Monthly Blog Check-in & Goals Month 10

Another month has gone by, which means it's time to post my monthly update about my blog. Exciting things from the month, growth of my blog, strategies that have worked (or not), and my goals for the upcoming month.

*** This post contains affiliate links. ***

My blogging journey in October saw a change in direction for me. Throughout the summer I blogged because I felt pressure; pressure to be successful, pressure to make money, pressure to have more visitors so my stats would be higher and I could get sponsored post opportunities. I spent most of my summer blogging, networking, marketing my posts, and didn't spend as much time with my family as I wanted. Starting in September and continuing into October I evaluated how I was feeling about blogging. I decided that I wanted to blog about things that interested me, that I was passionate about. I would worry less about how many visits each day or week. I would go back to creating those things that I was interested in and hope that my interest in those things would show through into my posts. I wanted to be genuine in what I posted and knew that I would feel better about sharing the content I created because I was passionate about it. I don't want to be so stressed anymore, I want to enjoy blogging and creating. I do still keep track of visits to my page and which posts do well, but I don't get discouraged if I have a day that is down in the numbers.

In October I shared a few recipes that I love, worked on some interesting crafts, and focused a few times on books. I created some crafts at home just because I wanted to, not for my blog.

The exciting thing for October here on my blog was opening a shop. I have loved making these doll quilts and other items. I have some fun new fabrics I will be trying out soon.

My friend Kim at The Resourceful Mama hosted a giveaway on her blog for a Frozen Doll Quilt to help me promote my new shop. I sent her a quilt for her daughter and Kim says that she loves it. I appreciated her helping me out that way. It was fun to have a giveaway be for my own product, and knowing that there are people out there that like it was nice.

Here are what my stats were like for the month.

Those stats reflect the increase in followers. For interaction on social media, I actually had an increase that was quite significant. My re-pins increased by over 20% for the month, interaction on Facebook increased, 12%, and interaction on Instagram increased 32%! What contributed to those factors?

Pinterest - I used 2 strategies for the month.

1 - I made sure that the items I pinned were high quality pictures. If the recipe or craft did not have a good picture I didn't pin it. I also try to visit every pin to make sure that it goes to the right place, has a good tutorial with it, and isn't on an offensive page.

2 - I started using the search function on Pinterest more. I checked to see what was trending on searches or popular pins were at the moment. I noticed that when I did that, most of the pins were re-pinned within about 10 minutes.

Facebook - For this all I did was lessen the times I shared on Facebook. Instead of having a craft, a recipe, a video, and a personal share every single day, I found things that I slowed down and only shared when I found something I thought my readers would like. Facebook is a hard one to work with....you are never sure if anyone will actually see your post. I looked over what people had liked in the past and tried to find things in my niche that they would be interested in.

Instagram - I continued my normal sharing of behind the scenes photos from different projects or shopping. I have had a few people message me telling me that they visited my blog after seeing things on my Instagram, so some of them are clicking over too.

Social Media in general - I realized that I have to tailor my social media sharing on these different sites in different ways. Most of my Facebook people like inspirational or funny videos, crafting memes, dessert recipes, and some of my crafty posts; so I share differently there than I do on Instagram. It's been a learning experience for me.

Income Report:

Expenses: 

Shipping - $5.26

Supplies - $8.50
Giveaway sign up - $10

Income:

IZEA - $1.00

Sovrn ads - $1.65

Products - $65.11 (book, fabric, markers)

Google AdSense - $.05

Total + $44.05

Goals

I succeeded with all of my goals except building backdrops for my photos. I enjoyed the photography class and have been working on using their tips to stage my photos and use natural lighting techniques when photographing my items. I was able to find 2 holiday blog hops and one holiday giveaway.

Goals for November

• Write posts earlier
• Provide a newsletter weekly (sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar!)
• Create Thankful Tree
• Post on Instagram daily what I am grateful for (#30daysofgratitude_2015)
• Make sure I enjoy holiday time with my family!
• Make a sale in my shop!

Top Posts for the Month

How I Keep My Life Organized

Delicious Potato Soup

Great Books Every Home Should Have

There is my monthly check in for my blog. Thanks for stopping by. I would love to hear in the comments what exciting things have been happening for you! Feel free to share your goals for the month too.