Statistics say this: Amazing year at Must Read Alaska

Dear Friends,

I’m closing out 2017 with gratitude — and a report to my readers.

Here are some fun stats about Must Read Alaska:

• The web site had more than 562,000 individual visitors in 2017 and more than 5.1 million page views on stories. (We’re still counting through Sunday night).
• Top cities for readership are, in order: Anchorage, Seattle, Wasilla, Fairview-Knik Arm, San Francisco, Juneau, Fairbanks, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
• 57 percent of readers are returning visitors. Thank you for returning!
• The sites that readers clicked to most from Must Read Alaska were alaskasenate.org and craigmedred.news.
• More than 10,000 Alaskans receive the Monday Must Read Alaska newsletter (sign up at the right side of this page).
• 3,500 Alaskans also receive the Wednesday and Friday News Flashes in their email in-boxes.
• 33 percent of those emails get opened. (I appreciate everyone who passes the Newsletter and News Flashes along to their lists — those are very effective ways of sharing information).

TOP FIVE

The top five stories of 2017 on Must Read Alaska were:

Democrats pass bill to shut down government

Homer city council goes into full-resist mode

Zuckerberg promo sends wrong message

Newest tax plan — HB 115 — you’re going to need an accountant

‘They be going down at Barter Town’

Yes, keeping this all running is a lot of work, (and I don’t always get it right, according to some readers).

But many of you have helped me — you know who you are — and Must Read Alaska continues to improve, I am told. The notes, the financial support, the tips, and the corrections are all welcome.

I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for being patient during the site and newsletter remodel, the occasional server crashes, and when I can’t get to a story you think is important. Thank you for coming back.

With our great state and with so many solid citizens, together we will pull Alaska out of the economic doldrums. We must continue to believe in our sense of purpose as Alaskans to build a state that values individualism over collectivism, and enterprise over entitlement. We must continue to contain government to its fundamentals, and allow the free market to thrive.

With your support, I’ll continue to fight for common-sense conservatism in 2018.

What can yo do? You can help underwrite this site (see below). You can share stories on Facebook and Twitter. And you can pass along Must Read Alaska to your circle of friends.

Thank you for a great year. Happy New Year! Let’s crush it in 2018!

– Suzanne Downing