Happy New Years everyone, and I am welcoming 2017 with open arms!
I should be asleep by now...but I created a little collage (on Layout app) of photos from 2016 that I loved. 2017 will be a huge year for me. For those of you who have read this blog for a while, you know that I will be getting married in March. That is in 75 DAYS! I'm a bit scared and nervous because it is a huge change. I sometimes feel like I am 17 instead of 27. But I am taking this leap of faith to be with Cecilio and spend my life with him. Because we love each other deeply and we are each other's best friends. Our lives will be beautiful.
I am so busy actively looking for a job too, and seriously considering freelance design and blogging, even if I get an office job at first. I have a job interview on Wednesday (at the university I graduated from), so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers! I have been praying everyday, and mentally preparing.
I will post what I can and I will try to post to the max, but coming March it's going to be very tough. I want to be more serious about this blog though, as in...pursue it as more than a hobby. I have been blogging for over 2 years and I am experiencing some slow growth, especially compared to other blogs and their social media accounts. But with 2016, I learned what works and what doesn't. But I won't compare myself. It's hard though. I am proud of what I have accomplished in this blog ever since I started it in August 2014.
Without further ado...here are my goals for this blog:
Improve my photography
Both on the iPhone and DSLR (I use a Nikon D5000). I bought white boards to use my products on (though I have been using the fuzzy white blanket my in laws gave me for my birthday), and I will do my best to use a tripod and natural light as much as possible. I have also been reading up on how to use the reflector. It's funny because I took photography classes and we were taught how to use the reflector, and I would get a bit frustrated with it. It was only when I started blogging that I really started understanding it. And I just want to improve my composition too!
Be more active on social media
I am proud to say that even if I don't have followers in the 1000s on Twitter, Instagram, and Bloglovin', I have come a long way. I have experience a vast improvement on Twitter, and it helps by participating on the Twitter chats (my favorites chats are from @TheGirlGangHQ and @Lbloggerschat) where I get to know other people from other parts of the world. I also use Buffer to schedule my tweets for my blog posts. It also helps dropping links on different Facebook groups too. One Facebook group I love is Beauties on Fire. Everyone there is SO supportive and encouraging. And yes, I will utilize Pinterest to the max, especially since so many other bloggers say that they have success from Pinterest the most.
Create a new logo
I know, I know...I've been talking about rebranding and designing a new logo, favicon and button for Floraful. Truth is, I was feeling very uninspired as a designer, but not as a blogger. I had artist's block and I hated it. I got my spark back since I started designing my wedding invitations and am editing my portfolio for the interview. Whenever I start designing and loving it again, I feel like this is what I was meant to do, and I am using my talents to glorify God and change the world. I just get really discouraged easily. And I mustn't.
Have my own domain name
I do want to drop the .blogspot.com. Nothing wrong with that, but I feel like it would take me to the next level of professionalism.
Work with more brands
Even if it means that I approach them first. I know I don't have the highest stats but it doesn't hurt to try, right? Although in a few Twitter chats, I was told that there are many brands who won't look at your stats and see potential. And I know when Irresistible Me contacted me to review their Diamond Flat Iron, they saw my potential. Obviously I would want to start off with the small indie brands I admire first. But I want to have a long-term relationship with them and help them promote their product while promoting my blog in return.
Post 3–4 times a week
Like I said, this may be a little difficult because of the wedding planning, job hunting (and possibly starting a freelance graphic design business), and apartment finding, but I will absolutely do my best. Especially because I have SO many topics that I jotted down for the next few months. I would like to write at least 12 posts a month (last year, most of my posts topped at 11 a month). I find that keeping a schedule will help. Chronic Illness Bloggers, a blogging directory I am a member of, has a great article on why you should have your own editorial calendar for your blog posts.
Just plain have fun
What's the point of slaving over this if you aren't having fun? I get joy from improving my photography and finding a diamond in the rough from hundreds of photos I've taken. I'm cultivating my writing skills. I am learning so much about other amazing, beautiful women around the world and their backgrounds. That's what I remind myself when I get discouraged. "Do you blog for love or blog for money?" I always ask myself, rhetorically. Obviously the former if I'm still here, and if I try to exude my passion as much as possible.
Cheers to an amazing year!
What are your blogging goals for 2017?
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