KitchenTakeovers : Blogtober Series n0_22 Set Blogging Goals For 2016

2016, it's really not that far away is it? setting goals are important, because they not only give you something to work towards but they focus your mind, and if like me you are a butterfly brain (as my partner calls me) always moving on from one project to the next, sometimes getting distracted along the way. You know how important it is to have a point of focus.

The Blogtober challenge has been great at focusing my thoughts and giving me an outlet and means to change things up a little, giving me the freedom to experiment with the content I put out and trying new ways of working.

There are so many other great, no, fantastic and awesome blogs out there talking about food, giving dietary advice, telling us all what we should and shouldn't be eating. And it can be daunting in all of this to be that difference. But, I've come to realise it's not about what everyone else is doing or what might be trending now, it's about me and this blog, where I want to see it in the future and finding my niche on the web.

In order for the blog to find it's niche it needs to grow and evolve, and to do this I hope to write more engaging and punchy topics that my audience can relate to and would like to read.

I have learnt a lot since I've started blogging, and one of the areas I use to get bogged down with were the numbers. How many people viewed my blog for the day, how many likes or followers I have on instagram and facebook. After a few follow-for-follow and like-for-like threads, I have come to realise, this is not the way I want my blog to go. I am not reaching the people I want to engage with and learn from my blog. Some of those exercises were pointless for the effect they had on my blog, but I learnt a lot from the them. Now, don't get me wrong - I really APPRECIATED the likes and follows, but they were not done because my post were found to be engaging they were a numbers exercise. And whilst numbers in the grand scheme of things are helpful, sometimes they can be distracting and give a false sense of security of how well you might think your blog is doing.

I much rather, when I get comments or questions left on my posts as it shows that people are reading, and engaging with the content, which is really what I think blogging is about. If I can achieve those points, it's only reasonable and logical that I will gain more followers, likes, and shares.

This challenge has also, been a fantastic learning curve, about new and interesting blogs, and bloggers and interacting with others on a similar journey; though we may not all have started at the same time, or write about the same things, at the heart of what we do we are very similar. Trying to find our niche or voice in this big cloud of data sharing, and perhaps at some point achieving something tangible whether it's writing a book, or coming to some sort of self realisation. It is important to encourage and support others on their journey, because it not only nourishes your own soul, but it also encourages and motivates you to do better.