Most Popular Articles of 2015

And A Sneak Peak At My Articles For 2016

most popular blog articles 2015
Read the 10 Most Popular Articles on measurement uncertainty from 2015 and get a sneak peak of the articles I’m publishing in 2016. Just Scroll to the bottom!

Introduction

Another year has passed and it’s hard to believe that it has been 4 years since I started ISOBudgets. If you asked me four years ago if I would still be a consultant today, I would have told you “I don’t know.”

There is a lot of uncertainty when starting a business. In the beginning, it is a lot of work with very little reward. In fact, it took me six months to land my first client. No one knew who I was.

To most, I was just some young kid with no reputation. My only credentials were my education and my experience which wasn’t good enough to attract customers. So, I tried using traditional methods to gain exposure; networking, volunteering my time, and advertising.

Well, it did work; but the results were not great. I gained a few clients here and there, but it was never consistent. I had to find a unique way to validate my expertise as a consultant in order to gain new clients. So, I tried a new approach; I started a blog.

As a result, I have slowly built an audience of people who like to read my work, who like to ask me questions, and who eventually hire me.

Having a blog has allowed me to validate my expertise, establish an authority in my niche, and has brought me a consistent stream of customers.

The rewards have been amazing! I have had the opportunity to meet and become friends with some of the most influential metrologists and scientists in the industry.

Additionally, I have had the opportunity to work for companies that most young metrologists could only dream of working for; and they hired me for my expertise, advice, and solutions. I have even been offered job opportunities that were difficult to turn down.

Overall, my blog and my audience have been a big contributor to my success. Therefore, I don’t have any plans to stop writing articles anytime soon. So, I want to share with you my top 10 articles from 2015 and how it has improved my business.
 

Highlights from 2015

Each month I set aside time to publish a new article for my blog. Most of the articles that I write are about measurement uncertainty, ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, or some other topics related to metrology.

In 2015, my goal was to really grow my subscriber base and learn as much as I can about their needs. So, I made a concentrated effort to go big on marketing my articles.

Using the data that I had collected from the past 3 years, I began to focus my articles on topics that my audience wanted to read. I wrote articles that answered their questions and gave them more information than any other uncertainty guide available.

Next, I read a lot books and articles about marketing. I studied the practices of people who have become successful at marketing themselves. Afterward, I tried some of the methods that I learned; and it worked! The best part was it worked better than I could have ever expected.

In 2015, I grew my subscriber base by an astounding 2500%!

At the beginning of 2015, I was initially gaining 5 to 10 new subscribers each week. However, in July 2015, things changed significantly. My efforts really began to pay off and I started gaining approximately 20 to 30 new subscribers a week.

By the end of 2015, I was adding more than 50 new subscribers each week! Take a look at the chart below to see my subscriber list growth from 2013 through 2015. As you can see, I did well in 2015.

blog subscriber growth chart

Just last week alone, I gained 94 new subscribers.

blog-subscribers-last-week-600px

As a result, my website traffic started to explode. Looking at the graph below from my Google Analytics account, you can see how my website traffic began to dramatically increase after July 2015 and never tapered off.

website traffic growth 2015

In comparison to 2014, my website traffic grew 400% in 2015!

Furthermore, this significant growth has led me to gain new leads, new customers, and new subscribers. Therefore, I had a great year in 2015 and I learned a lot more about my audience than I ever have before.

 

10 Most Popular Articles

Last year, I shared with you my most popular articles from 2014. The article itself was not a big hit, but a lot of people visited the page and found articles of mine that they have not read before. So, I decided to share with you my most popular articles from 2015.

Popularity was based on the number of page views, the number of social media shares, and the amount of content that was actually read. In case you were wondering, I have software that shows me how much of my content you actually read! Check it out.

This is a screenshot of my article “23 Must Have Items to Survive and ISO 17025 Accreditation Audit.” As you can see, out of nearly 2500 people, the average person read 90% of the article.

blog average read

Therefore, I am proud to present my most popular articles of 2015. Below is the list of my 10 most popular articles from 2015.

