A Year of Fuse Blogging

It's the first anniversary of the conFUSEd RV blog.   It seems like a good time to look back on where we have been and where we are going.

When I started the blog a year ago I was not sure what to expect. I was not even sure of what I was doing.   I had written a blog before, but this time I decided to make a real commitment to the project.

The reason I started the conFUSEd RV was I wanted to give something back.   I had relied on Internet  blogs and forums for the previous two years while we were trying to find the right RV.  Once we got the Fuse I started writing the blog to repay all the help I got.

When we started the blog, the Winnebago Fuse was brand new and there was not much information out there.  I wanted to fill in the some of those blanks.

Writing about the Fuse was easy.  Not just because I was excited.  I could just write about almost anything about the Fuse and it was new.  So I did write about almost everything starting at the front and working around the vehicle.  Since there was not much out there I was pretty sure it would be helpful.   This gave me the time to find my voice.  I needed that time and I think I found it.

175 posts and a year later I know I am getting better at this (no comments from Sonya). I do appreciate everyone being patient and staying with us.

We have had over 93,000 page views.   It is really humbling when I think about it.   People are actually reading the posts.

I have been even more humbled with people asking me questions.  Not having much experience with RVs, I don't feel I am an expert but I am willing to share.  It was mind blowing when someone came up to me at the Tampa RV show and asked if I was the 'confused guy'.  I did a double clutch on that one.

The most popular post that we have done was the one entitled Why a Winnebago Fuse 23a.  It has had 1400 page views just by itself.  The other ones that were Fuse reviews or Fuse comparisons seem to be read more than most others.

The success of the blog has been in no small part related to the Facebook group.  I started the Facebook group and a yahoo group for the Fuse at the same time.  It was more or less an experiment when I set it up.   It became apparent real quickly that Facebook was way more popular. Never would I have guessed that it would take on a life of its own.

I have read over the years that people like to form communities.  We have formed a great community.  In the 10 months the group has been in existence, we have attracted around 300 people to join our group.  We even have attracted the attention of Winnebago and several of the dealers who watch what we are talking about.

I have really enjoyed meeting several of the readers.  My first experience was meeting Norbert Gonzales. I was not even in my Fuse but when I read another Fuser  was in the same area I made a beeline to visit.  It was great.   It was like we had known each other for years and that was the first time we had ever laid eyes on each other.  Sonya and I have had several other great visits with fellow Fusers and I hope we can have more.  The fellowship is the just the best.

So where do we go from here?

We have the "Get Together in the Smokies" coming up in April.  Who would have thought that 15 rigs would have committed to be there two month ahead of the event.  I thought it would be successful if we could get 5 Fuses in the same place.   We will have to see if we can do something similar for the Fuse folks in the West.  The demand seems to be there.

We created the Flashcards.  It seems like a good idea so we will see if people like them.  It would be nice to expand them out the the 23T as well.

The RV WiFi book was also an interesting experiment that worked reasonable well.  Maybe some more pamphlets/booklets if we see something where it would help.

Sonya has said she will write some more in the future.  People seem to like her posts so I think this would really help the blog.  I am also excited that I have been approached by several members about guest posts.   I think this would be great and add some more perspective.

And videos.   This is a tough one.  I made one this year and I am not sure anyone liked it.  I will probably give it another try or two but I don't really think like a producer.  I can write and re-write in the blog much easier.

Never the less, I will continue to write more posts.  I have several more in the hopper as we speak.  Sonya has an idea for some more helpful hints.  We will continue to let everyone know of our travels.

I do want to thank everyone who is a reader.  Without you this would not have been successful.   So at this point I raise my glass to you all and say "Thanks for reading and to even a better year ahead"

Don