Blogging Goals for 2015

by Donna Huber

Credit: Sylvester 2015 Fireworks New Year's Day Midnight
 (CC0 Public Domain)

As 2014 wound down I looked back at the goals I set for the myself and the blog. Let's take a quick look at how I did.

1. Write reviews more promptly. I did marginally better at that this year. I did get behind after a big reading push this summer. 

2. Host 100 authors. We didn't even come close to 100 authors being hosted this year. Even with Heather doing a monthly interview, we only had 44 guests on the blog. I hope to host more authors this year, but will set a more modest goal. If anyone would like to guest post, do an interview, or provide an excerpt this year, please let me know.

3. Set up posts in advance. While I had hoped to start scheduling on a more monthly basis, I was able to get most posts set for the week on a weekly basis. I'm going to try harder this year to get most posts scheduled in advance.

4. Put together my second marketing book. A big FAIL. I did get it started, but with my health not being so good this year I just didn't feel up to devoting a full weekend to the project and piece-milling it doesn't work for me.

5. Read 72 books. This was a good goal, much more attainable than the goal I had set in 2013. My year end read-a-thon really help me meet the goal. I finished just after noon yesterday when I made the last minute substitution to read Ethan Coen's book of poetry, The Day the World Ends. (BTW, this number does not include books I re-read, just first time reads)

6. Promote Girl Who Read more. I think I did well with this goal. We now have more than 1000 page views per day and the number of monthly visitors has also increased. Claire has been a big help with promoting the blog by sharing posts to her Facebook page. 

7. Be more active on Facebook. I have increased my activity both on Girl Who Reads's page as well as in the groups I'm involved with.

8. Write better posts. You, my readers, are a better judge of if this goal was accomplished or not. I'm really pleased though that one my tips posts was the number one most viewed post this year.

9. Start an online blogger group. Another FAIL. Again, I think my health kept me from pursuing this more. I'm still thinking of converting my bloggers for GWR Publicity group into a blogging group. Are you interested?

10. Add a reviewer and/or regular contributor(s). This was a huge success. I added Claire as a reviewer and Heather and Alison as monthly contributors.

2015 Goals

I'm going to keep this year's goals a bit more simple, though I will still be working towards last year's goals as well.

1. Read 72 new books. This was a good number for this year. A challenge, yet attainable.  Again, this number does not include any books I might re-read this year. I want to re-read The Gateway Chronicles by KB Hoyle now that the series is complete.

2. Be more social. I did pretty well on Facebook this year and I want to continue, but I also want to be more social once more on Twitter. I use to talk to people all the time on Twitter, but now I send out mostly links. It is a bit more difficult as I'm busier at work, but I'll make an effort.

3. Schedule posts in advance. I'm shooting to have 90% of each month's posts scheduled at the beginning of the month. I've also fallen behind on keeping the editorial calendar so I'm going to wrap that into this goal as well.

4. Add another regular contributor. I would like to add another monthly features writer this year. 

5. Publish one book. I have enough material for at least 2 books, but I would be happy if I can get one out the door this year.

Goal setting is an important part of blogging. It can really help in making your blog a success, but also for reducing stress. Knowing what you want to do with your blog this year will give you a plan to turn to when you feel like giving up. 

I've shared my goals for this year. What do you hope to accomplish in 2015?