Who Reads the Blind Pig and The Acorn

The other day I asked folks to leave a comment if they had a question for me. This is what Ron Stephens asked:

My questions are: (1) Does your software give you a count of how many folks get your post every morning? (2) Who is farthest away? Is it the fella in Venezuela?

The platform I use to send out the daily emails does indeed keep track of how many people are getting the email. Before I switched to the new email system I had almost 3,500 subscribers. The new system has a feature that ‘cleans up’ your email list. After the initial clean up my number of subscribers went down to 2,878. The emails the new system ‘cleaned up’ no longer existed. I have 707 folks who subscribe to my monthly newsletter and with new subscribers signing up daily I’m already marching back towards 3,000 for the blog subscribers.

I’m also able to see how many people visit the blog each day. This is folks who are subscribed and folks who googled something like blackberry jelly and wound up on the Blind Pig. My visits have drastically increased since I left Typepad. I believe that’s because wordpress has a better way of making sure my presence can be found in the vastness of the internet. I’m currently averaging about 7,000 visits a day.

Now for the next part of your question.

Instead of saying which person is the farthest away I’ll tell you what countries I know I have readers in other than the US.

There’s Jose who lives in Argentina. You may remember he played along with us on Jingle Bells and filmed it for us to see.

There are several in Canada who comment often (Thank you).

There’s a man in Germany who reads the blog, he doesn’t comment but emails me every once in a while.

Another gentleman in Australia reads the Blind Pig from the links I share on Facebook. He occasionally comments there.

Back in the fall I had several comments from the same location in Africa. They were mostly on older Appalachian food posts.

Over the years I’ve had folks in Great Britain who read the blog and commented, not sure they’re still reading. Although someone did comment on the recent blare your eyes post in reference to the word usage in England.

There’s Diane in Turkey. She reads because I remind her of home. She’s also shared some tasty Turkish recipes with me.

I’ve had other folks say they read the blog while living out of the country to remind them of home. One was in China, one in Japan, and a girl who grew up just down the road from me was stationed in Bulgaria while she was in the Peace Corps.

If you’re a reader from another country and I failed to mention your homeland please leave a comment and tell us where you are.

Tipper

Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox

Similar Posts

34 Comments

  1. Hi Tipper,
    You share the goodness and beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, our culture, and our language.
    It makes me feel so good when I come into the house after working and read BPA. It makes me feel good
    that people still eat wild greens, can tomatoes, and crochet. Because of you, I have given a stern warning
    not to dig up or disturb purple wild rooster fights– I want to try violet jelly on hot biscuits with freshly
    brewed coffee for breakfast. Keep it up. When folks say, “I don’t understand you”, I proudly say, “I speak Appalachian and it is another form of English”. I have even filled out forms that ask what ethnic group I belong to with Other and add Appalachian. I was raised to not use the traditional words my parents and grandparents used. Now, I am going back to those terms and using them often. Once again, thank you for dispelling the myth that all Appalachians are like Granny Hillbilly on the Beverly Hillbillies. I don’t make my soap in a black cauldron beside the swimming pool– I make mine on the gas range in the kitchen in a special black pot– its faster.
    Much love,
    Kathy Patterson

  2. I came across your blog by accident and have very much enjoyed reading it every day since. Your writings remind me of my grandmother, who seemed to know all things related to “the signs” and when to do everything from planting potatoes to having dental work done. I was a big disappointment to her when she diagnosed my babies as “hivey” and I wouldn’t give them catnip tea. 🙂 My family and I live in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Not very far away at all.

  3. tipper we all come because this is a wonderful place..you inspire us, make us laugh..teach us new things..grow gardens and share how to plant..share music which I adore..and just come to say hello to the most wonderful hostess..
    sending love and big ladybug hugs

  4. BP&A sure makes the world a tad smaller… West Chester, Pa here… Soon to be transplanted to a mountaintop near Bryson City…!

  5. I’m a northerner from the thumb of Michigan. Read your blog everyday. Makes me smile. My grandpa Mose must have had some southern blood. User him and hear him in the content of your blog. I thank you for that.

  6. Keep up the good stuff! I am in Texas, formerly in Arizona. Look forward to the memories of my mountain people!

  7. wouldn’t it be cool if we could take all the good and uplifting blogs like yours, insert them into all the hateful, spiteful, war-mongering sites and see what a little kindness, empathy, and hopefulness does for the world?!

  8. Tipper,
    I always knew your writings about Appalachia would catch on.

    I was listening to the radio this morning to “Amazing Facts” and Doug Bachelor told of a Pear Tree, still giving a blessing. The Pear Tree is 383 years old, planted by the Puritans 10 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. …Ken

  9. Wow! I had no idea you had so many readers. Great job. I would comment more often, but I had a stroke 2 1/2 years ago and typing is a pretty big chore now. I always wanted to come out to the mountains (from East Texas) and play with y’all in a jam setting, but I probably won’t get to do that now. Keep up the good work.

  10. Well done! It’s amazing our smallest smile can affect a person’s life, especially if it is the only one they get over the course of a week. Mother Tresea was spot on when in her reply when she was asked why she sent her nuns to New York from the poorest country on the planet. She said it was because of the great poverty of spirit in the west. She felt compassion for the shut-ins, the tired mothers, the lonely, and more. Her nuns helped with housework and brought food, but mostly they sat with people and listened…. A kind word, a joke, a tune is never wasted, but is often the energy that gives life for those who don’t think they deserve it anymore. Your stories and the comments from your readers do more good than you’ll ever know. What a dazzling gift of hope and joy we can be for each other. Type on, my friend, pour your stories as far as the mind can see!

  11. Now you have me wondering if your people counter is counting me. I hardly ever visit your site through the email link. I am one of your most voracious readers. I go directly to the website. I am already at the table where mama yells “Supper’s ready!” Do I get counted?
    On the same note I might visit your blog a dozen times on any given day. I’m all the time thinking of Appalachian stuff and have to go see what Tipper has had to say about. Am I counted more that once?
    Am I allowed more than one question?

  12. I’m glad Ron asked that question as I have often wondered the same thing.That is an amazing accomplishment to have that many readers! I have a cousin who is a professor at a university in Canada and another cousin who works for Toyota and spends as much time in Japan as KY. I sure hope they are the readers you mentioned from those countries.

  13. Thank you for taking my question. I expected to be surprised and I was. I was most surprised at myself for having no idea. I’m not so surprised that either so many would read your blog nor surprised they were from around the world, but amazed at your ability to connect with kindred spirits from Brasstown, NC. Did you ever dream this in the beginning? Before long this will seem small. You have every reason to be very proud. You are an international author!

  14. Hello from Australia
    Love the blog, plus I have a love of country and gospel country music, from a fan of the music in the family

  15. Thank you Piero, I really like that the mood and culture in Brasstown, USA is like the culture and mood in your region of Italy . Maybe the world isn’t so big after all. Thanks for your comment, it’s made my day!

  16. Hi . You forgot to mention me . I’m from Italy . You have minimum an italian follower !!!
    You know why I’m interested ? Because Iike your culture and folkmusic , even if I’ve never been there . It all looks like the mood and culture of my region here , in Italy .
    Complimentsa and insist on your work ! That’s great !!
    Piero

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *