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So this is the first time I’ve sat down and written some blogging goals, perhaps that’s where I’ve been going ‘wrong’ all this time? Well not ‘wrong’ but I’m keen to up my game in 2019 and by publishing my blogging plans is such a public way, maybe I can be more accountable to myself?
See the thing is, this blog is written for pleasure, for me, to record what I’ve been up to and I love the process of sitting down and putting it all together. I love the writing though dislike the image resizing and I’m hopeless at SEO but if I’m going to put so much time and effort to to write a blog post then I may well put more energy into getting it seen by more people, right?
So here are my 5 START NOW Blogging Goals for 2019…wish me luck! And if you have any you’d like to share of your own then leave a comment as I’d love some more tips and encouragement.
POST REGULARLY – by that I mean that weekly is a absolute MUST. It’s not like I have a shortage of things to write about. I’ve written a list of 100 blog posts I want to write I just don’t seem to apply the time to do them. Another reason I want to do this is that over on my podcast (I have one of those too, listen here.) I recently interviewed Professional Travelblogger Kia Abdullah from Atlas & Boots….a pro because she now makes a living from her blog which is obviously the Ultimate Dream for many bloggers and she said that when they started out (she runs it with her partner) they were committed, no matter what, even while travelling, to posting three times a week.
That is time-consuming, hardcore stuff but it’s part of how they built their reputation and following. The biggest hurdle is always real life and work commitments but I’m going try and adapt to the needs of life and still manage a weekly blog…any more than that would be a bonus! I might even plan out my posts on a Google Doc, now that would be progress.
BLOG ON THE GO – slightly linked but I’ve finally downloaded the Word Press app on my phone and though I’m not ready to write and post on the go literally, it means I don’t have to be sat at my desk with my laptop in order to write, I could make a start or edit from my phone which is a game changer.
FINISH THE BLOGGING COURES I STARTED…A YEAR AGO!
I signed up to Monica Stott aka The Travel Hack’s online 12 week course to help me focus and it’s really good but ahem…it’s taking me some time. Again I just need to sit down and do it. It’s the first time I’ve done an online course, tbh I prefer the real thing, going to classes and meeting people but it’s very practical, lots of exercises and activity sheets so a lot to take in – that’s my excuse for taking so long.
“Write and share what you want when you want”
SORT OUT SEO…
It’s easy to get bogged down in blogging rules…content wise I firmly believe there shouldn’t be any, that’s the point of a blog not being traditional press – write and share what you want when you want…but if you’re going to all the effort as I said at the beginning then yes, get more people to see it. And the answer to that is good SEO so you can be found. It’s something I really need to understand better, wish me luck and send me tips please.
STICK TO BEING ME, and ONLY ME
There are conventions that if I followed might get me more page views and followers, but me be conventional? Nah. It takes real effort to maintain any kind of diary, whether its handwritten, drawn, vlogged or blogged, trying to think about making it fit certain criteria makes it feel like a chore.
I have no interest in following similar paths as other bloggers, I have utter respect for the ones who make blogging their career but I’m pretty sure that can also come at a cost, sometimes moral. So for now I’m going to continue to write about what I want to, use images I want to (mostly taken on my iphone I might add!) and do what feels right for me.
Thank you for sharing in my blogging adventures (if you read any of my pages then that means you – yes you!) and if you have your own blog I wish you all the best for completing your own blogging goals too.
Let’s do this!
(This picture was taken on Christmas Day by nephew!)
What do you think?