2018 Year in Review and Blogging Plans

Last Updated on April 7, 2020 by Iryna

The 2018 year was definitely a breakthrough for my blog, and you will see why by going through this year in review… No, I didn’t get too much traffic, neither I got income from my blog. But the changes I’ve experienced are quite significant in many ways.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, thanks to the change in my working situation I had more time this year to dedicate to my blog. As you know, I always try finding a positive side in a situation, no matter what. And this unexpected turn definitely brought a positive change to my blogging.

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Year in Review 2018

I love the technical stuff, and I’ve enjoyed setting up my blog. Every time I figure out how to make something work, it makes me happy.

But I really had trouble with the content creation. English is not my first language, and I didn’t feel like words were flowing for me.

I abandoned my blog for a long time due to the lack of time and confidence in my writing. Literally, I had to push myself to write something. Content creation was not my strength.

BUT this year the change happened. Something clicked, and now it’s getting easier and easier for me to write. That’s a true saying – the more you write, the better you become at it.

I also think Grammarly application played a big role in increasing my writing confidence. Grammarly – an automated grammar checker. Every time there is an error in spelling or grammar, it underlines the word(s) with red and provides the correct option on hover.

I’ve downloaded a free version, and it helps with my post writing in WordPress and Social Media. Premium option offers a more advanced level, including even plagiarism check! And if you make an annual payment, it’s very affordable – $11.66USD/month (according to Grammarly website).

The frequent mistake I see online is the use of plural and ‘s incorrect. Or “you’r” and “your”. I enjoy reading good content, but sometimes such noticeable mistakes, that can be easily avoided by downloading an application like Grammarly, can turn some people off.

That’s the simplest thing we can do as bloggers and writers – respect our readers’ time by writing grammatically correct posts and articles.

Year in Review for Most Popular Blog Posts

The most visited blog posts in 2018, according to Google Analytics, were:

Mono Diet for Weight Loss – 6 Petals Diet

How to Start a Blog the Right Way

6 Weeks Abs Challenge

This year I’ve created a really long (more than 3000 words) and detailed post on how to start a blog. The idea was to simplify the process of creating a blog for those who want to have one but not sure where to start.

It includes information on how to find a niche, choosing the blogging platform, get hosting, domain, install WordPress, important plugins, some WordPress theme suggestions, and to create the first post.

Another highlight of 2018 was 6 weeks abs challenge I did in summer. I know, I didn’t have too many people involved, but it was not easy for me to go out of my comfort zone and get enough confidence to offer such a challenge to other people.

It turned out really great at the end. The winner of my prize, Jennifer, an intuitive business coach, lived close by, so we met for a cup of coffee and a great chat.

THAT’S what I love about blogging. You can make a difference in other people’s lives. And that’s the idea of my blog – to inspire and motivate 😊 You can read more about the results of the challenge here.

Year in Review for Blogging Education

I have to mention in this year in review the blogging course I’ve invested in that helped me to gain more confidence and important knowledge about blogging.

The educational source I’ve purchased this year was Genius Blogger’s Toolkit from Ultimate Bundles. This course is a combination of work of different famous bloggers, and is literally PACKED with lots of information – ebooks, videos, cheat sheets.

Pinterest tips, bloggers success, design tips for your blog – you name it. It’s all you can imagine about blogging and organizing your business.

It also includes different bonuses. This year, for example, you could get a free 1 month trial of Tailwind (Pinterest and Instagram scheduling tool), discounts and coupons for different tools and services.

Honestly, I was hesitant if I needed to buy the bundle this year. But it sells only twice a year for a limited time, and it was highly recommended by other bloggers.

For that money I’ve paid (less than 200CAD), it’s 1000% worth it! You get a one year access to your toolkit from the moment of activation, so there is enough time to go through all the information.

