At the start of the summer, I wrote my Ultimate Summer blogging bucket list. It was a great way to focus on my goals for my blog. Now it’s time to see if this was a success!
I felt like now was the time to knuckle down and really focus and putting this down on my blog suddenly made me accountable for my goals.
No one wants to fail right, let alone have to hold their hands up and admit it. So let’s see how I got on!
Ultimate summer blogging bucket list a success?
- Write all content for July, August and September
Done and DONE!
- Plan content for October to December
I am pretty much there, I have had a notebook permanently attached to me at all times. I just need to find time now to type up all the ideas in to actual blog posts.
- Work through Katie’s brand new guide to a successful blogmas
I have absolutely LOVED this ebook. Is it OK to feel festive in August? I have decided to join in for sure and all my posts are planned now.
- Grow instagram following to 1000
I am so so close to this but so far at the same time! It is definitely not an easy platform to grow on, the unfollow game is SO strong. What is that about??
- Reach 3000 followers on twitter
Again so close, yet so far! But I am going to continue to focus on that moving forward. I love twitter, it is definitely my favourite social media platform to use.
- Continue to focus on Pinterest using Boss girl bloggers pinterest guide
Again this guide has been invaluable. I am constantly referring back to it every time pinterest makes a change.
- Revisit and follow Jenny in Neverlands blogging Ebook
I went one better than this and invested in Jenny’s new blogging course. And OMG it is amazing! I’m less than half way through but I have never felt so focused and connected to my blog. It’s made me step out of my comfort zone and I couldn’t be happier. If you haven’t yet, you need to check this course out.
- Fix all broken links
DONE!! Well for now anyway, you never know when another will pop up!
- Work through all my posts and improve SEO
Not all posts have been updated but I have worked through all of my popular posts and focused more on SEO with each post I have created this summer.
- Update ALT image text
I am on this while I update SEO, it makes sense to hit it all in one go.
- Make sure all images are still in place – I lost a lot when I moved over to self hosted
I’ll update this as I go along with SEO.
- Focus on how to make money online using Em’s ebook The ultimate guide to making money online
The exciting bit is that I have become an affiliate for this ebook and you can get 30% off if you use the code ‘claire’. I think this alone is proof that the ebook works!
- Get at least 2 sponsored posts between now and the end of the year
This has been smashed over the summer, with a total of 5 sponsored posts completed or due to be posted in the next month. I honestly think without Jenny’s course, I would never have put myself out there!
- Start working on ideas for next years content
I have a calendar set up with various ideas in place for the year.
- Increase DA to 15 by Christmas
Some of you may have seen my diva-fit about this in my latest post. After working my butt off, my DA had the absolute BALLS to drop from 10 to 9! I mean COME ON!! Flash forward a few days and it’s up to 11. It makes no sense but I will take it!
- Keep my blog planner up to date and start next years
I’ve been so good with this one, I am enjoying getting ideas planned for next year as well.
- Create 50-100 pins a week and schedule 10-15 daily
Meh! FAIL! I just have this love hate thing with pinterest. I am all over it and see no results, I step back and bang the numbers and results increase! I’ll never understand it but I need to focus more for sure. There is no point working through ebooks but not putting the effort in!
Successful summer holiday?
There were a few other things I wanted to achieve over the summer holidays, here is how I got on.
- Get out and walk each day
Nope I was too busy blogging! But I did swim almost every day.
- Visit Cumbria
We did and it was lovely! The first time we had travelled anywhere more than 20 minutes away and the freedom felt incredible.
- Go to the Peak District
Nope, failed this one. But I don’t feel like I have missed out. We will make it there next year for sure.
- Have a holiday of some kind
Another win here. We went to Skegness. It was so nice to go away with the family and do things that have felt so far from reality. Social distancing was pretty much non existent sadly but we did our best. My hands are paying the price of being washed and sanitised to the max! I’ve even caught the sun.
- WEAR A MASK!
I hate wearing them, especially when it is warm. But I have a mask in every pocket. I’ve even bought a face shield in case I need to wear one in the office. I’m not sure I could do 8 hours a day in a full mask but hopefully a shield will be OK. I do tend to be in my office alone most of the time anyway.
