Have you started on New Years blogging goals yet? I love writing goals and plans but I’m usually pretty late on taking the time to reflect in honor of the new year. It’s daunting! This coming year is a little different than most for us because we’re reaching turning points in both of our blogs and side gigs. So, while the blogging goals we’ve come up below are a little unexpected, we think you might relate to the reasons behind them! Hope they inspire a few good intentions…
be more present
Awhile back, we talked about how to create more mindful content. This is more relevant than ever in blog world and in our personal lives. From taking the time to draft a thoughtful response to comments and inquiries we receive to letting our real lives influence the content we post about here on TBM, we really want to stay present and focused on everything we create in the next year. Not only will it help us stay passionate about what we do, we’ll be able to tap into what our audience really wants to see.
go back to basics
Jennifer and I have both been blogging for many years, so every once in awhile we get really nostalgic about blogs of the past. It was a world with an interesting mix of spur of the moment inspirational content, lots of community driven posts, and quite a bit of reading! None of that quickly scrolling just because–we really paid attention to each post we read. A couple goals have emerged from this blogging of the past – 1) to find some new blogs that inspire me to really read my blog roll regularly, 2) stay engaged and take the time to get to know other creators, and 3) don’t be afraid of just posting something because it inspires me – basically, don’t overthink it too much! I think that will keep blogging exciting in 2018.
choose quality over quantity
As you can see, we’ve started posting a lot less content here on TBM than we have in the past. There were a few times we were simply too busy, but sometimes it was just because we weren’t particularly inspired. We’ve never been the type of people to post something just because we needed to have an update, so we’ve taken quite a few blogging breaks this year. So, while I plan to spend a lot more time reading, engaging, and getting inspired next year, we also want to keep TBM a place of quality tips and advice.
solve real problems
You’ve probably noticed that in the last few years there has been this shift in blogging, where it’s become a lot more purpose driven. I love this, but I also think its added a lot of pressure–particularly in aforementioned point above. In the search for continually fresh content, bloggers have sort of made up their problems (which is what advertising essentially is, right?) so that they can always be there to provide tips and answers. I love that bloggers help each other out and provide free, accessible content, but we want to make sure that with each “how to” post or tutorial, we’re attacking a real problem we feel hasn’t been addressed often or well enough.
stick to a strategy
Lastly, this is pretty standard as far as blogging goals go, but I have to admit that I’m pretty bad at sticking to a *single* strategy at times. There are so many ways to grow and maintain a blog and social media presence that sometimes it’s easy to jump around. But it’s actually a lot easier to assess the success of something if you stick with it for a bit. So in 2018, I’m going to try my best to stick to each strategy I implement for long enough to see those results!
What are your blogging goals for 2018? We also have a lot of plans in the way of a mini rebrand and brand new services page, so stay tuned for our updates!
PS If you’re not sure about starting a blog in 2018, read our thoughts in this post.
John says
How are these unexpected?
Paigon says
My goal for blogging is to create longer, more focused blog posts. I think the first half of 2017, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about. Now I think I’m finding my way.
Stefan Alexander says
Hi! I honestly don’t find these unexpected, but they are very realistic and true. I’m only now deciding to write more, but without sacrificing the quality of the content I write. I’m also looking forward to building more relationships with other bloggers to grow my network. I think these two are my main goals for the time being, and as I think about them, they should be my goals every year. It’s probably what you meant by going back to the basics, where content quality mattered more, and connections with other bloggers were genuine. That’s what I aim for. Thanks for this great read!
Angela says
Thanks, Stefan! I guess I saw them as running a little counter to what I’d seen from blogs in the past year or so. Building relationships is a good one!
Dominique says
Don’t overthink it too much (although overthinking is part of me) is probably the most important thing for me. Just go with the flow, I guess, and do what you want to do. But then again I also want to, as your last point goes, stick to a strategy (though I first have to find a strategy of sorts in the first). All in all plenty things to think/do in 2018! ;)
Love,
Dominique
http://www.fashionedbypluche.blogspot.com
Shirenji says
It’s been some time since my blog went kind-of-inactive, so I proposed to start again and try to do things better each time… which means being more patient and constant on working to make my posts good. Will try to make my best this year both in life and blog, and hope everyone else has a good, worth remembering one!