The holidays are over and life is returning to normal (I'm back to work today). I don't do New Year Resolutions, but I do like to set goals. As I'm coming up on my 3rd blogging anniversary I thought now would be a good day to think about what I want to accomplished.
1. Write reviews more promptly. I read enough books in December that I can post one review a week through mid-February. However, I have a bad habit of not writing the full review until the weekend before. This is a bad habit. I only do a short review on Goodreads upon completion of the book. Sometimes it's enough to jog my memory and sometimes it doesn't. I either need to take better notes or just write the full review at least the same week I finish the book.
2. Host 100 authors. I had 97 authors as guests on my blog in 2013. Many of them wrote more than one post, but I have more than enough guest feature spots to easily host 100 authors. If you are an author that would like to write a post or do an interview, check the submission guideline tab. If you are a reader and have an author who you would like to see appear on my guest, drop me a line and I will see what I can do.
3. Set-up posts in advance. Last year I started putting together all my blog posts for the week over the weekend. I will continue that practice, but sometimes authors will send me their articles several weeks in advance (which I absolutely love!). Right now, I usually sit on them until the weekend before they go live. Instead of blogging week to week, this year I want put together as much of the month as possible (blog month to month).
4. Put together my second marketing secrets ebook. I have written all the posts that will make up the bulk of the ebook so it is just a matter of finding the time to compile the posts, add in the transitions and expand on information I glossed over in the original blog post.
5. Read 72 books. Every year, my goal is to read 52 books but I also like to put in a challenge goal. It is usually a few books more than I read the year before. I didn't do as well this year with my reading. I only completed 81% of my challenge goal this year, so I'm reducing the number by 12.
6. Promote my blog more. I spend a lot of time promoting other blogs through Triberr and while I believe it does help, less than half of members I'm in a tribe with share any given post of mine. There will go whole days where only 1 or 2 people share my post through Triberr. There are over 50 members combined in the 3 tribes I am part of. I need to make sure I need to promote my posts more myself.
7. Be more active on Facebook. I often forget about my Facebook page. I need to use it more to promote my blog and interact with my readers.
8. Write better posts. I was very pleased to see this year a majority of the Top 10 Most Popular Posts were ones I written. I worked hard to improve the quality of my posts, but I know I can improve even more. I also want to write on more topics. I would love to get more press releases from authors and publicists so I can share your book news with my readers. I want add a few new features - popular books, new releases, ebook deals, themed recommendation lists. I've played with all of these in 2013, but not consistently enough to figure out what works and what doesn't.
9. Start an online blogger group. I love my tips posts, but I would like more interaction with bloggers. I'm part of a few author groups that offer support and advice, but I want one for book bloggers. It will most likely be a Facebook group. I'm thinking we could share posts, ask questions, and offer general support in what can be a frustrating and lonely occupation. Authors who are also book bloggers will be welcome. I think the guideline for who is a book blogger will be if your blog is 60% book-related topics (and for authors - that 60% should be book topics other than about you and your books). If you are interested in the being part of such a group or helping with it, let me know.
10. Add a reviewer and/or regular contributor(s). Sometimes life gets busy or there is more blogging tasks I want to accomplish that I cannot do them all alone. I would like to find someone who is interested in reviewing a book or two a month (bonus if their preferred genres is romance, horror, or fantasy) and putting together one featured article (new books, themed list, book news, etc) per month. I'm also considering offering weekly/monthly column. This would be great exposure for a new author or a writer wanting to expand their portfolio. Contact me if you are interested
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