Yay! It’s post number 30! I think that’s supposed to mean something, but I’m not sure what. I’m not a blog specialist. I just ramble here. Nine months into posting and I’m actually surprised that I’ve managed to get this far. That first post started as a lark, and, back then, I honesty didn’t think that I could obligate time to another task. Isn’t it amazing how all it takes to get something done is to start?
For me the best part of posting has been all of the little perks discovered; both interesting and fun – things that would have otherwise lain to the side under some indifferent rock. Take, for example, the “Summary of Searches” in my WordPress.com blog Dashboard. I just found it. (I did mention this blog started as a lark. Seeking the blog’s marketing and research value had never been a priority, but it’s now being reconsidered.)
I’ve been aware of some of the stats like the traffic graph that shows how many folks read the post, and the database lists the links in my posts that are clicked (currently, EmbroideryDesigns.com shows the most hits, with Stitches Magazine coming in a close second.) As well, it shows where readers click from, like Facebook or Twitter, and a great deal are stumbling upon my blog when searching for a wide variety of phrases.
The WP Summary of Searches in my blog database reveals what or whom readers are searching for when they end up here. If the keywords and phrases are noted in my blog even once, that post inevitably makes the list of someone’s search results.
Not surprising, the number one search is for my friend, Mindy Collins, who rocks the 
Florida airwaves via 96.7/101.7 Pirate Radio WKYZ. (We miss Mindy in the Twin Cities! I’m waiting patiently for Pirate Radio to stream.) Besides being one of my favorite fun people and a great friend, she’s always been “there” to make the world seem brighter – it was Mindy’s voice that kept me going through hair-pulling moments of frustration, while learning how to punch a decent embroidery design. And of course, there’s her great choice of fantastic tunes. Ah yes, the power of rock!
Second in line of top searches, and the most helpful in respect to digitizing, has been those for particular embroidery designs:
embroidery design for leap year
embroidery designs for newborns
embroidery design pirate
elephant busting through brick wall embroidery design
wagon fill stitch embroidery design
design stitches for sneakers
the very hungry caterpillar machine embroidery design
No matter how odd some ideas seem, knowing what people are searching for is key when trying to create that next design. If it’s not in demand, it’s not going to sell. (This search thing could definitely pay for the time I spend posting!)
I’m also beginning to find a lot of the search phrases very curious like “droopy petunias” (a phrase found in the title of an earlier post). Makes me wonder – do we have an epidemic of wilting petunias? Perhaps there’s just a lot of folks new to petunias who don’t realize it’s natural for this annual to droop when they get wet in rain or high humidity and it’s also part of their cycle to bloom, wilt and dry to a crusty brown. [A tip for those petunia growing newbies: if you want to see blooms for the 4th of July, pluck the early blooms in mid-June, even if they’re not yet droopy, and offer them shelter in a hard rain.]
Then, of course, there are search phrases that make me scratch my head, laugh or both:
get my trainers embroidered
two grandmas fighting
cat frowning in shower
worn out keds with toe holes
flexibility in the towns+skice
secret service agents never smile
stressful nature of environment in chicken embroidery industry [WHAT?!!]
apple pies with apples on the side and elmo
dear santa lets just concentrate on that
embroidery digitizing app ipad
My first reaction: Good luck with that digitizing app! I just could not picture punching with a hand held device! But I had a quick change of attitude while drifting into retrospect. I started punching without software and saw it speed to where digitizing is today, and nothing really surprises me anymore.
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A “digi-app” will likely happen, if it hasn’t already. I sure don’t know of what use it would be to me, though, or anyone else who strives for accuracy while calculating measurements for tiny elements. Perhaps it would make for a great editing app with the ability to remove or add machine commands like color changes and trims.
But, as for digitizing? I just don’t think it’s for me. Then again, perhaps it’s something that could help the stressful nature of the environment for that chicken in the embroidery industry. 😉
Just My Two Stitches ... 