If I'm completely honest with you, 2014 has not been my year blog-wise. My real life has pushed its way through a bit, what with getting married and my ongoing health problems, so, although my blog hasn't suffered as such, it certainly hasn't progressed the way I'd have liked it to. However, 2015 will be different. I know it's going to be different because I have A Plan. An actual action plan for my blog in 2015.
Here's the deal: By September, I want to be able to go part-time in the day job. I love it but I also really love blogging and I'd love to be able to have both careers. Depending on my income by that point, I want to be able to work either three or four days, dedicating the rest of the week to blogging.
To do this, I need to have a solid plan in mind. So I've thought long and hard about how to improve next year and how I can work towards my goal.
Photography is the bane of my life. I love it, and I can see a real improvement over the past 3 years, but I'm still not happy with it. However, now I have lights which will hopefully make a huge difference. I'm also working on a more interesting, professional backdrop than my current bedsheets and I plan to use my tripod more for still-life shots to give me more control.
Boost traffic
Finally, finally, I've got into Pinterest. I've found it really useful to find blog resources and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to use it to promote my blog too with pin-friendly images. My traffic is always hugely improved when I remember to promote my posts on Twitter. Don't worry, I won't be spamming your accounts, but if I post links a couple of times a day, I'll see a marked improvement. This also relates to me pinning my links to my Twitter profile whenever I post a new one, so anybody visiting my Twitter page can see my latest post straight away.
Improve income
Uh-oh, we're talking about money here. Let's be honest though, if I'm going to lose a day of work, I'm going to need to make up the income with my blog. Making money is a necessity if I want to meet my goal. Luckily, I've made some really great business relationships over the past three years and I'll be continuing to work with these, developing long-term connections. I'm also going to be looking into some freelance writing for blogs and websites, and I've installed Adsense, as you may be able to see on the right. Every time somebody clicks on those ads, I get a few more pennies, so if you fancy helping me out, you know what to do!
Set up as a business
It's getting to the point where my blogging has outgrown hobby status and is moving towards a business. By the time this post goes live, I will have visited my local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice on registering as self-employed and sorting out all the necessary tax paperwork. It may seem odd to write a blog business plan, but this post perfectly sold it to me and it's something I'm really excited to create. Finally, and the most exciting part for me, I'll be setting up a PO box. It's got to the point where I'm getting a bit cautious about giving my home address to so many companies, and I'm getting the odd PR sample sent through with no indication of who sent it, so a PO box will set my mind at ease.
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I am super duper excited about the upcoming year. I really think it's going to be a big year for me. Wish me luck! I'd also love to know what your resolutions and goals are, so let me know in the comments!