In 2019, Genius Blogger’s Toolkit from Ultimate Bundles will be sold on April 8-9 and October 2-7. If you are a blogger, mark those dates in your calendar and check the Ultimate Bundles website during those days.

During the year, the Ultimate Bundles have other toolkits as well. I personally got interested in Herbs & Essential Oils Super Bundle, as this is something I’d like to incorporate in my life.

But, honestly, EVERYTHING on this list looks super useful.

Year in Review for Affiliate Networks

This year I’ve been successfully approved to join the following affiliate networks:

Shareasale

Awin

SendOwl

Amazon

All those affiliate networks are usually recommended and favorited by bloggers. Affiliate income is basically a referral income you get when you recommend some product or service.

I’ve been preparing a few blog posts to recommend products I love, and the companies I wanted to recommend work through mentioned affiliate networks. Why not earn a few dollars while you still recommend the products/services you love?

Shareasale is a part of Awin and has a very convenient navigation dashboard. It’s easy to join this affiliate network, and it has more than 3,900 affiliate programs in 40 different categories.

Awin is very popular among bloggers as this affiliate network offers an attractive percentage from the sale. You will need to pay $5 when you sign up to check your accountability. They will be returned to you with the first payment.

SendOwl is also among popular affiliate networks in the blogging world. It is also used by bloggers and small businesses as an easy way to create an affiliate program.

The beauty of Amazon is the number of products and quick delivery. People buy products from Amazon all the time for that reason.

However, Amazon has some restrictions for their affiliates. You need to make at least 3 sales during 180 days, otherwise, your affiliate account will be canceled.

It’s easy to reapply and get approved for the affiliate program again, but you will need to change all your previous links to those with the new account. And if you had plenty of them in your posts – well, that will be a big chunk of work!

Also, Amazon commission is quite low. I am giving it a try for 3 months to see how it goes. If it doesn’t work, I’ll better concentrate on other affiliate networks with fewer restrictions, such as Shareasale, Awin and SendOwl.

Blogging Plans 2019

I have a feeling this year will be REALLY great for my blog. There are lots of things to learn and goals to conquer. This year I’d like to incorporate at least those few blogging plans.

Change the WordPress Theme

I really like some features of my current free WordPress theme “Shamrock”, but it has limited functionality. Right now, for example, it’s not possible for me to change the look of the footer.

There is no pro version to upgrade to, so the only option for me is to get a premium WordPress theme for a more professional look of my blog. I know exactly what design and layout, what features I’d like to have.

Currently, I am choosing between Restored 316 and Bluchic themes. Those clean, light and feminine WordPress themes are the perfect design solutions for the look of the blog.

Improve the Quality of Images

As you can see from my current blog pictures, it would be nice to add a more professional look to the images. I enjoy photography but lack a piece of good equipment at this moment.

Currently, I am using my iPhone 6S and Lumix waterproof camera. I also got a selfie ring for my phone to add more light. Another camera in my possession is Canon PowerShot S3, but it’s really an old one and doesn’t reach a necessary quality in some cases.

After the picture is taken, I play with the light setting, but it doesn’t help much. Some of my images are taken from the free stocking platform pixabay.

But lots of people use this platform as well, and very often you can see the same images on Pinterest with different blog titles. If I want to stand out and make unique content, I need to produce my own good quality images (especially that I like doing this).

I’ve played for a few days with DSLR camera Nikon D3500 (it has good reviews and makes great pictures), but honestly, it’s not for me. I don’t like the heaviness of the camera and all the loud clicks it makes. Maybe I just need more time to adjust, I don’t know…

After some research, I’ve got interested in the Panasonic Lumix G85 mirrorless camera. Aside from great pictures, it makes crisp clear videos in 4K format, so it will be 2-in-1 purchase. It would be nice to add videos to my blog one day for more visibility and visual explanation, and this camera will be a big help.

GoPro camera is also on my shopping list this year. It will be a good option for making videos on the go, plus I’ll be able to use it for my travel blog (a little abandoned at this moment).

