Create a Blogging Calendar for the Year:
More than a few of my posts were cranked out on Friday evening with no thought about how they related to the overall structure of my blog. I'm going to sit down this month and plan a blogging calendar for the year with planned topics for at least a few weeks each month. I can always move topics around but I'd like to do a little more SEO and that doesn't work well on the fly.
Create One or Two Blog Series
On that blogging calendar I'm going to try to come up with some sort of recurring topic or multi-post series of posts.
Publish at Least One Kickfurther Merchant of the Week Post Per Month
I've reduced the amount of money I have invested in Kickfurther so trying to come up with weekly posts is tough. However, if I pursue the vendors I can usually get one per month who is interested. Especially if I offer giveaways, these posts do well.
Guest Post at Least Once
I'm looking for the right blog on which to guest post, and trying to think of topics to offer. I'd be interested if someone would like to trade guest posts.
Approach at Least One Potential Client Per Month About Sponsored Posts, Affiliate Linking or Advertising
The worst they can tell me is no--and maybe I can start making a few dollars from this blog.
Comment On At Least Three Blogs Per Week
I do get traffic from blogs on which I comment and I do usually comment on other blogs; I just need to do so consistently.
Write At Least One Substantive, Multi-Paragraph Comment Per Week; Preferably on a New-to-Me Blog
A lot of my comments are short, sometimes just friendly, sometimes more substantive. I'm going to keep my eye out for at least one blog post per week to which I can add a substantive comment, and do so.Revise at Least Ten Posts Per Month on My Book Blog
I have had a (mostly) book blog for over ten years. Most of my posts have old Amazon Affiliate links. Amazon has changed the format of their affiliate links and the old ones don't work anymore.
Also a couple of years ago Amazon and my state had a disagreement about whether Amazon had to collect sales taxes for my state; therefore Amazon, in an effort not to have a business presence in my state, discontinued affiliate agreements with all residents of my state. Therefore there was no money for me in putting in the new links.
Well, starting January 1, Amazon will start collecting sales tax from residents of my state and will allow us to be affiliates again. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to re-activate my old account or whether I will need to get a new one. In either case, I'm going to start with my newest posts and work my way back, fixing the affiliate links.
Do you think my goals will help me with my overarching goal, which of course is to gain more readers and earn more money from my blogs?
Sounds like some good goals. Even though I use an editorial calendar, I have a bad habit of ignoring it for whatever's on my mind, and as you said, SEO doesn't work well on the fly. I also find that whenever I get busy, my commenting on other blogs tends to be the first casualty (I still read them and share them, just don't comment). I think your goals should help you reach your mission, and I wish you lots of success with it!
ReplyDeleteI like that you'e not only set up goals, but that you have broken them down to what you have to do to accomplish them, I'm sure you'll have a great year!
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful blogging goals. I need to make time to do something similar as well. I find it's difficult sometimes with the demands of work, family, and other responsibilities/commitments.
ReplyDeleteWith your detailed and realistic goals, I'm sure you'll be able to accomplish them.
Great blogs. Your right commenting is hard. How many times I've read your posts and not make the extra effort to comment. I'll try too to comment more. I need to explore Kickfurther more and see what exactly it is. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI think you're definitely on the right track! I like to try to rewrite older posts once per week. (Of course, my "old" posts are only a year old, but I've learned so much that my style has changed drastically in that year.) You may find that you get enough traffic for your time that guest posting is worth doing. Usually if you can find a site that lines up with your style and has a lot of commenters, you'll find new readers. Once I'm out of debt I'll be extremely curious about your Kickfurther ideas! (Heck, I'll be interested now and will pocket that info for later.)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas. I know I need to be more systematic about what I'm doing, and I need to pitch some guest posts this year. (I've done a total of 1 in the 18 months I've been blogging...)
ReplyDeleteBut it sounds like you're very systematic in your approach to both extend your reach (through comments, guest posting and the blog series idea) and monetization (through Amazon affiliate program and exploring others.) Good luck!
I like the concept of an annual topic schedule to work from. I've been blogging almost two years, and have a long list of posts I want to write. Organizing them into an annual flow would insure a smooth sequence, and prioritize my writing efforts. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible at setting up a blogging calendar too. I just have a document with a list of topics in it and whenever I can't come up with something to write, I pull one from there. I'd really like to take the Elite Blogging Academy class sometime over the next year or two too, since I've never heard a bad comment about it, but it's really a pricey investment.
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