Soooo have you guys noticed anything different? :D Today marks the 5 year anniversary of Lightning Palace being run. Through all the ups and downs I can't even begin to say how much this means to me as well as the out-pouring of support and love YOU READERS/FOLLOWERS have given me. I thought of Rebranding/making small visual changes to my blog to enhance it for you guys. Since its creation after being part of a failed website, I've grown as a writer. Experimenting in new ways to contribute news and information about the cosplay world, the hobby, and the many wonderful cosplayers that inhabit it. For today's milestone, I wanted to go over the changes I've implemented along with statistics as far as how many posts I've written since the Palace opened its doors.
For starters, the blog now has a new logo done by me both full name and shorthand. I'm a Graphic Designer by trade so I apologize to any fellow designers out there if it looks lackluster XD I love it so THERE! The full name will be up at the top along with the Initials being off on the side. In-between the L and P, I created a sewing needle since that's one tool that many cosplayers use when it comes to making outfits. Both of these images have direct style/inspiration from my Podcast's logo.
I finally figured out how the "Pages" element works on Blogger so there's now a Nav Bar of sorts below the main logo at the top. Here's a brief summary of each tab!
About: Sums up what the Lightning Palace is about and what I hope to achieve through it
Mission Statement: Basically an abridged version of how I strive to handle controversies which I talked about more in-depth
here!
Advertising: Wanting to reach out to companies and individuals who feel my blog would be a solid place to share products that they offer/develop. In addition to discussing it on episodes of Cosplay Bytes
Contact: Basically where you can email me if you have any questions, complaints, or suggestions on how to make my blog better! Plus inviting any cosplayer to reach out in wanting me to feature them on here :)
I also tagged every single one of my posts and now you can search by Categories over on the sidebar! The thumbnail logo will be used on all social media I have for my blog specifically in addition to my Patreon. There's also a new header image for my Patreon! I also deleted a couple more posts cause of CRINGEY WRITING hahaha.
Over the course of 5 years, here's a look at how many posts I've written in full. In addition to how many of each Category as of today!
Total Number of Posts: 835
Total Views/Clicks: 308,142
Categories: 21
Comics: 9-These are detailing summaries of comics I was reading at the time!
Convention Report: 20-Wrap up posts about conventions I've attended, including also 2 guest pieces of this nature.
Feature: 289-The main piece of blog content that's pushed me to discover new cosplayers and fawn over their work. Contains a small amount of pictures.
Figure Review: 6-Reviewing the various high end figurines I've bought over the years
Franchise Focus: 4-These were old posts detailing some of my favorite franchises and why I enjoy them still to this day.
Game Review: 73-Reviewing the various games I've purchased, also including First Impressions, Beta and DLC Reviews. Along with some Retro games I've played growing up.
Gaming: 1-As of now this consists of a single gush post over a game I have incredibly fond memories playing when I was younger.
Interviews: 68-My Cosplayer Interviews have evolved in terms of questions asked and the format on how they're written and presented.
Milestone: 1-Celebrating milestones on my blog (this post is the only one so far :D)
Music: 5- Reviews of certain Soundtracks I've purchased that I love!
Opinion: 6-These are my personal takes on certain topics that have made their way into the cosplay community.
Photo Journal: 1-A photo dump detailing conventions by an individual.
Product Review: 6-Reviewing high end geek products and commissioned pieces.
Recap: 5-These are brief summaries on Conferences from E3 and games that have taken so long to release.
Review: 2-Reviews that aren't of the main variety I write about. Miscellaneous items like plays or movies.
Showcase: 101-Similar to the Feature except a little more writing and photos galore!
Slice of Life: 153-A look into my life and what's going on. WHOLE LOTTA CRINGE WRITING I'M SORRY XD
Small Business Shoutout: 8-Highlighting shops and businesses that specialize in geek/nerd merchandise!
STRUCK FIRST: 50-A Lightning Palace exclusive look at a cosplay as it's just been debuted. Talking about it before many other cosplay-oriented sites do. Similar to Feature and Showcase.
Why She's my Favorite: 15-Special posts on certain cosplayers that have become important to me in life both in terms of personal reasons and inspiration. Detailing why I love them so much.
WIP: 10-Sharing my cosplay progress on various outfits I've made, including how I crafted certain pieces to them.
PLUS! Here are links to the Top 9 most viewed posts on my blog as of today :)
Cosplay Feature: Katyuska Moonfox as Tifa: 5,852
Photography of Adam Patrick Murray: 4,786
Cosplayer Interview: Jenna Lynn Meowri: 3,799
Cosplay Showcase: Kaybear's Demon Hunter: 3,261
Cosplayer Interview: Byndo Gehk: 2,360
Cosplay Feature: Tali's Quiet: 2,003
Cosplay Feature: Ani-Mia's Zatanna: 1,783
Cosplay Feature: Variable's Power Girl: 1,637
Convention Report: NYCC 2014: 1,446
I've also launched a Patreon late last year and developed a Podcast series titled Cosplay Bytes which serves as a companion element to my blog. As of this post going live, 6 episodes have been recorded and uploaded with more to come each month!
That pretty much sums up everything I've wanted to share regarding this special milestone I've reached! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and following my blog. Thank you to all the cosplayers I've met for the immense showing of love and support, cheering me on when things got difficult. I hope I can continue to grow this blog and provide stellar content for you all. Here's to another 5 years!
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Thank You to the following peeps for Supporting this Blog on Patreon <3
Shaylin
Chris
Noah
Coralea Jade
OhMySophii
Katyuska Moonfox
Mink the Satyr
