Wednesday

2015 Blog Goals


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
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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Not only that, but I have some great new series posts coming up too. Every month, I'm going to feature a charity in my sidebar and write a post to explain why it's such an important cause to support. I'm also going to be introducing a monthly flashback post; Taking one of my old posts each month and rewriting it to bring it up to date. I'll also be carrying on with my newly-started Can fat people wear...? series so look out for that.

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! 

15 comments :

  1. Love these, would love to know more about the business side of things too and all that jazz. Easy and simple, because things like this confuse me ;) xx

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    1. I figured the Citizens Advice Bureau would be the best place to start. Might be worth visiting your local branch

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  2. This is a great post Becky. I would also like blogging to generate enough income for me to consider it a part time job this year as I quit mine haha!

    Love Hayley,
    Water Painted Dreams

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  3. I love love love your goals. I have pretty similar ones for this year too as I really want to grow my blog to a point where I'm less reliant on working awful hours alongside my studies! I'm yet to sit down and create a proper plan of action for 2015 but I think I might just do that tonight x

    Charlotte / coloursandcarousels

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  4. I loved reading about your plans. Making a blog plan sounds like something I'm going to be really thinking about x

    www.leannewinters.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. Your new series of posts sound great! Especially the idea for promoting charities.
    I always admire people who have proper plans instead of just vague ideas - like myself lol.
    Best wishes for 2015! xoxo

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  6. These are such great goals and I love the pinable idea

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  7. Amazing, can't wait to see where your blog goes!

    Sophie x

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  8. Really looking forward to see where 2015 takes you, the new series sound awesome :)
    Emma xx
    Writing Essays With Wine

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  9. This sounds so amazing! I'm feeling really inspired reading all about it. I have very similar dreams and will be working so hard to make them come true this year.

    Kindness is the best accessory,
    Rebecca

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  10. You've got amazing goals! I'm sure you will have a great year! Good luck Becky x

    Fabi | www.agirlandherstripes.com

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  11. Very inspiring! I really hope you achieve your goals - it looks like you're going the right way about it :) x

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  12. Great plan, I hope you achieve your goals c: Also, I just wanted to say; I love the charity that you have picked to go on your side bar :3 x

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    1. Thank you! I've got a post coming up tomorrow on why it's a cause so close to my heart. I'm really passionate about education in Pakistan.

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  13. I'm really excited to see this happen for you! If someone deserves to make blogging work for them, it's you! Can't wait to see where you take this little space.

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