I really wanted to write about my blogging goals for 2013 a lot sooner than today. But when the new year started, life got a bit more busy that I had wanted. A member of the family suffered a medical emergency, and all my time was devoted to dealing with this crisis. But now that the crisis is passed, and the family member is well on their way to recovery, I can turn my attention back to the business of creating my blogging goals for 2013.
Recently my blog celebrated its one year anniversary. Now I have been blogging for a lot longer than one year. I have gone from Blogger to free WordPress, then back to Blogger. I took one more shot at the free WordPress before I went to self-hosting. I struggled a lot with the decision to become self-hosted because, let’s face it, I am a bit dense when it comes to blog design, creation, maintenance, and SEO. It’s been quite a learning experience for me. But thankfully, there are plenty of bloggers out there that are willing to share their knowledge and expertise. I want to point out that Jo-Lynne from Musings Of A Housewife has always been willing to read and respond to any questions that I send her, regardless of how stupid they are. Her blog has always been one of my staple reads during the course of my many attempts at blogging.
So as I sit here writing my post, I am having a hard time deciding which of my blogging goals are the most important. I don’t want to list too many of them, because if I don’t meet them, then it will just be an exercise in frustration. In the same token, I don’t want them to be too easy. After all, goals are something you work towards, and they aren’t always easy. So I came up with my top 3, and I am giving myself 3 months to accomplish them.
One of the hardest things I have struggled with is themes and blog design. There are days when I think that I like my blog design, and then I read other blogs, and I decide that I don’t like the way it looks. While it may seem like a silly thing, the design not being the way I like it is one of the biggest reasons why I end up abandoning it for a time. And I decided that while it is a critical issue in blogging, it was not one of the areas I am ready to devote my time to. Thankfully, I found a great Genesis theme that was free. And can I just say that Susan, the designer, was very gracious to help me with a few tweaks to improve my blog, despite using a free theme. Check out her work, and find out first hand how terrific her customer service is! So here are my blogging goals for 2013, in no particular order:
1. Learn how SEO can improve traffic to my blog. Thanks to a recent WordPress plugin, I am starting to get a bit of a grip on and how to use it to improve my blogging goals. While I am still a novice at the concept, things are starting to click into place, and, like most things, just need a little bit of time to get into the swing of things.
2. Quality, not quantity. Instead of cranking out 7 inferior posts in a week, just to say that I posted every day, I plan to write 3-4 well thought out posts, and a few others in between. In reviewing my blog, I noticed I relied heavily on a lot of blog memes to get my inspiration. While they are fun, they should not be the meat of my blog. I want my blogging and blogging goals to reflect who I am, not who I think “they” want me to be.
3. Spend more time commenting on other blogs and responding to the comments on my blog. You get what you give, right? I realize I am extremely guilty of receiving instead of giving. I expect people to comment on my blog, but then I don’t give them the same courtesy . So I made sure that interacting with my blog readers was going to be a priority when working on my blogging goals.
So share with me what your blogging goals are for this year. Is there anything specific you want to accomplish or just fine-tune a few things in your writing? In any case, having good blog friends can help anyone accomplish their blogging goals.
Twitter: lisapatb
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Those 3 things will greatly help your blog. I used to blog daily in the beginning but found doing it 2-4 times a week did not change my traffic and I had more time to comment elsewhere which is a huge way to boost your own comments and traffic and get to know other bloggers. Working with different blogging themes and plug-ins can be challenging. I love using Yoast SEO for mine. Best of luck in 2013 and will be interesting to see how far your blog will go with your 3 new plans of action.
Lisa recently posted..Triberr Quick Tips to Get Your Blog Traffic Going
Twitter: MOLM2011
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Thank you Lisa!
Twitter: boymomblog
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Hello! I’m visiting from SITS – I’m also a mom of 2 boys and pondering my blog goals… I was JUST looking at Genesis themes too… except I still have to switch from wordpress.com to .org and then go from there. Anyway, weird that you mentioned that today… great post! I’m also going to try more videos, updating my look on facebook and twitter, and some other tweaks that I need to write down.
Andrea recently posted..Friday Funny!
Twitter: MOLM2011
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Thanks for stopping in Andrea! I think it’s neat that my post was something you were thinking about as well. Shows me that I am on to something!
Twitter: dakotapam
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Those are some great goals. I’ve struggled with theme and design as well, but I’ve learned to make do with what works best! I’ve been using an SEO plugin for a while and though I don’t think it drives more traffic, it does make me more focused and mindful. As you can see, I rarely post to a meme anymore, and if I do it is only once or twice. I’d rather have my space filled with good, evergreen content that will be readable and relate able for years to come! I’d love to hear how you feel things are going over the next few months!
