The December recap and the 2025 recap!
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Welcome to the Kati Keksi monthly newsletter, bringing together the latest content from the Kati Keksi website as well as highlights from social media including Facebook and Instagram. 2026. Wow. 2025 is already over! Happy New Year to you :) β You may have seen a few of my end of year posts on Facebook or Instagram (or not, the algorithm doesn't show you everything). If I had a one sentence summary of 2025 as Kati Keksi it would be this: SO much more than I ever expected. There was
OH! And of course, more newsletter sign ups! So thank you for subscribing and reading. It's quite special to be able to sit down and write a newsletter and know how many people will read it. My mailing list has an open rate of about 65% which is actually pretty high as far as newsletters go. It's a chance for me to have a rambling stream of consciousness and chuck in a few extra photos to explain what's going on behind the scenes. I spent a few days wondering what to write for this newsletter. I've shared plenty of stats on Facebook/Instagram about my page growth. It's been huge, and beyond what I anticipated. Maybe we'll try some graphics. Here's the chart of people following on Facebook across 2025. Yep, you gain people following you but you also lose them. A lot of them. No one really talks about it, but it can be a depressing stat if you keep an eye on it. I don't track unfollows, it's not worth stressing over. Generally, it's likely people who followed from a viral reel / post and then realise the rest of my content isn't relevant to them. β Do follower numbers matter? It depends on who you ask. For me? Yes and no. Getting to 20,000 blew my mind completely. That was my goal for the year and I reached it in March. It's great seeing more people follow my page, knowing I can reach and help a wider audience. Who it really matters to is brands. Many brands will not show interest in working with you unless you have a significant following. Further to that, they (generally) only care about Instagram followers. Which is, let's say... silly. Facebook followers are much more engaged, click more links and spark more discussion. But, myself and many other creators with big Facebook accounts will be overlooked in favour of Instagram pages. So, growing Instagram is good for business. Having said that, some brands just ignore me entirely. π€·ββοΈ But you know what? That's fine too. I'm not here to post ads every other day. In 2025 I did fewer than 15 paid gigs. I even cancelled work with a brand that took an unethical approach during negotiations. β Ring Ring Ring I had 1,500 private messages on Facebook! That's around four a day. This is probably the most time consuming / least sensible part of what I do. Because even if I'm super busy, I'll do my best to reply and help out. Sometimes a last ditch attempt, impossible to find product to (I've been called a gluten free oracle in a few messages) others it's a tip off of a new product (the most helpful message!). Sometimes it's to read a label - something better suited for groups for a quick reply. Wow though, 1500 - makes sense, there are usually five or six on any given day. Right now I have 11 messages waiting to be seen on Facebook and 3 on Instagram. By the way, I have no idea why all of June is missing - I definitely did not have a month without messages! π β Quite possibly my favourite graph The above graph is the visits to my website. The solid line covers all of 2025, the dashed line 2024. I increased traffic to my website by 400%. Four times what it was in 2024. So cool. π₯° I think this one makes me the most happy because my website requires the most work. The articles on my website are high quality, my own writing, my own photos. No sloppy AI generated articles, or summaries of someone else's work. Seeing my website do well is validating. β This growth I never expected I was asked to start a Buy Me A Coffee page back in 2024. I wasn't fully into the idea, but after the third and then fourth person suggested it I decided to set one up. It doesn't literally buy me a coffee, but it allows people to say thanks for what I do with a small donation - $5, about the price of a coffee. I just checked and it's now up to 235 supporters. I made it thinking I'd get three or four. I often have comments on Facebook saying I should share it there but... I don't know how to put it? It just feels out of touch for me. I am happy to do what I do with no expectation in return. βΊοΈ My website has ads, that makes some money. My Facebook account is monetised, it's not life changing but it does ok! I appreciate every single supporter. I get an email notification every time a coffee comes through. When I'm having a shit day and one pops up, oh gosh, it really makes me so happy. I think of these supporters as the ones who fund my supermarket specials posts. They're a good three hours of work each week, so those supporters keep me motivated to keep doing it! β Kati's goals for 2026? I haven't actually thought of them yet. I am writing this newsletter the night before I send it, I guess I can try a few ideas.
β Oh! So while I was writing those goals I found my popular page stats. Let's list the top ten and see if it changes this year. π
β Well, I didn't expect the Maccas article to be so high. It doesn't perform well on search, but it's always a hit on socials. π The Woolies lollies is my best post on search, so that makes sense. β That's all from me! I hope this was an interesting little read. If you've got ideas for website articles let me know.
Kati x Latest posts on katikeksi.comβNot up to date with the website? Here's what I've been talking about this month. The oat challenge, three waysIf you've ever considered oats but can't find official information or even something anecdotal, this article is for you. I interviewed four coeliacs about the different ways they introduced oats to their diet.
Gluten free ice creams and icy poles in AustraliaEvery iced confection on a stick is in this guide. My original 2022 guide has been updated constantly since it was first published. In December I did a refresh of images and tidied it up to make it even more user friendly.
GF Mars bar puddings (Curly Wurly puddings)Less relevant in January but no less adorable. These instructions help you create cute bite sized GF Mars bar slice balls.
Most popular content on FacebookWhat's been big on Facebook this month?
Instagram @kati_keksiDo you follow me on Instagram? I tend to post different content there compared to Facebook so it's worth checking out both. Here's what I've been sharing since the last newsletter.
New product alertsHere's just a few of the new gluten free products I've seen in the last month. Oh and no new products reel for December - there just weren't many! I'll roll it into one with January.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook where I post everything I find, and if you prefer, follow me on Instagram for a monthly reel summary. Article from the archiveDid you know I started my website back in January 2022? There's so many articles, including reviews that you can read. Here's one I picked for you. Hot cross bunsBack in 2022 I reviewed a heap of gluten free hot cross buns. Most recipes haven't changed since then so if this is your first GF Easter, I suggest you have a read.
β Thanks for reading! If you want to support my work you can Buy Me a Coffee β. |