Hi everyone! How was your Christmas week? Hopefully you were able to put work aside and just relax with loved ones. Now that the new year is rapidly approaching, I’m thinking about my goals and hopes for 2016. I’m sure we can all agree that New Year’s resolutions are pretty overrated and usually more stressful than they need to be. My list of goals and expectations for the new year always gets so long that I never get around to crossing much off of it. So in the spirit of taking it easy, here is a short and practical list of resolutions that have to do with blogging. Whether you’re blogging as a hobby or professionally, choosing one or two of these goals to focus on throughout the year can make a huge difference in the growth of your blog and, more importantly, the opportunities and connections your blog brings.
1. Interact more with bloggers and blog readers.
Participating in the blogging community is more than just writing up a post and pressing “publish”. Getting to know one another is really fun and effective in growing your blog and business. Try making it a point to reply to all comments on your blog, or set a specific number of blog posts to comment on each day. You could also try engaging more with others on Instagram or Twitter. For more ideas, check out our list of 7 ways to build community with your blog!
2. Take an online blogging or biz course.
Guys, I’m all about e-courses. I’ve taken so many! To be honest, I usually never make it all the way through online classes. However, the course Blog Life by the ladies of A Beautiful Mess was the best investment. I love how transparently they talk about both their failures and successes. They also get super technical with topics like advertising, creating an editorial schedule, optimizing traffic, and creating viral content. At the moment, I’m taking their newest course Start Small / Dream Big, which details their process of creating a million dollar business and the steps you can take to transform your own big idea. No affiliate links here, I’m just obsessed. :)
3. Clean up your blog design (or revamp it entirely).
There is something really motivating about unveiling a new blog/web design. It’s like when you clean or redecorate your home and then suddenly it’s so much more fun to host get-togethers and share your home with friends. I don’t think it’s a good idea to redesign your blog every month (I used to be that girl) but if you feel like you need to clean it up a little or develop a stronger brand for 2016, go for it! You can design your blog yourself, or you can just hire a designer. Check out my design services here!
4. Get out of your comfort zone.
This could mean a lot of different things depending on who you are and where your comfort zone is. If your blog is mainly business/advice, try sharing a more personal post and let your readers in on your daily life. If you’re just starting out with your blog, participate in a #100dayproject (or 365-day if you’re up for the challenge!). A few years ago, I participated in a 30-day selfie challenge with A Beautiful Mess and it made me get way out of my comfort zone. Looking back, I feel kind of silly about all the selfies I took, but I know that I gained self-confidence through it so it was definitely worth it. :)
5. Talk about your blog in real life.
I could go on about this topic forever. Talking about your blog IRL can yield so many great conversations, connections, and friendships. As soon as I started talking about my blog to people at my job, school, etc., I started getting tons of opportunities. I found new design clients, made wonderful friendships, taught a coding class, and was even hired at my day job partially because of my blog. If you feel weird talking about your blog, try to find a blogger meetup in your town or share it with friends who have similar interests. Who knows, you might inspire somebody else to start a blog where they can share their passions and projects.
6. Eliminate the things that make blogging feel like a chore.
There used to not be many “rules” on how blogging should be done. Now there are so many opinions on how to blog successfully that it can be difficult to know what to focus on. If your blogging to-do list is a mile long, take a look at what’s working and what isn’t working for you. Then cut out all of the things that aren’t working. It will help you use your time so much more productively, and probably make the blogging process a lot more fun.
Do you have any blog-related resolutions you’re making for 2016? Please share them! I’d love to hear what you all are focusing on for the new year. Personally, I’m hoping to get more organized with both TBM and my design business. Might have to pick up one of these pretty 2016 planners or calendars!
Rachel says
These are great resolutions! Definitely plan on doing some of these myself!
Jennifer says
Glad you liked the post, Rachel! :)
Shannon says
Love these resolutions for blogging! I’m trying to get back into the habit so decided I would publish a post every weekday for January. We’ll see how that goes haha
Jennifer says
Thanks Shannon! Best of luck with your January goals! :)
KATE FLÂNEUR says
These are great resolutions! I was thinking that becoming a more consistent blogger should be my 2016 resolution, in which case completing a #100daysofsomething could be quite the motivation. However, your post made me think that interacting more with other bloggers and talking about my blog in real life might be equally worthy pursuits – something I haven’t really considered previosuly. We’ll see how that goes.
Happy New Year and lots of luck (and fun) with your blogging resolutions!
Jennifer says
Thanks Kate! I think that interacting with other bloggers and talking about your blog can actually motivate you to blog more consistently, which is really cool. Happy New Year to you too! :)
Annie says
Great post! I’ll definitely have to take #5 and try it out in real life.
– Annie
Jennifer says
Thanks Annie! Good luck with #5! :)
Courtney Leigh says
Oh, I might print this out and hang it up in my workspace. So many of these are on my 2016 goals list, too! Especially #5. Why is that one so difficult??? Best of luck achieving each and every one of these! <3
Jennifer says
Haha I’m not sure why #5 is so tough but I wish it wasn’t! Happy New Year! :)
Tara says
These are some great ideas! I really need to work on my confidence with talking about my blog in real life. I absolutely love ABM and having been considering taking a blogging ecourse time and again but haven’t made the move to do it. It’s refreshing to hear you admit that you don’t normally finish the courses (guilty here too) but love ABM. I may take that as my sign to take the next step!