Another great tool for making videos could be this smart selfie robot with 360 degrees of horizontal rotation. Looks really great, right? Maybe in some future, I’ll get one for my blogging needs 🙂

 

 

Automize More

Content creation and blog growth take time. Luckily, there are some automation tools available to help saving time and to organize Social Media posts.

This year my blogging plans include working more on Pinterest and Instagram growing, using Tailwind and Planoly automation tools for this purpose.

I currently use a free Tailwind trial for Pinterest (100 scheduled pins) and I can see how convenient and easy it is to use it. Once you install it on your computer, you’ll see a small icon “Schedule” on the images for pinning.

You can schedule pins as per your own schedule, or let Tailwind choose the best optimized time for your pins to be scheduled, with the higher possibility of clicks.

The majority of bloggers rave about the role of Pinterest in their blog growth. And they claim Tailwind is their secret weapon.

The monthly fee for the paid plan ($15/month) is very affordable, especially if there are such benefits as the traffic increase! Tailwind offers Instagram scheduling as well, but I haven’t explored this feature yet – something to consider for the future.

For Instagram it took me some time to find the auto-posting tool I like. I’ve been using Grambler for a while. But they say computer needs to be on for the image to be posted. I had one scheduled post not posted and was not happy.

Another tool I’ve tried was Hootsuite. It said my picture was posted on Instagram, but it was not! And it was my very first attempt, not cool.

Another application – Later – doesn’t do auto-posting. They just schedule your posts and give you a reminder on your phone so you can post yourself. But honestly,  once I am done with my scheduling I want to concentrate on something else, not on the posting…

Someone suggested Planoly. It’s a visual tool to organize and auto-post your images and to see the layout of them before scheduling.

You can download all the images you plan to auto-post, and then to schedule them. There is even an option to add a location to your image.

It was a love from the first try for me – very easy to use application! I also like Planoly has different packages available at a very affordable price. For $7 you can schedule your videos, for $15 you can add one more Instagram account.

I am currently using its free version (one Instagram account with posting images only) and I like it so far!

Educate More About Blogging

I strongly believe education is one of the best investments one can make. Even though I did purchase some courses last year, I plan to continue learning more about blogging, online marketing, content creation to bring more value to my readers.

One course that’s on my list to take in 2019 is an online course by blogger Cate Rosales from sweetandsimplelife. Before starting a blog, Cate has worked around 10 years in the online marketing field.

Her blogging course covers how to start a blog and provides extensive information on blog monetization. Cate suggests treating your blog as a business and encourages to start earning money from the blog despite the number of traffic or Social Media followers.

Another course I am thinking would be nice to take is related to content writing. Even though I feel my writing skills get better with every post, still, it doesn’t hurt to learn more and improve. If you have any suggestions – feel free to leave a comment. Thanks!

Add Online Shop

My blogging plans 2019 wouldn’t be complete without this experiment – online shop with organic and natural products for health and home I would use myself. For example, diffuser and essential oils. I use it at home and honestly can’t understand how I’ve existed without my diffuser before!

Also, I’d like to add to my shop printable inspirational quotes. I’ve already developed a couple of quotes and printed them for testing purposes. They turned out really good!

The largest printable size I could get was 11”x14”. Now, hanging on the wall or settling down on the shelf, those small additions to my home interior help to uplift my spirit every time I see them.

I love those reminders to stay persistent and dedicated to the goals. They may fit perfectly in the home office setting or some other work environment. Maybe even at school or childcare, what do you think?

Well, I think that’s more than enough blogging plans for me to work on for now. Life gets busy, especially that I am also working on my professional and personal resolutions this year, so I better start incorporating my blogging goals early…

What plans do you have for this year? What was your major achievement in your blogging journey last year? Don’t have a blog but would like to start one? Check my post on how to start a blog the right way. Good luck! 🙂

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