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My second month of blogging ended a couple of weeks ago. A large part of my second month was spent taking care of sick kids and then being stuck in bed sick myself. I got behind on everything, so there were very few posts in the month of February.
I did not get my first month of blogging diaries done until early March (click here to read that post), so I am trying to get caught up with my blogging diaries without overwhelming you all with them in the same week. My start date was the 7th of January, so I consider the 7th of every month my blogging anniversary and hope to complete my blogging diary post closer to that date.
Here is a review of my goals from last month and a summary of how I did.
- Pinterest-I have a personal account and one for the blog. Decide if I really need two separate accounts.
- One of the few things I was able to do while sick was work on my Pinterest account. I decided to link my personal Pinterest account to The Resourceful Mama, so I worked on creating meaningful and organized boards. My boards were not very user-friendly. For example, I had everything from brownies to pot roasts to fruit salad in one board titled Food. I divided these up, so now if I am looking for side or salad to go with a main dish, I go directly to that board.
- Look into other social media. Facebook is the only one I have used, so another learning curve.
- I have not done anything with other social media. I have not made it a priority. I do have a Google account and occasionally I am prompted to use it, but I really have no clue. I have a personal Facebook page and I set up a Facebook account for The Resourceful Mama early on, but I have not been back to utilize it. I am not sure if I should have a separate account or combine The Resourceful Mama with my personal Facebook account. I think I remember reading that I could combine the two without blog followers have access to my personal information and feeds. I would love to hear what other bloggers do with Facebook.
- Gain a better knowledge of how my camera works.
- Improve my pictures and graphics on blog.
- I have combined the summary for these two goals since they are interrelated. For some reason this is the goal that I avoid the most and it probably should be the top priority. I think I am still stunned by how much photography plays a role in blogging. I was very naive about this going into blogging. I keep thinking I have a professional photographer who takes pictures of the kids and does our family pictures, so why do I need to become one! There was a digital photography class nearby that I intended to take, but illness prevented me from attending. I am learning PicMonkey to improve my photos and signed up for a Royale because the fonts, overlays, and graphics I wanted to use always seemed to be Royale.
- Look at other templates and assess whether I should change.
- I initially bought a template off of Etsy, but never really loved the template. I did some research on templates and found that most people recommended a child theme on Genesis framework. I found Pretty Darn Cute Design through Studiopress and purchased Modern Blogger Pro. I love this template and my husband has found it easier to work with in terms of coding.
- Organize passwords, logins, and other pertinent information.
- This is a work in progress. I know there are several online programs to help you get organized, but I am an old-fashioned paper and pencil girl. I have a notebook where I jot down ideas, thoughts, and pertinent information, but information is randomly put into the notebook and I find that it is not at all user-friendly.
Goals for Next Month
- Continue to organize Pinterest boards, join collaborative boards, delete Pinterest account I had initially started for the blog.
- Decide whether to use my personal Facebook account or a separate account for the blog. Learn how to use Google+ in conjunction with the blog and utilize it.
- Read the book that came with our camera.
- Customize my template. Right before working on this post tonight I was at a link party checking out what others had linked up and saw three others that had the same theme. They had all done a little to personalize their Modern Blogger Pro template giving me some inspiration.
- Revamp welcome image and profile.
- Market & Monetize The Resourceful Mama using what I am learning from an eBook ( How I Made $40,000 My First Year of Blogging)I purchased.
Goals for the Future
- Sign up for Instgram account. This may require purchasing a smartphone (just goes to show you how much I have to learn).
- Sign up for twitter account.
- Purchase and learn Photoshop.
Click here to see where I linked up.
Wow. good goals.
Thanks Gail! Hopefully I can meet them. 🙂
Writing down your goals and evaluating each month is such a great exercise. You’ll decide where you’re going with your blog and learn along the way. Thanks for sharing at the This Is How We Roll Link Party on Organized 31.
Thank You Susan!
Good luck! I’m new to blogging too and know how overwhelming it can be 🙂
Thanks! I stopped by your blog. Love the great deals you posted! I wish we were getting a Home Goods. I shopped there often when we lived in the Houston.
Hey! I’m also new to blogging. I started officially Jan.1, but purchased domain etc mid-December to get it all set up. Anyway, I wondered if you’ve heard about Picmonkey.com ? I considered buying photoshop as well, but it is so darn expensive and I hear there’s a learning curve… Picmonkey is a free image editing website that has a ton of editing options! Theres a free version and a pro version that gives you a little more. I actually bought the pro version for like $33 for the year and WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! Some day, I’ll probably get Photoshop, but Picmonaey is great for us beginners! Just thought I’d past on the info 🙂 Hope it helps! Keep at it!
Thanks Jamie! I also bought the pro version of Picmonkey. I kept finding myself drawn to the Royale overlays, text, etc. I am so glad that I did!
Your blog design is beautiful! I am a newbie as well. Valuable tips, thank you for sharing :)Checking out that ebook…
Thanks! So glad you stopped by my blog! Good luck with yours!
I love the idea of writing goals, great idea! Found this at Inspire Me Monday!
