The New Year brings new ideas and new blogging decisions. It’s a wonderful time to evaluate your content and your posting methods so that you can improve your blog and grow as a blogger. With 2017 just around the corner, I put together a list of blogging resolutions to make note of to help you out!
Only post quality content
“Quality over quantity” is something you’ve probably heard for ages, but this year is the perfect time to really implement the idea on your blog. Before posting anything, ask yourself if your reader will find some sort of value in what you’ve written, or if you are simply writing to fill up some space with a new post. We review each and every submission we receive here at the Wonder Forest blog and only post what we think you will love. This selection process has helped so much with the quality of content on this site! Going forward, try being more selective with your posts and see what happens!
“Up” your photography game
This is the year to improve your photography skills! With such easy access to technology and cameras, there is no longer an excuse to have shoddy blog photos. You can get some great results with a simple phone camera as long as you know how to use it properly. In fact, there are several online photography classes that you can start right away which are perfect for beginners.
Keep everything updated
Thinking about the front end of your site (your content and design) is not the only thing you need to keep updated. In the New Year, remember to keep all of your plugins and software updated as well! If you are a backend update slacker, you can open your site up to intruders and so much more. I recently published a post over at I Can Build a Blog all about this which is definitely worth a read for WordPress users.
Expand your social reach
Social media can seem overwhelming at times, which is why it might be a good idea to pick one or two platforms to focus on and really amp up the content you share. For me, I love posting to Instagram and sharing bite-sized content on Twitter. Try to mix up what you post and throw in some cool quotes, content you loved from other bloggers, and lovely imagery. Doing this consistently will help grow your audience!
Transition to video
Starting a YouTube channel is an excellent way to expand your reach as well and also gives you a totally new outlet for content. With video being so insanely popular nowadays, sharing your own content on there can boost your following and create a little “real life” aspect that visitors love. It’s also a great way to make additional blogging revenue if you monetize your videos!
Develop an income generating idea
For most bloggers, making money takes a long time. It’s those that can come up with awesome income generating ideas that will prosper in the New Year. Use your own skills and knowledge to come up with an idea that can be sold at a price to your readers. Digital content works so well as long as you execute the idea properly! What is something that you are skilled at that can potentially become a product?
Post more of what showcases your skills
In addition to coming up with your income generating idea, your audience needs to know what you are good at! Every single one of us has a history and talent that makes us unique. If you can really hone in on your own skills, you can start posting more about that skill in a way that offers value to your readers. The more you know, the more you should share… and the more you share, the more your content will be shared!
Revise any old content
Let’s face it, we all grow up and move on to different things. The New Year is the best time to scan your older posts and decide whether or not they’re still relevant to your blog today. Perhaps you’ve changed direction a little bit and no longer want to share certain things from your past with your new readers. That is totally fine! Go in and revise or remove any posts you are no longer comfortable with being displayed. This is also a good time to update your past posts with links to your newer posts that might add some relevance to the topic.
Come up with blog topics in advance
Keeping a notebook handy or jotting ideas for blog topics down in your phone is a great way to stay on top of your content. It’s also the perfect time to grab my book 365 Blog Topic Ideas and start the year off with a bang!
What is one of your blogging resolutions for the New Year? Let us know in the comments!
Last Updated on
My blogging resolution is to let go of Twitter, at least for a little while. It’s the one social media form I don’t enjoy using at all and leads to me losing motivation to do anything with my blog. So I’m ditching it, this way I don’t have to feel bad about tweeting out thoughts even I dont care about.
Good for you! Get rid of what’s not working for you and what you don’t enjoy 🙂
Such a great helpful post! Thanks for sharing. I’d love to transition to video but I feel it’s something that everyone finds a little daunting at first! Maybe one day! Thanks for the inspiration xxx
Ciara Rose | http://www.ciara-rose.com | Bloglovin’
One of my resolutions is to post what I really am passionate about, amp up my photography skills and post more 🙂 Great post!
http://www.fatima-writes.blogspot.co.uk
Such great tips Dana! I think I’m gonna try a bit of vlogging this year. Still looking for good video editing tools. 🙂 Also, concentrating on growing my Instagram. Wee!