2016 is the year of the blog, I decided this is the year I’m going to make it work and with that in mind I set lofty goals for blogging in 2016.
It’s not been easy, I have high expectations for myself (and a busy life!) but if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right!
So here’s how my goal meeting is going so far this year:
1. Post Less
Publish a new post each Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning.
So overall, this has worked for me. I’ve kept my posting mostly to those days (though a few special posts have gone out on other days) and aside from an unplanned “blog-cation” while away for my sister’s wedding in March, I haven’t missed many days.
Unfortunately, though, the reduced schedule hasn’t helped with the blogging ahead and I still have guilt about not publishing on my designated days (like yesterday when I just couldn’t pull something together despite sitting down to do it at least 10 times Tuesday and yesterday morning!) But that’s where #2 comes in:
2. Share More
Pin all new pinnable posts; share, comment and/or like at least one post on Facebook that isn’t mine each day; Tweet daily (both my content and others)
So when I couldn’t come up with the motivation for a new post, I took to social media. I scheduled out posts on both Facebook and Twitter, I went back and pinned some posts I had missed, I read blogs and commented. And I’ve been really good about this aspect of blogging overall and it’s working, my engagement is up across most of my social accounts which is helping my posts to reach more people (thank you, by the way, to all my readers and followers that have been liking, commenting on and sharing my posts, it is so nice to see people enjoying my work!)
3. Do Some Housekeeping
Use Tuesday and Thursday, when I don’t post new content, not only to plan and blog ahead but to take care of these necessary housekeeping tasks.
I like blog housekeeping about as much as I like real housekeeping and it’s still a struggle for me but it’s getting there! I’ve been able to update some of my old posts and do a lot of background work (like setting up better blog navigation and 404 error redirections.) And now I’m contemplating a full blog redesign (and I’m looking for input, share your thoughts here!)
4. Increase Interaction
Interaction has never been my strong point (in the blogisphere or in real life, honestly) so I’m going to be trying a few of the suggestions offered up by The Nectar Collective and Business2Community.
This one is still a work in progress. While I’ve increased the interaction on my own pages (see #2), I still struggle to find the time to really interact with other pages and people, but I’m slowly getting there and building relationships with other bloggers in the process!
5. Keep Growing
If I meet all my blog goals above and stick to my plan, I should see increased blog traffic and hopefully growth in my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest followers.
This has always been my top priority as a blogger, I want to grow! And through all my other efforts so far this year, I have grown and I’m proud of the work I’ve done.
Secret goal 1: Get published other places
A bit of a “secret” personal goal I’ve had is to continue being published other places. I’ve submitted a few things and am waiting to hear back but I have had another post republished on BLUNTmoms and have shared some more posts on Today Parents and am in the process of getting a few more partnerships started that I’m really excited about!
Secret goal 2: Make Some Money
So this has never been a huge goal for me but after renewing my webpage for another 3 years (ouch!) and completing my taxes for 2015 and seeing how much free product I get to pay taxes on from last year, I’ve taken on a new motto with my work: Don’t sell yourself short because if you don’t place a value on yourself, no one else will! I’ve already published my first paid post for the year, joined Amazon affiliates (so I can share my favorite products with you and you can help support the expense of running Beyond Mommying, see below!) and am going after more paid writing jobs.
So, here’s 2016 by the numbers, so far:
Pageviews: I saw a 20% increase in pageviews from last quarter in 2015 to first quarter in 2016 which puts me closer each month to my overall monthly goal.
Social Following: I’ve seen an overall increase of 15% across all my social media accounts, with the biggest jump being on Twitter (23% increase) and Facebook (15% increase). I’ve exceeded 1000 followers on Pinterest and am close to that many likes on Facebook (soooo close…) I’m also nearing 2000 Twitter followers (goals for quarter two 2016!)
E-mail Subscribers: I’ve been working hard for the past year on building my e-mail subscribers list so I can send updates and information directly to my most loyal readers and I’m proud that my list has increased by 20% so far this year! (If you’re not subscribed yet, you can do so here.)
