This post contains affiliate links. See my Disclosure Policy for details.
April 7th was my three month mark. I’m not even sure where to start this month. This was a busy month for the blog. Most of my 2nd month was spent dealing with illness and very little blogging was done, so in a way this was like my second month. I feel like I accomplished a lot; just don’t look too closely at my house or the dark circles under my eyes. I’ve seen 2 am more than I even did in college.
The most exciting thing this month was cashing in a previous gift and getting a new laptop to use in blogging. This was such a blessing! I was using my husband’s five year old laptop that was missing a couple of keys, had no working USB ports, and was so slow.
In this post I will be listing my goals for the month and then discussing my progress in meeting those.
These are the goals I set for my third month of blogging.
- Continue to organize Pinterest boards, join collaborative boards, delete Pinterest account I had initially started for the blog.
- I met part of this goal. I deleted the Pinterest account I had initially started for the blog. I decided the previous month to convert my personal Pinterest account to a business account for the blog and no longer needed this new account. I joined several collaborative boards and gained more followers in doing this. I would still like to do more organization on my Pinterest boards.
- 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.
- I set up a separate Facebook account with a page for the blog and I am so glad that I did. The feed from the Facebook groups and pages I have liked would have clogged up my personal Facebook page. I have gotten friend request from some really strange people. Strange in…I don’t know why they want to be friends, so again I am really glad I chose to create a separate account.
- I am using Google+. I only use Google+ for the blog, but I have a separate page within Google+ for the blog, which does not seem necessary. I don’t know how to merge the two and get rid of the separate page. I currently have it set up in WordPress to link up my blog posts to Google+, but I usually have to edit them, so I am not sure I will continue doing this.
- Read the book that came with our camera.
- I did not complete this goal. I did download an ebook that is a small reference booklet for using the manual mode on your camera. What little I have read about photography and blogging recommends using the manual mode on your camera. I need to learn it quickly, because I knocked our camera off the table a few weeks ago. It works in some settings, but not all. We have an older DSLR camera that I believe only works in manual. I am hoping to utilize that camera while I send the other camera in to be fixed.
- Customize my template.
- I did not do anything more with this than to get a quote on what a customize header would cost and it was above our budget for the blog. I need to create a header/cover photo for my social media accounts and thought I could utilize the same one for all accounts. For now I will attempt something myself.
- Revamp welcome image and profile.
- I did work on this, but don’t be surprised if it changes again. As I learn new things, I will be modify it.
- Market & Monetize The Resourceful Mama using what I am learning from an eBook by Chelsea Lords (How I Made $40,000 My First Year of Blogging). Click here to visit Chelsea Lords.
- This book had a lot of great tips. If you are a new blogger or a blogger who would like to earn more money from your blog, I would suggest reading it. She lists each month how many page views she had and what her income was as well as the sources of income. The author is a food blogger, but I found a lot of helpful advice in the book. The suggestion to join group boards came from this book. Chelsea said in the book that she submitted her food pictures to a few different sites as an additional source of income. Um what could I do? I did a little research and found Beyond Your Blog. Susan lists several sites where you can submit your family/parenting articles. She offers several podcasts as well.
These were the goals I listed last month for the future.
- Sign up for Instgram account.
- I completed this goal early! I signed up for Instagram using my husband’s phone thinking I could post to the Instagram online…nope. I broke down and bought a smartphone and love it.
- Sign up for twitter account.
- Completed this one as well. I have it set up to automatically tweet my new posts, but otherwise I have not utilized it much.
- Purchase and learn Photoshop.
- I continue to use PicMonkey. I also occasionally use Canva.
These are my goals/tasks for next month.
- Join more Pinterest group boards. I am currently not part of any DIY or craftgroup boards and would like to join some.
- Create a header/cover photo to use on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Hometalk.
- Read another blogging book. I have been considering Ruth’s Soukup’s book How to Blog for Profit Without Selling your Soul. Would love any recommendations other bloggers may have!
- Get camera fixed.
- Increase following on social media accounts. My Pinterest account more than tripled this last month and continues to increase. Grant it, I only started with 30.