1. How to Calculate Local Gravity

2. 7 Steps to Calculate Uncertainty

3. How to Calculate Test Uncertainty Ratio

4. 23 Must Have Items to Survive An ISO 17025 Accreditation Audit

5. 8 Sources of Uncertainty in Measurement For Every Uncertainty Budget

6. 5 Best Calibration Interval Guides

7. Uncertainty Budget Example

8. 7 Performance Metrics To Optimize Laboratory Quality and Productivity

9. Calculating Effective Degrees of Freedom

10. How to Calculate Normalized Error

In the image below, you will see which articles received the most traffic. The data came from my Google Analytics account. It is a great tool to analyze your website.

most popular webpages
 

5 Most Shared Articles

Instead of just publishing articles on my blog, I also shared my articles on social media too. So far, LinkedIn has been my most popular social media account where I now have nearly 6000 connections!

rick hogan linkedin profile

If you like, you can connect with me on LinkedIn by clicking here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickwhogan

Below, you will see a list of my most shared articles in 2015. These articles were ranked based on the total number of shares from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google Plus.

1. 7 Steps to Calculate Measurement Uncertainty

2. 8 Sources of Uncertainty in Measurement For Every Uncertainty Budget

3. 23 Must Have Items to Survive An ISO 17025 Accreditation Audit

4. Probability Distributions For Measurement Uncertainty Analysis

5. 3 Ways to Combine Measurement Uncertainty With Different Units of Measure

In the image below, you will see how many times my articles were shared on each social network. They are listed in the same order as ranked above.

top social media shares

 

5 Most Downloaded Guides

In addition to writing articles for my blog, I also wrote several guides in 2015. Through limited promotion, many of these guides were made available for free download.

Below is a list of my 5 most downloaded guides.

1. 7 Steps to Calculate Measurement Uncertainty

2. 8 Sources of Uncertainty in Measurement For Every Uncertainty Budget

3. 23 Must Have Items to Survive An ISO 17025 Accreditation Audit

4. Probability Distributions For Measurement Uncertainty Analysis

5. 3 Ways to Combine Measurement Uncertainty With Different Units of Measure

 

New Articles For 2016

For the last 4 years, I have written articles each month on measurement uncertainty. In 2015, my efforts really began to benefit my business. My subscriber base grew nearly 2500% and I gained 40% more paying customers. So, I have decided to share my content plan for 2016.

Plus, this year I will publish my 50th article on ISOBudgets. I hope you are as excited as I am!

Here is the list of my planned content for 2016. Enjoy!

  • Introduction to Statistics for Uncertainty Analysis
  • Microsoft Excel Functions for Calculating Uncertainty
  • How to Calculate Calibration Uncertainty (in accordance with ILAC P14)
  • How to Report Uncertainty
  • Automating Uncertainty Calculations Using Microsoft Excel
  • How to Make An Uncertainty Budget
  • 10 Free Uncertainty Calculators
  • How to Calculate Uncertainty: Tips from 20 Experts

If you are a subscriber, you will be notified as soon as these articles are published.

If you are not yet a subscriber, I highly encourage you to join my mailing list. Or else, you may miss out on some the high quality articles that I intend to publish this year.

You can subscribe by clicking here: Sign Me Up!

 

Conclusion

Overall, 2015 was a great year. I had some success, some failures, and some needs improvement. By taking what I have learned, I hope to improve and have a better year in 2016.

I have set some pretty big goals for myself, and I intend to give 150% to make it happen. So if you are onboard, you can support my efforts by:

  • subscribing to my blog,
  • sharing my articles,
  • becoming a customer,
  • donating money, or
  • buying me a coffee (to keep me awake)!

Thank you for reading my articles and guides. I really appreciate all of the great people who enjoy my work and have helped me achieve my goals. Now, tell me what are some of the goals that you hope to accomplish in 2016!

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About the Author

Richard Hogan

Richard Hogan is the CEO of ISO Budgets, L.L.C., a U.S.-based consulting and data analysis firm. Services include measurement consulting, data analysis, uncertainty budgets, and control charts. Richard is a systems engineer who has laboratory management and quality control experience in the Metrology industry. He specializes in uncertainty analysis, industrial statistics, and process optimization. Richard holds a Masters degree in Engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Connect with Richard on LinkedIn.

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