good month indeed. Read my August experiences.
September
The biggest collaboration opportunity I got in a long time happened in September. Was invited by Gujarat Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism to explore the hills of Saputara. It was a week-long trip where I visited iconic places in Ahmedabad, stayed at the House of MG heritage hotel and took the Ahmedabad Heritage Walk. Saputara on the other hand was super fun. Got to explore the place and meet so many people and make good friends! Read my September chronicles.
October
In October, I got an opportunity to collaborate with Maono – the audio company. I reviewed their podcasting mic that was sent to me. Apart from that I also visited a few restaurants – Anna Native, Telangana Spice Kitchen, Simply South, and Vivaha Bhojnambu. However, the highlights of October include my collaboration with Le Meridien where I was invited to experience their new menu. I was again invited to Novotel for their annual cake mixing event. It was my first time and thoroughly loved it. Read my October updates.
November
November too started with a visit to Lucknow, this time for a wedding in the family. I was there for close to 2-3 weeks . Didn’t explore much, as was busy with the event. However, upon my return, I got another great opportunity. This time I was invited to experience the hospitality at Mercure Hyderabad. I got to stay in a premium suite and experience the Accor promise and service. Excellent is the word for Mercure. Read more about by November Updates.
December
December has to the month which was the most happening! On the personal front, I got a new job. Will write a post on it soon. As part of it, I also got to visit Panchgani and also New Era High School. But that was nothing compared to the collaboration opportunity I got. The BIGGEST collab I’ve ever done. It was a trip to experience Rann Utsav in Gujarat. Was invited by the Ministry of Tourism and Gujarat Tourism to India’s biggest influencer meet. Rann Utsav was truly magical. So most of the blog posts in December are related to Rann Utsav. And there’s still more pending! Read more of my December updates.
That’s all for 2021, Looking forward to an exciting 2022
It’s been quite a hectic few weeks because of my new work, it’s fun but it is hectic at the moment. I have to burn the midnight oil to complete these blog posts. However, I’m sure things will improve in 2022. That pretty much sums up the Socialmaharaj Blogging Report Card 2021.
None of this would have been possible with you, my readers. So a big shout out and thank you for being there for me. You know I’m just an email, DM or tweet away to answer any of your queries. Further, you can just slide into my DMs to say hi 🙂 I’m so looking forward to 2022 to see what’s in store.
So see you on the other side, wishing you and your family a very Happy & Prosperous New Year. Stay safe and be happy and continue to support Socialmaharaj 🙂
Drop-in your suggestions, feedback, criticism, appreciation in the comments below, Tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj, DM on Instagram or Get In Touch!