Thanks for stopping by Ann! My goals keep me on track! 🙂
I know just how you feel. I keep my personal accounts completely separate. I use Keypass to store all of my logins. Feel free to contact me if you have questions about it. I can’t afford photoshop so I use GIMP the free opensource version. Thanks for sharing your diary. It was a good reminder of how much I’ve had to learn since I started blogging even though I still feel like a brand new blogger.
I’d love you to link this up at Two Uses Tuesday. http://purfylle.blogspot.com/2015/03/two-uses-tuesday-link-up-22.html
Thank you so much Stella! Writing the blogging diary each month is a good reminder for me in how much I have accomplished when I am feeling overwhelmed by just how far I have yet to go. I am going to look into Keypass for logins. I would love to link up at Two Uses Tuesday. I will definitely be checking it out.
Congrats on the blog! I started my blog on January 1 and am pretty new to blogging myself. I love that you’ve written out your goals like this. I find writing things down helps me be more accountable. I am interested in what you do with Facebook, as that is the one social media platform that I do not have for my blog. I have to look into possible purchasing the pro version of picmonkey since lots of people seem to feel it’s worth it.
Thanks for stopping by Nancy! I am so glad I purchased PicMonkey. I felt for $33/year it was more than worth it. I plan on doing Facebook soon…I will let you know. Good luck with your blog!!!
Popping over from Live Randomly Simple! I would say not to worry too much about Google + they are going to stop/change it soon, while it is a good resource I wouldn’t spend too much time learning it! Just get the basics until they announce their plans. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for the heads up on Google+ Sharon. I appreciate any advice I can get…especially if it saves me time. Have a lovely day!
Great goals! I can Definitely relate. I try learning a new social media every month and building followers but it’s not always easy. My goal last month was too gain 100 new Pinterest followers and I gained over 420 so that’s great this month I think I’m going to try to triple my dismal earnings. So as a semi new blogger I support your goals and hope you exceed them =)
Thank you so much Kristen! Congrats on surpassing your goal of Pinterest followers and good luck on your new goal!
What wonderful goals! I didn’t realize the pictures were such a big deal as a blogger either, such a huge learning curve for me. I’ve improved but I’ve still got room to grow. Thanks for being candid and open about your goals. Keep up the awesome work! Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.
Thanks Janine!
This is really great! I am a notetaker and I recently started journaling my blogging progress. We have very similar goals and things we are working towards and have questions about…mainly related to social media and how to really work it all with our blogging. This will be a great resource to help keep you on track and see where you have been. Keep it up! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks Mandee! I look forward to checking out your blog!
What great goals. Congrats on your new blog accomplishments. I just celebrated my one month blog anniversary today,
#laceyslegacy
Thanks Lacy! Congrats on your first month! I will definitely stop by 🙂
I have been blogging off and on for a few years now and everyday is a learning curve. I am a list maker and a goal setter. It keeps fresh ideas coming and makes me want to blog. If you get a chance stop by my blog and let me know what you think. Thanks for the info.
Thanks Dana! I would love to stop by!
Great goals! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness link party 🙂
Thanks Sharon!
Hi Kim,
I have been going for a little over 3 months now. I saw that you have already heard about PicMonkey. The other free resource that is fabulous and user friendly is Canva. It allows you to make custom-sized graphics for all social media mediums and has a ton of free stuff you can use. They do have images also for $1.00, although I have not yet paid for anything.
Also, it was really overwhelming to get organized in the beginning. I found it very helpful to upload an editorial calendar plugin. All my drafts show next to a calendar and then I can drag and drop them at will. It really helps to get the big picture.
I hope this helps!
Shellie
#linkandmingle
Thank you so much Shellie!!! I love your tips! I have used Canva a couple of times, but need to utilize it more! Thanks for the advice on the editorial calendar plugin. Getting organized and finding a balance are my biggest struggles right now. I think that would really help!
I’m also fairly new to blogging. I started last June. But I really only count November on because that was when I got a decent camera & really buckled down into trying to make it a success.
I have to ask: is the $19.95 worth the book? I know there is a ton of blogging advice online for free….but if it’s great and helps, I might consider it. I wish they had a sample chapter or something.
Jennie
Jennie I found the book very useful! I am a book person and I am trying to read one blogging book a month. I find it easier to get a lot of information in one place rather than piecing stuff together. I really like Chelsea’s attitude towards blogging. She approached it as a business from the beginning. I learned a lot from her book: ad networks, group boards, freelance work, etc. In each chapter she gives you the numbers~income/page visits…She then discusses what she did differently that month and what she learned. She is a food blogger, but I found most of the information could translate to other types of blogs. I printed her book when I first bought it, because I learn better by having something in front of me to highlight and make notes on. I just went back to her book the other day for more information. I find each time I look back through her book and others, I find something I missed or just did not have a good understanding of at the time. We each learn and gather information differently, I would suggest doing what works best for you. You might want to contact Chelsea and ask her for more information on her book.
Okay…I’ll give it a try. I, also, prefer books. I’ve been reading marketing advice here and there and applying it, but having one good resource would be nice. I’ll try to remember to drop back by and let you know how I liked it! (purchased through your link, of course….we bloggers need to pay the bills somehow! haha).
Thanks Jennie! I really appreciate the support and would love to hear what you think. I just bought another blogging book. It is written from a different perspective, but 50 pages in and I have not gotten anything from it.