Night Runs – chapter 20 – The End
Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 20 – Final Chapter NEWS Adio woke up
“Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming reception that my blog posts have received in the last eleven months. It is such a special feeling”
Duke of Small Talks
Time flies
It’s been 11 months since I wrote my very first post on akinakingbogun.com and to be honest, I was extremely excited about starting this project. I had worked several weeks earlier on every little detail for the pages and design with one of my mentees whom I credit for the unique layout design and style of the website.
Several months later, I am still excited. Very much so; invigorated by the possibilities that the website offers and spurred on by the support from everyone who has read an article or two. It has become a veritable platform to voice an opinion, share a story, learn new stuffs and re-live history not just for myself but also for a decent number of other literary enthusiast (feature writers) who have contributed valuable articles to the over 120 post on the website to date.
It feels as though the months raced by so fast and several articles later we are at the cusp of celebrating a milestone achievement. And that feels really good.
What kept me going?
Somewhere inside my head, the obligation to share something new drives the passion for writing. And there are quite a number of things to share about life experience, acquired taste, fictional stories, life hacks, business insights, hobbies, historical events, travels and a host of others I haven’t gotten started with.
Ultimately, there is something that would interest somebody!
How daunting has it been?
It’s super tough to get many people to read. At first I spent countless hours monitoring the readership from the backend. Looking out for trends and what was driving the readers to one post and not the other. It almost felt like a fixation. I was convinced that I must have the right mix of the title of the post, the length of the read, the picture inserts, the layout of the paragraphs and even the channel of communication. And I needed the numbers to show the way!
It’s far easier to get more likes on a Facebook page, Instagram post or LinkedIn than to have the average person read a blog post! It’s so damn tougher! While some will read till the end and possibly drop a comment, others would simply skim to the end and exit. Others literally exit the page the moment they get in and some never completes the read! Data is indeed king.
It’s a learning experience for me and one thing that is absolutely important here is the Consistency – of writing, of posting, of figuring out what to write and adding value!
If you have been following all the post on the platform in the last 11 months, then you will agree that the following post were the stand-out articles for a lot of readers. This is backed by data and it tells me that we (my feature writers and I) are doing something positive and phenomenal.
Top 5 Most Read articles on the Blog
1; Waste of Sin (The very first Episode)
Author – Akin Akingbogun
Published – July 2020
My Thoughts – The first episode for this thrilling and intriguing story was originally intended as a flash fiction for an ongoing story – The Prisoner of Fate. It somehow got a life of its own and evolved into a separate story that grew in complexity as the plot developed. The post and overall was enthralling and I got excited as I wrote every one of the eight episodes.
Overall theme – fiction, mental illness, betrayal, intrigues.
Readers’ Response – This post had as many as 34 comments and it left viewers guessing what the outcome of the story was likely to be.
2; Identity Theft by the Owner
Author – Deji Sowunmi
Published – May 2020
My Thoughts – This was Deji’s first post on the platform and it came laden with excess energy. He delved deep into a really difficult topic and with a unique writing style pushed the boundaries of our thinking process to rediscover ourselves. You would feel the passion in his writing and the references and research painstakingly detailed in the post would leave you in no doubt of his dexterity and literary finesse. It was also his very first writing project after many years. I see the post as a classic and the readers apparently agree so.
Overall theme- Research, historical, reflective, retrospective
Readers’ Response – The comments in response to this post were mostly very engaging and appreciative of the writing style, perspective and reasoning.
3; Be Audacious, Take that blind leap – My interview story
Author – Akin Akingbogun
Published – October 2019
My Thoughts – This was my very first post on the platform. I had shared this story with a good many of my friends, mentees and colleagues but never in writing. I recollect the excitement I had writing this piece. I wore a smile throughout the two-hour period it took to write the post early that morning. The reception I received after it was published was overwhelming. To be honest, it showed there was something to give and a good many readers were open to learn.
Overall theme- Reflective, True experience, life hack
Readers’ Response – The response was massive. At the time, I hadn’t set up a comment section and so I received the feedback messages directly and had them saved up on my drive. I would put the many comments up on my home page soon enough. The remarks and feedback were glowing and very appreciative.
Compiled – Akin Akingbogun
Published – July 2020
My Thoughts – Not many readers would have noticed that I ran into a writers’ block for almost two months (May – July). I lost a bit of the zeal to write. It was post lockdown in the middle of the year and I had done a lot of writings during the restriction. Nothing seemed to be working. I spent the period studying online courses in business, photography and even to improve my writing. I did everything else but write. I wanted to create an environment that would stimulate my creative juices, but for two months I drew a blank.
This post was my come-back article. It came laden with a different perspective to an historical event. It was the most read article for many weeks. You will find this very intriguing and informative.
Overall theme- Historical, reflective
Readers’ Response –I suppose that the story itself was quite sad, thought provoking and gripping enough that few readers cared to drop comments. But it appeared to have received good look-ins and views from around the world.
5; Rent a Fraud – Story of desperation and suspicion
Author – Akin Akingbogun
Published – February 2020
My Thoughts – This story came in two parts and I shared an interesting experience during a house search in Lagos that could have easily gone very wrong. I personally enjoyed writing this piece and it had a lot of lessons shared along with an entertainment value.
Overall theme- Reflective, True experience, life hack
Readers’ Response – There was no comment section at this time too. But the readers sent personalized messages via chats with fervent request for the second and concluding part. This I obliged.
To fuel your curiosity, I will list the other 5 post making up the Top 10;
6; The Sleepwalker and the Walk of shame –
July 2020
7; Prisoner of Fate –
Ongoing
8; Public Presentation and Speaking –
March 2020
May 2020
10; George Floyd, Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, Societal lip service & love–
June 2020
Happy Reading!
Enjoy this new short story series Chapter 20 – Final Chapter NEWS Adio woke up
Moral Case for a Gift Enjoy this new short interactive story Interactive Story – Decision
Enjoy this new short story seriesChapter 19Bag“So, where are we headed now?” Adio asked without
Enjoy this new short story seriesChapter 18SimpIt had been raining the whole day, non-stop, again,
Enjoy this new short story seriesChapter 17FriendshipAdio waited and listened to the voices on the
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
Just write down some details about you and we will get back to you in a jiffy!
7 thoughts on “Most Read Blog Post -2020”
Keep up the the good work brother, at least two stories that were equally super interesting to me (the kaduna accident story and your nysc story)are not in the list,a testament to your writing prowess .
Good job brother
Awww….Great choice you made there. Those stories up there are special to me. I am working on another personal story soon
I have always admired your writing skills back in the days and more marveled now with the content of your writings and the finesse of its delivery. Great work boss!
Thanks so much Alfred.
The fresh lease of life your blog has brought us is overly appreciated. Thanks for providing the links to all the starred stories. I for one need to do some catching up with some stories i missed out on. Who knows, your platform might be the next converging point for internationally acclaimed Nollywood blockbuster movies. Yes we sure can!
Thank you Moyo. And YES we can! Working on something soon.
They are all lovely, interesting and educating. But the most interesting story to me is the NYSC story. You are blessed with lovely writing skills.
Keep it up broo