Dakotapam recently posted..Dressing Up the “Mom Uniform” with No nonsense Tights and Leggings
Twitter: MOLM2011
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Yeah. I used to do 4 to 5 memes a week. I think that the one I am going to stick with the most is Meal Plan Monday. I will take it from there!
Those are great goals and I have the same ones. I’m still trying to figure out the SEO thing
And I have been reading and commenting a lot more. I did get me a planner and it has helped me out a lot. I even have some post scheduled out, which I have never done.
Heather’s Happenings recently posted..Guest Blogger: Emmy Mom
Twitter: MOLM2011
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I schedule posts too. I have the WP Calendar plugin, and it really helps with that, because you can see the whole month. You can move posts around without having to edit the date and time on each post.
Twitter: ThisBusyLife
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Thanks for sharing your goals. I wish you every success!I can relate to number three, wanting comments but not having the time to visit and comment on other blogs.
This Busy Life recently posted..Fairytales
Excellent goals. I love the layout of your blog and the design. It’s great. I should probably give my blog an overhaul one day. Found you on SITS.
Vicki M, Taylor recently posted..Today I Celebrate
Twitter: MOLM2011
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Thanks so much for stopping in Vicki! I am so glad that you like my blog. Isn’t SITS great?
Twitter: katlupe
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This is an excellent post, Jen! As you may already know, I am working on my new blog, that is not exactly new, since I started it last year in May. My blog with the same name on Blogger has a following in my niche, and I am trying to make a changeover to the new one. That is my top goal for this year. The other one is that I am working on eliminating the spam my blog has been receiving in the comments. My traffic seems to be increasing and I am not concerned with that right now. Just getting rid of the spammers!
katlupe recently posted..Creosote Builds Up In The Chimney Pipe
Twitter: Blended4Purpose
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My goals for Blended4Purpose are:
1. Learn more about SEO
2. Learn how to attract advertisers
3. Learn how to market my blog to my target audience – hurting marriages and blended families
4. Complete the 501(c)3 application for my ministry which begins with the blog
Blessings~
Alethea
Blended4Purpose recently posted..Transparent Moment
Twitter: MOLM2011
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Those are some great goals Alethea! I think it’s amazing that you are using your blog as a ministry! May it be a blessing to all!
Twitter: candilandco
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Thanks, I had done some personal goals for the year and today I did my blogging goals. I use all in one SEO, so I don’t know the difference between them and Yoast. But I don’t even know what to do with it. I would love to study more SEO. Also I never did write too many posts but I have been reading that to many posts don’t allow the reader to comment. Also I too, want to comment more and get more readers. I don’t like my theme and I want a genesis one, just waiting for some money. I didn’t know there was a free one.
Candi recently posted..My Top 10 Addictions
These are great goals. I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half and it took me a while to decide that I was going to take my blog seriously and set some goals. Also, I, too, have recently fallen in love with an SEO plugin called Yoast. It’s AMAZING. It uses red, yellow, and green “lights” to tell you if your post is good SEO-wise based on the search terms you want, but even better, it spells out what could make it better – word count, outgoing links, search words used in certain places. I highly recommend it (obviously)!
Jennifer recently posted..My Kind of Mom
Twitter: MOLM2011
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@Jennifer: That is the SEO plug-in is what I use as well. I totally agree that it has helped me write better posts. Thank you for stopping in!
Twitter: ElaineSearer
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Those are great goals! I enjoyed this entire post!
I really must make it my goal to learn more about the technical aspects of running a blog. Right now my blog is not working–all the pictures are broken, and my theme is gone. It’s been a very, very frustrating week or so trying to find people to help with all of the problems that I don’t know how to fix. Honestly, I’ve been very close to just giving up, but I really enjoy blogging!
I love your suggestion for spending some of our blogging time leaving comments and reading other blogs.
Elaine recently posted..Two Favorite Not-So-Frugal Items
Twitter: MOLM2011
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Elaine, take it one thing at a time. Is this a blog that you transferred from another site? If so, you may have to reload it. You may lose some work, but at least it will reset everything.
Twitter: maryjstephenson
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Hi
I came here from another site that you left a comment on. I would like to make one suggestion to you. I looked around your site and have not found your first name. On my site I was okay with leaving my name, but was reluctant to leave my face. But have found that both make people want to connect and get to know you. Like a friend you would invite into your home. Really think that would help folks get to know and trust you.
Wishing you much luck on your endeavors for the year.
Mary
Mary Stephenson recently posted..Memories and How Well They Serve Us
Twitter: MOLM2011
says:
Thanks for stopping in Mary, and for your suggestion. I don’t use my first name for a reason, I would appreciate it if you respected that.