For a better future, study the past.
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For a better future, study the past.
2023 has really been a mixed bag for me in all electronic formats; my blog, my new newsletter, and across social media. With that in mind I have decided to put forth formal goals for 2024. Next December I will have these goals to review and consider whether I am spending time wisely in my electronic pursuits.
Currently, I have 123 active posts. Many of these were written before I had any idea what I was doing. Heck, that is still questionable.
Currently, I entertain somewhere between 10-15 page views on an average day. Really not very good in my opinion. I seldom fall below 10 any more and on some days can have considerably more. I suppose that is just like any blog.
My goal is to revise 18 posts. This will mostly be in regard to SEO. I have discovered some guidance in my posting software but I also hope to study up on this more. By improving SEO, I should be able to help improve a goal that will be discussed shortly.
My goal is to write 36 new blog posts, or an average of 3 per month. I have a large mental backlog of subjects and a review of my phone camera log will provide me with an untold number of possibilities. It’s ambitious because I often don’t like to include bare minimum information. It’s also ambitious just to find the time to create that many posts. I anticipate a more realistic goal is 24, or 2 per month, but let’s keep reaching for the stars as the late Casey Kasem used to say.
My goals for 2024 include by the end of 2024, averaging 50 page views per day. This will be done by improving SEO on existing pages and writing new posts.
My author FB page currently has 436 likes and 656 followers. I have no idea what the difference is on this.
Goal of 700 followers. I have no real plan on how to achieve this. By refusing to pay for social media advertising it may reduce my perceived reach, however, I see how misguided the ads are that are shown to me, so I feel any ad I placed would be wasted. Why throw money away that will not return in sales.
InstagramThe photo to the left is my current IG cover photo. If you go looking for me, this is what you will find.
Currently I have 792 posts. By the end of 2024 I will have 900 posts.
Currently I have 1,858 followers. By the end of 2024 I will have 2,000. I know that doesn’t seem like a big jump, but have you seen how IG following works. I gain 2 and lose 4. The follow then unfollow trend is still there.
Currently I follow 1,682 accounts. By the end of 2024 I will follow 1,800. I follow back folks with obviously similar interests to mine: history, cemeteries, old churches, art, writing, whisky, beer, dogs. Before I follow, I review profiles and posts, even briefly, before returning follows. I don’t follow private accounts where I can’t see what you have posted.
A word on my following. I follow accounts who do not follow me on a VERY limited basis. I have to have a deep interest in what you are posting or it is the rare professional or business account that I don’t expect to follow me. Usually, those who have similar interests but don’t follow back will get cleaned out in a purge when I am looking at the follow/unfollow folks. Also, I DO NOT follow accounts who have 6,000 followers and only follow 150.
As for engagement, hell, who can figure that out. Throw away posts always do best it seems and ones I think about get nothing.
If you are on Threads, I use the same photo and username; robertreddhistorian. Same standards as above for following. I don’t really get Threads and so far have found it a pit of negativity. Please follow and change my mind.
What can you say about this site? I guess you can say it is the one I still use most despite the numerous problems including ownership.
Currently, I have 3,999 followers. This is another site where I can gain 5 and lose 15 just as quickly. It’s very frustrating at best. My goals for 2024 is to have 4,500 followers by the end of the year
I am currently following 3,866 accounts. By the end of 2024 I will be following 4,250 accounts. I am more likely to seek out accounts to follow on Twitter than any other platform. Account types I want to follow include history, cemetery, genealogy, art, travel, writing, and some sports accounts. Whisky and beer related accounts are of interest also. I am pretty lenient in my following back.
A word on my following. I follow accounts who do not follow me on a VERY limited basis. I have to have a deep interest in what you are posting or it is the rare professional or business account that I don’t expect to follow me. Usually, those who have similar interests but don’t follow back will get cleaned out in a purge when I am looking at the follow/unfollow folks. Also, I DO NOT follow accounts who have 6,000 followers and only follow 150. I do not knowingly follow crypto and other garbage like that. I BLOCK advertisers on Twitter without remorse even if I like the brand.
This is one of my newest attempts to spread my reach and is one that is both time consuming and at times quite frustrating. It has proven difficult to grow my email list. I know I receive plenty of email and don’t always have a need to receive another. Would I want to subscribe? The process becomes frustrating when you get new subscribers, only for them to turn around and unsubscribe after one newsletter AND report you for being spam. Please don’t be one of those people.
Goals for 2024 for my newsletter include sending 8 monthly issues or 2 out of every 3 months. This seems doable.
My goal is to reach 200 subscribers up from the current 120. This actually might be my loftiest goal.
Pinterest is very peculiar to me and I haven’t figured it out yet. I just keep posting away, probably making the same mistakes over and over.
I currently average somewhere around 1,500-2,000 views per month. My goal is to increase that to 2,500 to 3,000 views per month. This can be accomplished by regular posting, determining what type posts seem to attract views, and through better subject headings to attract viewers.
I currently have 84 followers. My goal is to reach 100 followers in 2024. I am unsure that followers correspond to actual page views and link clicks however. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
Outbound clicks and saves are usually negligible at less that 10 each. I hope to reach 25 per month for both.
So there we have it. Some goals for 2024. I have not posted goals for YouTube or any specific goals toward monetization. Are these goals achievable? Many would appear to be. They will take work and commitment on my part. These may also take some luck because that seems to be a large part of online success.
What are some of your online goals for 2024? How do you plan to achieve them? Do you have suggestions related to my goals above. Please feel free to leave a comment.