Hi. Are you sick of these goal-related posts yet?
Hopefully I’m not boring you, but if I am, you can rest assured that this will be my last of this topic for a while.
From one day to the next, I question my blog. One day I love it and have pipe dreams of growing it into “the next big thing” (or at least a tiny revenue-generator), and the next day, I tell myself “why does anybody really care what I think?” and “this is so meaningless.”
But then I remember how much I love reading other blogs—particularly the ones where the author’s personality shines through and controversial, yet thought-provoking, topics are eloquently tackled. I’ve shared why I love and need to blog, so maybe—just maybe—I can offer a little something to the ever-growing blog world.
Because I’m aching for some changes and improvements, I’ve come up with 5 blogging goals for 2016.
1. Become self-hosted
This is something I’ve wanted to do for ages, but pregnancy and the early days of motherhood put it way on the back-burner.
Now I feel like I’m finding my groove again, and with self-hosting, I’ll have more freedom to make improvements. I’m finally learning how to promote myself (not in a tacky way, hopefully) with social media, and I think purchasing hosting and my own domain will pay off in the end. I’m not looking to get rich off my blog, but advertising, affiliate links, and other perks of self-hosting will possibly bring in a few bucks to at least offset my costs.
2. Organize
I purchased my very first Plum Paper planner, and I’m so excited to put it to use (in all aspects of my life: work, family, and the blog). I’ve never really had an editorial calendar, unless you count the random sheets I sometimes print (and inevitably lose) for jotting down ideas, so I’m hoping this will help serve as one.
I also plan to re-organize the blog itself. I’m thinking about choosing certain days to focus on certain topics (for instance—fitness/family/life on Monday, food/recipes/reviews on Wednesday, and general Thinking Out Loud on Thursdays) so I may regroup some pages to reflect that.
3. Bring back the foodie
I’ve pondered the idea of abandoning the label “foodiecology,” but I’ve yet to come up with an alternative that fits. Regardless, I feel like I’ve rediscovered my “foodie passion.” Since I’m at a new place in my life, I’d like to share simple recipes, toddler-approved snacks/meals, and continue doing restaurant reviews since I enjoy being a “cheerleader” for local business. Ideally, I’d post a recipe or food-related post once a week (see above schedule). Along with sharing more food, I want to improve my food photography.
4. Find my first paid opportunity
Since my blog has such a small audience, companies are not interested in paying for my content. I’ve received free products for a majority of my reviews/promotions, but even if a company did wish to pay me, I couldn’t accept. Because I run a WordPress.com-hosted (keyword: free) blog, I am not allowed to run a sponsored post without risking having my blog shut down (same goes for affiliate links).
I’ve joined some blogging communities and even written two guest posts, but I’d love to find some freelance opportunities (I’ve thought about submitting articles to Scary Mommy and am on the search for other websites) or develop a relationship with a brand.
5. Above all, continue to blog for me
As I’ve said before, blogging was a much-needed creative outlet for me during a time when I desperately needed it. I’ve made some mistakes (I probably should go back and delete some boring “filler” posts from my early days), but I feel like I’m authentic. I’m most proud of my serious and thoughtful posts even though they don’t always generate a lot of traffic or discussion. Even though I’m trying to be savvy enough to grow this blog and earn a little spending (or daycare!) money, I don’t want to lose myself and become one of those overly-promoted “cookie cutter” blogs or get stressed out.
I’ve actually found myself gravitating more to the smaller “hobby” bloggers with whom I relate personally and less so to the money-making “industry” bloggers, and I’ve had a couple of my readers tell me they feel the same.
[linking up for thinking out loud]
- In an effort to stay true to myself and you readers, what would you like to see more of on the blog?
- What qualities keep a blog in your reader—and when do you know it’s time to say adios?
- If you blog, what are some of your goals for 2016??
- This one is for the techies (or free-to-self-hosters who’ve come before me): Any tips to make the switch from free to self-hosted less panic-inducing? Any recommendations (hosting companies, tutorials, etc.)?
