My (Realistic) Blogging Goals for 2022

Let’s be clear: I’m not going to sit here and plan unrealistic goals that, with my busy schedule, I would never be able to keep past the first or second day (if the 1st and 2nd of January fell on a weekend).

Instead, I will write down three very simple, very dumb things that I can (hopefully) do on a regular basis to keep my blogging habit going.

I will first list them here, and then go through each one briefly (did I mention I’m busy?):

• Take advantage of WordPress’s resources
• Establishing a posting schedule
• Promote my blog posts on my social media

So, here we go.

Utilizing WordPress’s Resources

I promise WordPress is not sponsoring me as I speak–or in this case, write. However, some of the resources and initiatives they share in their newsletter are very interesting and, most importantly, free of charge.

Some examples?

In January 2022, they’re launching a challenge called Bloganuary, when they propose daily prompts to write about and share them with a community of fellow aspiring bloggers. They also have regular webinars on how to build the perfect website to host your blog or make money out of your posts.

Even this article I’m writing right now is an “assignment” for their Intro to Blogging free course, which I highly recommend. They also have two more (paid) introductory courses on blogging and podcasting for beginners.

Although not all of our blogger problems will go away with an online course, it is still worth a try!

Blogging Schedule

As an (occasional) social media manager, the schedule is everything. It’s the skeleton that keeps everything together. I couldn’t function without knowing when and what to post, especially if it’s not something I’m particularly used to.

At least at the beginning, I would like to set a goal of one post a month minimum and one post per week maximum. No more than that. Since I contribute to two other online magazines, I don’t feel like putting more on my plate since I already have enough.

To defeat the dreaded writer’s block, I would like to take inspiration from my daily life in Amsterdam and just pick a topic to discuss and/or ramble/rant about.

After the above-mentioned Bloganuary challenge, I will try to start the first week of February and see how that goes.

Promotion

To be honest, the idea of self-publishing my own material scares me a big deal, probably due to the absence of a third party that gives me their feedback on what I write.

However, there’s a first time for everything, and I think the time has come for me to have a stronger presence on the internet. While in my features for other magazines I discuss a topic that might be of interest to the magazine’s readers, in my blog, I would like to just free-write and see what happens, and most importantly give examples from my everyday life as opposed to using a neutral essay format and structure

I am also thinking of sharing my blog on my Instagram, both my private and public profiles, to encourage feedback from my followers. While I give too much importance to the opinions of the people I know among my followers, I think it’s time to face it and just write whatever the hell I want. This post represents a first step towards that goal.