2012 has been an exciting year for me on the blogging front. First
Successful Blogging was listed in the Top 10 Blogs About Blogging by a
panel of influential judges then I exceeded my goal to earn $10,000 from advertising at my travel blog Get In the Hot Spot.
But it hasn’t been plain sailing. These are my three biggest blogging fails of 2012:
1. My blogs crashed. Repeatedly.
As traffic grew my blogs got slower and slower. It was time for us to switch to a dedicated server. But the new servers made things worse and crashed repeatedly. Despite constant contact with the blog hosts they never remained stable.
In the last 14 years we have never had a problem like this before with a client or our own sites and, for a web designer it was devastating. It lost us heaps of traffic too.
Finally, and reluctantly, because it involved yet more time and expense, we’ve fixed the situation by moving to a new host, WP Engine which is dedicated to hosting WordPress sites.
2. I made promises I never kept.
At the beginning of 2012 I wanted to do a more free live webinars. I held a few webinars organised by other people but none of my own. I love blogging but I also love personal contact with people. I get that from private one-on-one consultations but I also want to do more free webinars so I can help more people and give and get that live feedback and personal connection we all need.
I never delivered on my promise because it was a lot to organise and I was worried no one would turn up.
So if I want to make those free webinars happen I need to find an easy solution (a Google+ Hang Out might work) and take the pressure off by knowing that it doesn’t matter if it’s just me and one other blogger online. That’s all we need to get started.
3. I got distracted.
At the beginning of this year I got invited on my first overseas press trip and travel invitations continued to arrive throughout the year. I fitted in as many trips as I could without driving my husband to despair and neglecting my kids too much. But I learned that’s not the core of my business and, while I love travel, and press trips can be fun, they are not that important to me either personally or professionally.
So going forward I want to focus on my core business of web design, keep helping the other small business owners, writers and creatives that I most want to help and stay true to my own goals. Hopefully I’ll still have some time for travel (and even a few press trips) but I want to be clearer on my personal boundaries and stay more tightly focused on the clients I want to help most.
14 years ago the Mucho Man and I set up our own web design agency to fulfil our dream of working from home, living in a place we love and spending more time with the people we love.
January is the time for me to make the most of that. To rest and recharge so that I can come back here and back to you with renewed drive next year.
So that’s the only promise I’m making right now because I know that’s one I can easily keep.
I’ll be back with more blog posts in February. I’m looking forward to it. I will still be checking emails and working with new and existing clients. I will still be writing (but not publishing any blog posts), I will still hop onto Twitter, read your blogs and have fun with Instagram.
Wherever you are and whatever you’re planning I wish you joy, happiness and success now and in the new year. If you are looking for blogging tips and inspiration right now start here. I’ve added it to make it easy for you to find the most popular and useful blogging tips.
Finally, once more, because this is all I wanted to tell you,
Thank you,
Annabel
But it hasn’t been plain sailing. These are my three biggest blogging fails of 2012:
1. My blogs crashed. Repeatedly.
As traffic grew my blogs got slower and slower. It was time for us to switch to a dedicated server. But the new servers made things worse and crashed repeatedly. Despite constant contact with the blog hosts they never remained stable.
In the last 14 years we have never had a problem like this before with a client or our own sites and, for a web designer it was devastating. It lost us heaps of traffic too.
Finally, and reluctantly, because it involved yet more time and expense, we’ve fixed the situation by moving to a new host, WP Engine which is dedicated to hosting WordPress sites.
2. I made promises I never kept.
At the beginning of 2012 I wanted to do a more free live webinars. I held a few webinars organised by other people but none of my own. I love blogging but I also love personal contact with people. I get that from private one-on-one consultations but I also want to do more free webinars so I can help more people and give and get that live feedback and personal connection we all need.
I never delivered on my promise because it was a lot to organise and I was worried no one would turn up.
So if I want to make those free webinars happen I need to find an easy solution (a Google+ Hang Out might work) and take the pressure off by knowing that it doesn’t matter if it’s just me and one other blogger online. That’s all we need to get started.
3. I got distracted.
At the beginning of this year I got invited on my first overseas press trip and travel invitations continued to arrive throughout the year. I fitted in as many trips as I could without driving my husband to despair and neglecting my kids too much. But I learned that’s not the core of my business and, while I love travel, and press trips can be fun, they are not that important to me either personally or professionally.
So going forward I want to focus on my core business of web design, keep helping the other small business owners, writers and creatives that I most want to help and stay true to my own goals. Hopefully I’ll still have some time for travel (and even a few press trips) but I want to be clearer on my personal boundaries and stay more tightly focused on the clients I want to help most.
Thank You Dear Reader
All of the above is just a preamble to the main thing I want to say to you: THANK YOU.- Thank you for reading Successful Blogging and sticking with me through all my mistakes.
- Thank you for all your comments which have motivated me to write more.
- Thank you for continuing to tell your friends about Successful Blogging by word of mouth and on Twitter and Facebook.
- Thank you to all of you who have bought my ebook, workbook or audio book Successful Blogging in 12 Simple Steps.
- Thank you for daring to put yourself out there on your own blog and for sharing your own dreams, hopes and failures.
- Thank you for the HUGE part you have played in my passion for blogging.
- Thank you for thinking about me when you or someone you know needs help with WordPress blog design.
- Thank you for enriching my world with your presence, ideas and creativity.
- Thank you for joining me on this amazing journey we call blogging.
- Thank you for being part of this community and helping us all to keep trying, keep failing and keep getting better.
What’s the Plan in 2013?
First of all I am going to have a rest. My kids are on holiday now until the end of January. The temperature is soaring and the beach is calling. So I am going to honor myself, my family and you by turning off my computer and enjoying that time.14 years ago the Mucho Man and I set up our own web design agency to fulfil our dream of working from home, living in a place we love and spending more time with the people we love.
January is the time for me to make the most of that. To rest and recharge so that I can come back here and back to you with renewed drive next year.
So that’s the only promise I’m making right now because I know that’s one I can easily keep.
I’ll be back with more blog posts in February. I’m looking forward to it. I will still be checking emails and working with new and existing clients. I will still be writing (but not publishing any blog posts), I will still hop onto Twitter, read your blogs and have fun with Instagram.
Wherever you are and whatever you’re planning I wish you joy, happiness and success now and in the new year. If you are looking for blogging tips and inspiration right now start here. I’ve added it to make it easy for you to find the most popular and useful blogging tips.
Finally, once more, because this is all I wanted to tell you,
Thank you,
Annabel
Author: Annabel Candy
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