Summer’s a success!
OK so I haven’t quite managed all of my summer goals, but I am many more steps closer to them than I was at the beginning. The most important bit for me though, is that I have finally found my flow with it again. I am back in love with my blog and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Often I feel like a huge impostor in the blogging community but a shift of mindset now see’s me inspired by those I compared myself to previously. And to be honest it has been liberating to free myself of all this self doubt I carry around with me.
So keep focusing, keep working hard and change your mindset. There is a place for us all here and remembering that is key to your own success.
How have you got on with your goals this summer? What are you planning for the rest of the year?
This is a great list of things you want to achieve! I love having a list of things I want to achieve and being able to check them off. Your notebook in that picture is so awesome too! Thank you for sharing.
Lauren | http://www.bournemouthgirl.com
Thanks Lauren, It really helps to have a visual in the form of a list. It has really given me confidence in my blogging journey x
Wow! That’s quite the list. I’m exhausted just reading it. I reached all my goals but I didn’t have as many! I’ve decided to do Blogmas this year too. I look forward to reading your posts.
Oh brilliant, I look forward to reading yours too x
Wow, that’s a really long list! It has some great things on there though. I have a list of my own that I’m still working on to get through. Great post!
Thank you Deandra. Its hard work but having goals really gave me focus x
I am really loving all your goals and how you keep track of them! That’s a great success right there
Thank you Sarah x
Wow, you are so productive Claire! This inspires me to try harder. I have been updating old blog posts but could also do a photo update. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Jenni. I have returned the comment as well x x
You’re doing so well! It’s inspiring, thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much x
You’ve had such a productive summer. Well done on achieving so many of your goals. I’ve planned out my posts too and now just need to find the motivation to write them.
Making time to actually write them up is so hard x
Wow Claire, you’ve managed to accomplish so much! Well done and congratulations! I know it’s difficult not to feel like an impostor when blogging is very much a numbers game but we all have our own journeys and processes so try not to let it get you down too much!
I’m also aiming for 1000 on Instagram and keep dipping above and then below 900 over and over. I agree the unfollow game is STRONG. But we can do it, I’m sure of it! 🙂
Thanks Hayley! We’ve definitely got this!
You sound so organised it really puts me to shame ahah!
https://www.emilyclareskinner.com
Sounds like you’ve been busy. Congrats on doing so good in your goals ❤️
Thank you lovely x
Well done, you’ve achieved so much! It’s okay to not have finished all your goals, especially as it’s Pinterest related. Pinterest is such a long process to achieve good results. Well done on your amazing achievements though, you must be so proud!
Em x
Oh this summer blogging challenge sounds like a great way to catch up on everything! It sounds like you’ve been super productive, I love feeling like I’m on top of things!
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
I think you’ve done AMAZINGLY this Summer in both blogging and personal. You should be very proud! And as I said the other day on Twitter, clearly the hard work is paying off because you’re growing and growing all the time and it’s amazing to see. So glad you’re enjoying the course too 🙂 xxx
Thank you so much, it’s honestly thanks to your course. It’s given me the focus and love of blogging that I needed to find x
This is such a great list and it’s so inspiring to see how much you’ve achieved. I can totally relate to constantly updating broken links, haha! And well done with the content planning, I wish I was that organised 🤣
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
This is such an awesome list, and congratulations on making so much progress over the summer! Have fun working on your festive content over the coming months!
Thank you so much Bethan. I wrote and scheduled my first christmas post and it felt so good x
You’ve been really productive this summer, getting so close to all of your targets. I need to start fixing some more broken links. It’s been a lot better since I turned off adding links to comments x
Wow you set out a huge list to achieve at the start of Summer! It seems like you’ve done well Claire! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I am glad you managed to achieve plenty of things on your list, that must feel absolutely amazing!
Aw, I love seeing how you’ve progressed and achieved a lot of your goals well done!
Thanks for sharing how you have been getting on with your blog over the summer, wow you have done more in the summer than I will ever do in a year. I wish sometimes I could plan my year better sometimes 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
I find it so much easier to keep the inspiration going when I have key posts planned x
These are excellent goals. I like the fact you are working on fall and winter blog posts. I wish I could do that!
