So month two has come and gone since I’ve let my blog go live. And I only posted one new blog in the month of March.
I’ve been a bad blogger.
For the bloggers who manage to post 2-3 times a week and also hold down a full time job, hats off to you! Updating your blog is one thing, but I’m learning that there are a lot of other factors involved in keeping you blog consistent. I’ve found that in order to produce great and quality entries, I need to be thinking about my blog even when I’m not sitting down in front of my computer on a Sunday night. Two of the biggest mistakes that I think I made this past month with blogging were:
- Not taking my personal schedule more into account.
- Underestimating my time commitment.
In so many words – I was selfish when it came to blogging.
A great blog should be treated like a relationship. Time and dedication are major traits any relationship might require. And I haven’t been treating Soup! There It Is very well. I’ve made empty promises and haven’t put in the time to help my blog grow. Before the damage is done I’d like to admit some of my shortcomings and mistakes I’ve made as a neglectful blogger.
Last month I created a list of short-term and long-term goals for myself. Here’s a recap from my last entry:
This Week:
Post one new entryby Sunday 3/9 (actually posted 3/24)- Promote latest post at least 2 times this week on Twitter, Facebook & G+
- Set up a short-term editorial content calendar for March
This Month:
- Have at least 5 complete posts on blog
- Create Twitter handle as first social media profile and engage with at least 20 followers.
- Set up an Analytics profile.
- New layout for blog
- Identify a target audience.
As you can see, I only completed 2 ½ of the goals I initially set for myself. I think the first big mistake that I made for myself was assigning Sundays as my big blog day. Looking back at my personal calendar, I realized that I had a jam-packed month in terms of weekend time.
This was the editorial calendar that I created for myself for this past month:
And then this is what that calendar looked like after I factored in my social calendar:
So there was a lot of overlap. I failed to recognize how weekend trips, family visits, and other social plans would impact my blogging schedule. I initially dedicated Sundays as my blogging nights because in past months, this day was typically my most laid back day that would also be the most ideal day to try out a new recipe. Well, in the month of March, Sundays became the nights that I just wanted to lie in my bed and not do anything at all apparently.
This is where I definitely should have paid a little more attention to the advice given by Lana in “How Frequently to Blog” to first build a beginner’s bank of content. She writes, “…it’s a good idea to have roughly 10 posts already written before you start actively promoting it.” If I have a small bank to begin with, I won’t have to worry about my social life overlapping with my designated post dates because they’ll be locked, loaded and ready to fire out.
So I think this should be step one to reclaiming my blog. This month, I’m going to get myself out of the mind set that “Sundays are for blogging” because that only sets up boundaries for myself. This time, rather than updating posts as they happen, I’m going to try to take a more methodical approach of pre-planned posts. Once my content is persistent and consistent, I believe the other goals such as social follows and rankings will come.
Blogging Goals for the Month:
- Cook at least 5 recipes as outlined in the editorial calendar
- Write ups for at least 4 of those
- ONLY POST when you have at least 4 recipes ready to go.
I know I made mistakes this past month. I didn’t show my blog the love it needed. I know I’ve done wrong. I want to change. Something about this time tells me it will different for us. So what do you say, Soup!, will you give us another shot?