- Work on advertising. Before reading Chelsea’s book, I had one Google Adsense ad on my site. The funny part is that I thought many bloggers did not have ads. When I started using my new computer to view blogs, I quickly realized how wrong I was. My husband must have had something set up on the computer that blocked ads. I have since added the additional two Google Adsense ads and one Sovern ad. I also added an Amazon ad and signed up to be a Target affiliate, but have not put any of their ads on my site yet. I started doing a weekly “What I Wore” post and signed up for Shopstyle. I signed up for a Blogher account and have posted a few blog posts. I find it more difficult to post to Blogher, because I have to save my pictures to an online storage account (I use Flickr). I just recently reached my 90 days and plan to apply for Blogher advertising. Chelsea’s recommends in her book using an ad management companty. I plan to look into that, because I know I am not even close to utilizing my ads properly.
- Figure out what I am doing. I feel like I am somewhat all over the place with my content. I started out blogging kind of on a whim and did not do a lot research. I am trying to get a grasp on what readers want and how that fits with what I am passionate and knowable about. I have my About Kim page done and hope to get my About The Resourceful Mama page done. I have been holding off in completing it until I had good framework for what I would be blogging about.
- Find a balance! I have already started on this. I have backed off on trying to do some of the extra things for now; like submitting writing to other sites. I also have not done much updating and adding of things to my blog the last couple of weeks. I have continued to post six days a week. I lessen up on marketing a couple of weeks ago and saw a big drop in my numbers. It’s spring and I want to enjoy the weather with my kids.
- Increase page views. I have yet to get over 200 for a day.
Stop back next month to see how I did in my fourth month of blogging.
You have a lot of great goals here. I have a HUGE to do list for my blog and I broke it into 10 pieces (I am sure it’ll grow into more pieces) and I’m trying to find a few hours to tackle each piece. Instagram is great and one of my favorite social channels! I also use Photoshop and it is great, I pay $19.99 a month for it through the Cloud. I SO need to organize my Pinterest boards, I don’t even have that on my to do list yet, because I don’t even want to think about it. lol!
Thanks Carrie! I have a much longer list but trying to keep it manageable. I can see myself becoming addicted to Instagram very quickly. I am going to look into Photoshop through Cloud. Thanks for the tip! I was only able to start my Pinterest organization because I was sick in bed several weeks ago and unable to do much else…haven’t gotten back to the task since.
Wow Kim! You have been busy for being sick! Good luck with this next month’s goals.. which I look forward to hearing how you did, for it inspires me to be better!
Thanks Aspen!
Oh, how did you go about joining pinterest boards?
I looked through bigger bloggers that I was following to see what group boards they are on. on the group board page, in the top left there are a few pictures of contributors to the board. The first one is the administrator. If you click on it, you will be taken to their Pinterest page and you have to follow them to join. Sometimes on the group board, the administrator will have a message under the title of board with instructions for joining. If not, you can email them (from your Pinterest email) or message them on one of their pins. If they accept you, you will receive an invite back. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions. I think the Pin Junkie also has a post with detailed instructions.
Oh and I have been going back and forth about signing up for Sovrn… and after reading this post, I just did! 🙂 Thanks!
I love the organization of your list! Love your tips, thank you. I have not put any ads on my blog, but I think I am going to do so. I have focused a lot of my time on social media and not my blog. I love Instagram! I sync my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. I have not hit the “staying up till 2am” dedication phase yet. You inspired me to focus though! I feel there is so MUCH TO DO and so little time!! Keep sharing your journey!
You said it Karen…WAY TOO MUCH and not enough time! My list is much longer than what I posted. I can’t imagine how I will keep up when summer hits. I am loving Instagram….wishing I would have gotten on along time ago. I’m always late to the party.
Love following your monthly check in’s. As a newer blogger myself it is nice to see how someone else is managing this crazy online world.
Also, I found your post through the Pin Junkie Party and I thought I would mention that Bonnie administers a few Group Pinterest boards. they would be a great place to start!
