Last week was the 7th anniversary of the Appraiser Workshops blog. The AW Blog went live with the first post on July 14th, 2008. And, since its inception there have been nearly 3,000 posts (actually 2,976 not counting this one).
The growth of the blog has been rather incredible and I have been humbled by the positive feedback, interest, and friends I have made. The blog has turned into one of the most popular and respected appraisal-related and art market trend blogs. Subscribers and readers include not only appraisers but gallerists, dealers, educators, financial advisors, conservators, IRS auditors, insurance professionals, collectors, art advisors, art law professionals, accountants and many more.
I think one of the reasons for the success of the blog is that I dont preach or do so very rarely, and post articles which I believe are of interest for the appraisal profession with little editorializing. Usually just a quick summary or introduction and then the content post in the following block quote, I hope all readers and subscribers have learned from the posts.
As a staunch International Society of Appraisers member and past president, I also try to be fair when it comes to commenting on the various appraisal organizations.
When initially setting up the blog it was quickly determined that there was more interest in market news rather than a typical blog with individual thoughts and personal postings. I do occasionally post my own issues and concerns, and at times promote various books, publications, conferences, and workshops. But, I do consider these types of promotions informative and of interest to fellow appraisers.
By posting on art market news and trending, as well as valuation articles from mainstream news organizations, the blog has grown and thrived. I do try to stay away from posting other bloggers posts and content (although I do on occasion), and try to stay with articles and posts from mainstream news sources as well as content from major auction houses on their important sales. It is a formula that seems to work.
With that, some basic statistics on readership/viewing of the AW Blog content
- Over 550 email subscribers (and it continues to grow)
- Over 60 Twitter followers
- Over 50 daily readers through various RSS feed readers
- Typically between 150 and 300 online daily views of the blog
If we take those figures, the Blog typically reaches +/- 850 art market professionals per day, the bulk being appraisers and art professionals. That is over 26,000 views per month. When considering the blog has such a narrow focus and targets qualified appraisers the reach and the influence of the blog is rather significant within the profession.
Through the blog I have met many interesting individuals, both from the appraisal profession and from related fields. Many have asked why I dont charge for the content, but most of the content I post is not mine, and two, then it would become more of a business chore with additional responsibilities on posting. As many of you are aware, I can be a bit of dyslexic typist, and I rarely catch my mistakes or fail to spell check, and that would need to be corrected if I charged. As it stands right now, I enjoy posting, I learn from it, and I enjoy sharing,
Thank you all for making the Appraiser Workshops blog such a success over the past 7 years.
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