I just knew I wouldn’t get a chance when I went back to work x
Love seeing you reaching your goals, updates like this are a great way to keep yourself accountable. I have a goal of updating all my old posts too, however at 450 posts I realized that was going to take a LONG time lol!
I really like to have a blogging bucket list like yours, however, I get easily frustrated when I cannot reach the goal I set for myself. I will try again. It looks it would be more organized that way instead of just doing whatever whenever. Thanks for the inspiration!
Congratulations on achieving your goals! No shame if you didn’t achieve them all. Try and try again.🙂
In the Philippines, you’re required to wear both mask and face shield especially when entering commercial establishments and offices! Can be so uncomfortable to wear both specially on hot days.
How wonderful to see you go back and follow up on your list to check on your progress. I need to get started on my blogmas and agree about pinterest being a pain sometimes. Hope you continue to grow your followers as the months progress.
Gosh, you have ticked off so many things to do this summer! I’m really glad that you’re feeling inspired for blogmas… It isn’t quite so far away now! Scary, isn’t it?
Hi Claire. I love this “My brain has too many tabs open”. Brilliant!
Congratulations on the bucket list – I’d say you’ve been very successful. DA is weird, isn’t it? I had exactly the same thing happen to me – down 1 point from where I was and then, a day or two later, up 2 points for a net 1 point gain on where I started from. Strange. I’ll follow you on Twitter, Insta, and Pinterest – it won;t be enough to hit your targets but, as Tesco tells us, every little helps!
Thank you so much Richie. DA is so frustrating, I am back up 3 points now. I wish it was straightforward x x
Wow!! What an incredible list, and so organised too. I am feeling fairly inspired blogging wise at the minute. I might have to create a list of my own!
There are some really good goals here for sure. I love that you are trying to get all organised from October to December x
Wow so many great tips. I am super inspired! With such hard work, you deserve every success x
Thank you so much Emma x x
I just love reading this! 😄 I’m so glad you finally found your way back to blogging, and I also have a love hate relationship with pinterest too 😂 I have to improve on it for my blog too. Haha Glad you had a great summer. 💕
Thank you so much Elle x x
That looks like a pretty successful summer to me! The view from Skegness beach brings a lot of memories flooding back, I’ve been so many times, but not for a few years now.
Wow you’ve achieved so much! Well done you. I’m definitely going to check out some of the resources you mentioned as I’m trying to grow my blog too. And yeah what is with follow to unfollow on Instagram?! So annoying!
Well done for ticking off so much. It is weird, this is my first full day alone in months, so I am making the most of uninteruppted work.
I love goals like this as it definitely helps us to keep on track and stay motivated doesn’t it .
I love this list and it’sgiven me a kick up the arse too! Well done on all your achievements and lots of luck before the end of the year!
Go you! So many great goals and it sounds like you are totally smashing most of them! Now the kids are back at school I am hoping to be able to spend a bit more time on my blog too, perhaps I should start with writing down some goals to help! x
I wish I could plan so much content in advance. It would help me loads.
It is hard to do but it has really helped me since I went back to work x
Wow, that’s a really well written and focused list. It sounds like you’ve been super busy. I wish I was that organised. I’m glad the kids are back at school so I can get on top of things.
That is such a fab list and thank you for sharing your successes. I really need to start writing more posts in advance but always seem to end up doing them last minute.
It’s always a good idea to have goals that you can measure yourself against, and celebrate your successes. And, the ones that aren’t met can just be added to the next list 🙂
That’s exactly what I have done, Just keep on working towards them x
Well done! It’s not easy to grow your social platforms and any growth should be celebrated!
It is so hard! Its so changeable x
Awesome list!! I love writing things down, I feel like if I look at it every day it’s easier to achieve! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You might not have managed to tick everything off but you’ve achieved so much!! Well done!xx
Wow, that was a long bucket list anyway congratulations to your achievements your hard work is such an inspiration you just got me to think about working more on my planning. Thank you for mentioning Jenny’s ebook I’ll keep that in mind for my reading and lastly, that summer’s success conclusion was motivational it uplifted my spirit thanks again take care see you around.