Oh girl! These are some -great- blogging goals! And I can tell you that going self hosted will be a MAJOR game changer — especially in how you view your blog. I’ve been with Bluehost since the beginning, and I adore them. Their service is super reliable and their support is on POINT. Plus they work with a tonne of WordPress blogs and make the transition process super seamless. I actually have a page written about how to go about switching to self hosting if you want to see some of the things involved — http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2014/05/16/how-to-start-a-blog/
Oh, and I think Bluehost is having a sale now too so you can get hosting for cheaper.
Your guide is actually one that I’ve referenced a bunch. 🙂 I’m 99% sure that I’ll go with BlueHost, it’s now a matter of finding time with at I don’t freak out if (when) there are kinks.
For what it’s worth, the guys at Bluehost are SUPER helpful when it comes to that kind of thing, and they’ll even walk you through the whole process. I think they even have something where you can pay them to do the whole transfer for you.
Do you recommend the “basic” or “plus” hosting package? I’m thinking I only need the basics but I am also pretty clueless!
I would probably start with basic and see how that works for you. If you find you need more, you can always upgrade later and only have to pay the difference.
I tried to do the self-hosting, but I couldn’t really figure out how to transfer everything :|. It’s definitely a goal for me as well, but sometimes it feels too overwhelming!
I think your goal #5 is a big one for me. If I try to do blog for other reasons, I end up feeling uninspired!
I will continue to be a reader 😀
Thanks Kate! Ahhh, you just reaffirmed my fears that switching will mess everything up, lol. Would’ve been so much easier to start out that way. Oh well.
Self hosting is easy as pie–it is a little nerve wracking at first (WILL IT WORK) but once you’ve done it, you are golden. And it opens you up to so much more, especially if you want to get paid opps.
Yep, I think it will be worth it for the potential paid and sponsored ops. I’m still nervous though since I’m not a techie at all 🙂
Love these goals! I recently started a blog and have some of the similar goals. Would love to connect more with other bloggers (so happy I found your blog!) and gain more of an audience. Been trying to get better at planning my posts too! Hope you have a great weekend 🙂 Can’t wait to read more of your posts in 2016!
Hey Lyss, thanks for stopping by. I’m good at the planning part, it’s just hard to actually edit pictures and get the posts published, haha. Excited to check out your blog.
I found you via the TOL linkup and I love these goals.
Check out my goals here: http://runwright.net/2016/01/04/goals-vs-resolutions-whats-the-difference/
You’ll see I have some similar goals and I am 99 percent sure I am going self-hosted this year – time to make some cash from my blog.
I’m going to follow you now on the blog and social media. I hope you’ll follow me too 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. I’ve found some of my favorites through the TOL linkup, too. I agree wth self-hosting; we put in so much time and effort that it only makes sense to make a little bit of cash. 🙂 I’ll check out your page and social media too.
Really great post! I started a blog a few months ago – and I have a lot of these same goals!
I agree with you that the best blogs are the ones where the blogger’s personality shines through – and I’m really not a fan of the cookie cutter blogs. I love when bloggers get personal.
Thanks, Melissa! I’ll have to check out your blog. And, yes, most of the blogs that I enjoy the most are because they’re personal.
I love these goals! And I will never tire of goals posts 🙂 An editorial calendar is the only way I even blog anymore. I run out of topics so quickly. When I come up with a lot of topics (it seems to come in waves), I put them all on the calendar. Even if I move them all around which usually happens, I at least have writing prompts to work toward, which is really helpful on those “what the heck do I write?” days.
Being self hosted was really the big push for me to take my blog seriously. Everything fell into place after that. It seems scary but I promise I don’t think you’ll regret it. I use dream host and I would NOT recommend them – just a heads up. As others have said, Blue Host seems to be the way to go. Once you choose a host, it’s hard to switch hosts (they said my blog would be down 7-10 days while it moved hosts). So choose wisely the first time! I feel like I am stuck with Dream Host and not happy about when the time comes I do switch.
Best of luck with all your goals! I know you can do it!
Thanks, Melissa! I am the same way with my calendar. Recently I’ve had a bunch of ideas and just write them down, often changing when I actually publish them, but at least I don’t forget that way.
I hate that I’ve waited so long to make the switch. I feel like a lot of bloggers who started at the same time I did have been self hosted – and as a result, more successful – for much longer. Oh well, rule number one is “don’t compare” right? I just need a day (or several) to devote to it!