Thanks Emily! One of the things that keeps me going is reading what others have written as new bloggers to know I am not alone in this craziness. Thanks for the tips on Bonnie’s boards. I did email her earlier this week, but was not paying attention and emailed her from the wrong email (Pinterest was set up with my personal email account rather than the my blog email), so I need to do it again. Look forward to checking out your blog.
You’ve done a great job of setting goals and truthfully evaluating your progress. You’ve inspired me to revisit my list of goals. Thanks for sharing at the This Is How We Roll Link Party on Organized 31.
This is quite a list, the one’s accomplished and the one’s to do yet. I am really impressed. If you keep going at this rate you will be there in no time. Congrats on the blog and best of luck in your ventures.
Thank you so much Nikki!
So inspiring to read your list. As a new blogger myself, I have felt alone. Everyone I read and followed was a seasoned pro. Found you on Mama Mondays Link Up. Keep it up!
Thank Trisha! I know what you mean. I look forward to stopping by your blog.
Great information! Thanks!
I am new to blogging also. I have been trying to research and work on the different social media. You had said you set up a separate business Facebook account with a page for the blog. My reading had said that Facebook would not let you open a business Facebook account, unless you set it up under a fake name,. Did you find out something different?? I didn’t want my personal Facebook being clogged up either. How were you able to do it??
Thanks!
I am testing my memory here. I set up the Facebook page back in January when I set up the blog and then did nothing with it until last month. I set up a separate Facebook account using my name, but used my blogging email rather than my personal email. I then created a page for the blog within that account. I hope that helps. If not like me know Brenda.
Wow these are great goal! Makes me want to kick my hiney in gear! Your blog looks great! Visiting from the Mom2Mom link up.
Thanks Winter!
So. I have photoshop already (I am also a photographer) and I use PicMonkey for my blog pictures a lot more than photoshop. Photoshop also has a pretty steep learning curve. There is a free program called “GIMP” which is very very similar to photoshop only it’s free. Same learning curve though, so you’ll have to learn how to use it. As for learning to use your camera in manual, have you looked into local community colleges? I went to one when we were in South Carolina and I learned so much about shooting in manual, and even just a semester I feel like I really honed my skills. Then after that, if you still want photoshop you can get a student discount. 😉
These are great goals! I hope I see you succeeding! Your blog is beautiful, and I honestly thought you were successful when I first found this blog. 🙂 Good luck!
Thank you so much Beth Ann! You kind words, tips, and feedback mean so much! I am very grateful. I think I am going to stick with PicMonkey for now (I have enough to learn), but I will definitely look into GIMP when I decide to take the leap. I would love to take a class and had not thought of the community college. Thanks for the suggestion.
I saw this post on a link-up party and knew I had to read it because I am also on my 3rd month of blogging. You have a lot on your list, but it’s great to see that you are crossing quite a few of the to do’s off your list each month. There seems to be a lot more to being a successful blogger than I originally thought.
I have to say that I use Photoshop to resize my pics, then I use PicMonkey to edit the photos. We had a free copy of all the Adobe programs through my husbands work, so I feel lucky in that sense. I do use Illustrator to do my multiple picture layouts, then add the writing in PicMonkey.
I have not done much to learn more about adding other ads to my site (i just have the google ad for now) because I thought that you had to have quite a bigger following to be accepted by Amazon or Target or other large brands. What was your experience?
Thanks for the great post!
Thanks for visiting Aliza! I love meeting other bloggers who are at the same point in the journey. I look forward to visiting your blog.
I was pretty naive with the affiliates in the beginning. I started applying for everything and was denied by most. Amazon was one that approved me right away. I applied for Target just recently without any problems. I’m not sure if they have requirements in terms of following. I am not sure I am using Target correctly. I have only figured out how to do their ads thus far. I have not been able to do an affiliate link yet. I also recently discovered Shopsense. I use it for my fashion posts and any beauty stuff I use my gift bags/baskets.
I found Ruth Soukup’s book VERY helpful. I’m using her templates for my blogging binder! Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.
Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it!
You have some great goals here! It would be great even if you accomplish half of them. Good luck!
Thanks Marina!
It is always nice to see another bloggers perspective! Thank you for sharing yours at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Thanks Echo!