When you approach the end of your eleventh year of blogging, it’s natural to wonder How much longer do I want to do this? Then you see a stat like the above that shows new visitors keep coming to ElvisBlog, and it gives you renewed enthusiasm.
I’m curious why 749 people checked in on New Year’s Eve, making it the blog’s biggest day of the month. Seems like that would be a low volume day with all the other distractions (especially two college football playoff games).
For what it’s worth, the record day for ElvisBlog in 2015 was October 22 with 2,175 hits (page views). I have no idea why so many people showed up. I Googled to find out what Elvis-related news might have triggered extra interest, but nothing special had gone on.
So, ElvisBlog had a very good year again in 2015. The number of visitors was up a healthy 11% over the previous year. But less than half of all visitors come from the United States. If you can read the fine print under the map, it says, “148 countries in all.” If you ever wanted proof that Elvis still has fans all over the world, here it is. The blue shading on the map indicates the yearly ElvisBlog visitor totals from countries, the more blue, the more visitors. Here’s the way the top five countries stacked up:
USA 46%
UK 17%
Germany 8%
France 5%
Canada 3%
There are a few countries that apparently have almost no Elvis fans. Just one visitor came from each of these nations last year: Indonesia, Turkey, Chile, Pakistan, and Israel.
In 2015, the most read post on the blog was: “So, How Much is an Elvis Autograph Worth, Pt. 1,” originally written back in November 2010. I must thank Google and the other search engines for this.
It appears there are many people out there possessing an Elvis autograph who want to sell it or are at least curious about its value. So they type Elvis Autograph Worth or something similar into the search box, and the top result is the ElvisBlog article. I love that. The more people you attract to the blog, the more who will like it and become regular readers.
However, I can’t explain the reason for the fourth most popular ElvisBlog post: “The Strange Odyssey of Elvis’ Shot Up TV,” written way back in 2007. Maybe a lot of fans find this silly piece of the Elvis legend intriguing, and want to learn more about it.
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There was one new feature added to ElvisBlog in 2015. In the top right corner of the home page is a box where people can subscribe. That simply means that as soon as a new post is added, you get it sent to you via email. You can read it there, or open it up and see the whole home page. The pace of people signing up for this is increasing, so you might want to consider opting for this convenience, too.
I would also like to take this opportunity to cover my other project in 2015. BIG E and the SANTA MAN was a huge success. The outpouring of praise from those who bought the book and loved it is most gratifying. My thanks go out to each of you.
Encouraged by this positive response, I have completed writing a sequel. Both books will be back for sale prior to the 2016 Christmas season. However, my next sales efforts will include every avenue of modern-day book marketing: Amazon, eBook, PayPal. Facebook and other social media presence, you name it. I’ve got nine months to get knowledgeable on this stuff and get it set up prior to the kickoff of the next sales push.
I sent a free copy the book to a person with strong connections to Elvis Presley Enterprises. He emailed me back and said:
“I loved it. Very, very entertaining. I see it as an every year annual Christmas holiday movie.”
When I called to thank him, he said something that floored me.
“When you are ready to present your idea to Graceland, I will send a copy of the book to Priscilla, along with a personal letter of recommendation. I’ll emphasize they should consider how an animated Christmas special made from this story would be a huge revenue producer for EPE. Plus it would attract new young Elvis fans every year it is shown. Graceland is looking for ideas to keep the fan base going even as the older ones pass away. I believe BIG E and the SANTA MAN could do that.”
WOW! It doesn’t get much better than that. I’m ecstatic.
Of course, even if it all unfolds like I hope, it will still be years before the finished product shows up on TV. So, you’ll have a chance to buy the book and add your voice to the ranks of those who want to watch the story on TV.
I HOPE YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO 2016 AS MUCH AS I AM.
© 2016 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc
ElvisBlog Mini-Nuggets #19
We haven’t done Mini-Nuggets since March 2014, but Elvis’ 80th birthday has provided some short subjects to report.
Record Number of Hits for ElvisBlog:
On January 1, I checked Google Analytics to see how well ElvisBlog did for the year. 147,000 people (users) visited the site, resulting in 279,991 pageviews (hits). That’s an average of 2,800 users a week, a gain of 30% over the 2013 results. Definitely a good year.
Which makes the results in the graphic above even more remarkable. Yesterday, on what would have been Elvis’ 80th birthday, ElvisBlog had nearly 2,600 people visit the site. Wow. I hope I’m still around to see the results on Elvis’ 100th birthday.
Elvis’ Movie Costars Pass Away:
When time permits, we will take a deeper look at two late actresses who appeared with films with Elvis. Mary Ann Mobley (Girl Happy, Harum Scarum) died on December 19, 2014.
Donna Douglas (Frankie and Johnny) passed away on New Year’s Day, 2015.
Elvis’ leading ladies have been a staple for print and video interviews about him for decades. Has there ever been an Elvis Week without one or two of them being “Special Guests” for talks, panel discussions, and autograph sessions?
Well, the list is getting short, and you have to wonder what authors, journalists and EPE will do when Elvis’ female costars are all gone. Now we have a hint. In celebration of Elvis 80th birthday, an article in the Boone, NC Mountain Times featured an interview with Donna Butterworth who was ten-years-old when she appeared with Elvis in Paradise, Hawaiian Style. You are going to see more of this.
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Peanut Butter ‘N Banana Ice Cream:
I received an email from the PR firm representing Baskin-Robbins telling me about their new flavor to celebrate Elvis’ 80th Birthday. It will be available for the entire month of January, and it is described as banana-flavored ice cream with a chunky peanut butter ribbon. They are sending me two $31 gift cards – one to use to sample it and write a review. I expect to like it, but I did have a bad experience at Elvis Week 2007 when I tried peanut butter and banana coffee, and it was lame.
The other gift card will be offered as the prize in an Elvis Caption Contest which I will post in a couple of days.
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The Elvis Auction at Graceland:
The auction last night was a huge success, highlighted by the 1953 acetate of Elvis’ first recorded songs “My Happiness”/”That’s When Your Heartaches Begin.” The pre-auction estimate was for $75-100,000, but it went for $300,000! That’s got to be the highest priced record ever. Let’s see a record by Michael Jackson, or the Beatles, or Mariah Carey top that.
There were 67 items up for auction, so it will take two or three blogs to cover all the interesting elements of this Elvis 80th birthday event, and I’ll get them posted as soon as possible.
© 2014 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
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Posted in AUCTIONS / MEMORABILIA, ELVIS COMMENTARY MINI-NUGGETS, ELVISBLOG NEWS, HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ELVIS, NEWS, PRODUCTS BASED ON ELVIS
Tagged Auction at Graceland, Donna Douglas, Elvis auctions, Google Analytics, Mary Ann Mobley, Peanut Butter and Banana