Year in Review: Our Top 11 Most Viewed Blog Posts of 2016

It’s been a busy year for Beyond Bylines.

From staying on top of all the various trends in the media world to covering the political conventions — and adding a slew of new writers — it’s been an exciting and hectic 2016.

Our posts truly ran the gamut. We covered newspapers, comics, artificial reality, podcasting, and so much more. You name it. If it happened in the blogging or publishing world, we probably talked about it — somewhere.

Not surprisingly, the posts that topped the list in our readers’ eyes dealt mostly in apps and tools that help make writing and creating easier and more engaging — from Snapchat to GIFs and mobile video.

Typically, we would feature our Top 10 most viewed posts. But, at the last minute, a recent post crept up into the list, and we just had to include it.

So, with that, here are our Top 10 11 posts of 2016:

1. Snapchat For Journalists: A Beginner’s Guide to Engaging New Audiences in Vertical Video (April)

Snapchat isn’t for child’s play. And it’s not going away anytime soon, says Tim Cigelske, director of social media with Marquette University and associate editor at MediaShift.org. This post tackles some of the misconceptions of the tool, shares need-to-know lingo, plus how journalists can use Stories to reach new audiences.

2. Six Simple Tools for Creating GIFs to Enhance Your Storytelling (August)

GIFs generated a lot of buzz this year as traditional news media, like the New York Times, began incorporating the animated loops into news apps and articles. For creative ways to add imagery to your storytelling, and keep your audience wanting more, here are six tools we love for creating and findings GIFs.

3. Five Tips to Shoot a High-Quality Video Using Your Mobile Device (February)

These days, most of us walk around with HD cameras in our pockets. But, before you pull out your phone for a quick point and shoot, be sure to familiarize yourself with these five tips for creating high-quality mobile video, from how to properly shoot in sequence to setting the stage for interviews.

4. Eight Must-See Online Tools and Apps For Journalists and Publishers (March)

In 2015, our most viewed post featured must-try apps for newsgathering and publishing. This follow-up piece finds eight new tools and apps that make the job of a journalist a bit easier. From data gathering to bot creation and learning to code, these news tools can easily turn a mobile phone into a reporter’s Swiss Army knife.

5. Top News Sites for Out-of-This-World Environmental Coverage (April)

For a journalist or blogger covering the environment, staying on top of the beat can be intimidating. The topics are quite broad. For Earth Day, we paid homage to our favorite news sites that are producing fresh, bold environmental news coverage for their audience.

6. Journalist Spotlight: Katie Bo Williams, The Hill (March)

Every so often, we like to feature a journalist who’s doing a great job out in the field. This post features Katie Bo Williams, who’s covering the hot, albeit challenging, topic of national security. This Q&A explores Williams’s reporting life, her desire to explore the unexplained, her transition from horse racing, and more.

7. Six Dos and Don’ts for Creating Wildly Effective Infographics for Your Stories (March)

Creating an infographic to showcase your data can be a real asset in telling your story. From organization to covering multiple topics, this post shares the critical dos and don’ts of creating shareable infographics.

8. How to Make Your Blog Stand Out in a Crowded Niche (November)

This recent post crept into our Top 10 (now Top 11) list, at the very last minute. With everyone and their mother creating a blog, eager to share their ideas online, this how-to piece shares insider tips for how to make your blog stand out in the over-saturated blogosphere.

9. Five Online Video Editing Tools To Check Out This Year (January)

It’s been almost a year since this post was published, but video is still on the must-do list for content creators. This post explores some tools to be thankful for in 2016 that make video creation and editing easier. Stay tuned for a refresh on tools to watch for 2017 in the new year.

10. Blog Profiles: Cat Bloggers (January)

Cat videos have dominated the internet, so it should come as no surprise that our post on cat bloggers made it into the most viewed posts of the year. In this version of our weekly Blog Profiles series, get to know four of our favorite bloggers who talk nothing but cats.

11. Career Crossroads: Media Veteran Talks New and Exciting Challenges After 40 Years in Journalism (February)

Media veteran Mark Hamrick has had quite the career. He worked for the Associated Press, presided as president of the National Press Club, and now serves as the Washington bureau chief of Bankrate.com. For more on his life in the newsroom, this post is a great read.

Thank you to all of our readers who made this list possible. We look forward to typing to you in 2017.

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Anna Jasinski is manager of audience relations at PR Newswire. Follow her on Twitter at @annamjasinski or on Snapchat. You can also catch her sharing the latest news in journalism and blogging on @BeyondBylines.