MY 2018 BLOGGING GOALS

It’s such a cliché thing to say, but the years definitely whizz past faster the older you get, and I can’t believe how quickly 2017 has gone! When I was little, the wait until Christmas was agonising, and the festive period seemed to go on forever when it finally arrived; punctuated with numerous visits to ‘Santa’ *shifty eyes*, seasonal markets, school fairs and winter walks.

This year, Christmas seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye, and now I’m getting myself prepped for New Year’s Eve (fake tan – IN EXCESS), so I thought it was a good time to have a little look back on 2017 and set myself some blogging goals for 2018. I wouldn’t be a true blogger if I didn’t, right?!

I started the year really unhappy in a job that wasn’t fulfilling me at all, so I did something I’ve never done before, and handed in my notice without having anything else to go to. I decided my happiness was most important, and as I didn’t have a mortgage to pay, this was perhaps the only time I’d get the opportunity to walk away from something that was no longer enriching my life.

The downtime between jobs allowed me to put together This Essex Girl, and shortly after I landed a job doing social media at Amara Living – perfect for an Instagram-loving basic bitch like me! I’m now much happier and am glad I followed my instincts at the start of the year.

I’ve been on a few holidays, and a couple of my favourites were my trips to Madeira, Southwold and Looe. I made sure on each break to do plenty of walking – fresh air is good for the soul and all that!

Next year I’d love to visit the Amalfi Coast, but I need to prioritise and saving for a house comes first right now.

I also volunteered at a local farm, went pumpkin picking and had THE best time at Latitude Festival.

Of course 2017 brought difficult times too, but I wanted to write this blog post as a look back at some of my highlights, and a look forward to what I’d like This Essex Girl to achieve in 2018!

So without further ado, my blogging goals for 2018 are…

Gain 100 subscribers by the end of the year (currently on 31)

Grow my Instagram following to 2,000 by the end of the year

Send out a monthly newsletter to subscribers

Host another Twitter chat to meet and engage with other lifestyle bloggers

Move my site over from Wix to WordPress

(After realising the limitations and bugs with the Wix editor, I’ve decided to move everything to WordPress at some point in the New Year. This will mean a slight redesign of my site, so I may have to close up shop for a month or so – but fear not, as Instagram will be SPAMMED!)

I think it’s important to set realistic blogging goals and not put too much pressure on yourself. Notice I’ve not included anything about how regularly to post, as I never know how busy my job/life is going to be. Blogging has to remain as something I really enjoy and not become a chore.

As much as it’s great to grow, I get just as much pleasure from someone giving a little shoutout to my blog or leaving me a lovely comment. It really is much appreciated, so thanks so much to everyone that continues to support me.

Okay – no more sickly stuff!

So there are my blogging goals for 2018. What are yours?