Happy New Year, friends! 2022 was one of the best years of my life, but it feels good to welcome 2023. I’m opening my arms to the new year with new goals and a refreshed vision. We’ve got a lot to cover today so let’s get into it!
GETTING BACK TO MY ROOTS
Last month, I announced the big news that I’m taking a step “back” from full-time content creation to be able to focus on family and raising my babies. You can click here to read my blog post about all that went into this decision. I have been looking forward to this change and am happy the time is here. I still get to blog and create but without the unhealthy pressure! It’s going to be so much better this way.
The unhealthy pressure I was under stemmed from brand partnerships and the constant need to post on social media to keep my analytics up to land new partnerships. I love posting and staying connected with my online community, so it’s not the consistency of showing up online that was bogging me down. It was the work side of it all – reach, impressions, and so on. Years back, most brands stopped wanting to do paid blog campaigns and focused on social media (specifically, Instagram). Since I was pursuing this full-time, I naturally gravitated to where the money was. I don’t regret it at all because I went with the flow of the industry, but it led me to neglect my blog.
Now, I’m getting back to my roots – my blog! This year, I’m reclaiming my blog and my vision for launching it almost 9 years ago – to have a positive outlet for myself and to connect with others.
GOALS FOR MY BLOG + CONTENT
Being a mom of two little ones who keep me on my toes, I wanted to keep my goals flexible and realistic. As much as I’d love to get back to posting new blog content 3 times a week, I know that is an impossible goal at the moment. I’m not going to set a specific number of posts I want to publish per week (or month) because that would keep pressure on me, and that’s what I’m trying to get away from!
My goals for my blog + content this year…
- Blog about what comes easily for me to write about – In other words, I want my words to flow when I’m able to sit down and write. I don’t want to stare at the screen and struggle to get the words out.
- Tap back into the wonders of Pinterest – Pinterest has always been a bestie of mine in my blogging journey because it’s always brought my blog a great amount of traffic. I slacked off over the past 2 years. Pinterest has changed a bit but it still brings me large amounts of traffic, so it’s time to maximize that. Idea Pins are the perfect way for me to repurpose my video content. I’m really hoping Pinterest (finally) invites me to their Creator Rewards or Creator Fund soon – I’ve qualified before either was a thing, haha.
- Continue to cultivate my community on Instagram – Instagram has been my favorite place to connect and share with other awesome mamas and women. I’m excited about the ideas I have to further grow the community that I already have and the possibilities for it to grow.
INCOME STRATEGY
The beautiful thing about having been blogging and creating content for so long is that I have many income streams. While I’m significantly cutting back on brand partnerships, I still have other sources of bringing in income. Since 2020, I have scaled my affiliate income and that’s where I’ll focus my energy in terms of income. I’m going to be putting more into my Amazon Storefront, one-off affiliates, and RewardStyle/LikeToKnow.it. Passive income is where it’s at for me right now. Other passive streams I’m trying to maximize are my blog ads, IG Reels, and FB Reels. I’ll be selling my photo presets again in the near future, as well.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE THIS YEAR
My content will continue to be created through the lens of my everyday mama lifestyle. I’ll still be sharing baby, lifestyle, and mom life favorites and tips. I will be sharing more heartfelt mom content, toddler activity ideas, and everyday ideas and hacks for mamas. I want to continue to help you in ways that I have found helpful for myself, whether that be a neat baby product or a time-saving hack.
Mom life humor is one of my favorite things to create video content about, especially when there’s a trending sound to use. It’s always fun to connect with mamas who GET it. Mom life struggles are another thing that I always find comfort in talking with other mamas about, so you can expect to see more raw and real motherhood video content.
If you’ve been a reader of mine for a while, you’ll remember that I used to blog about style years back. Back then, I felt that I had to post about “fashion” and style because the majority of lifestyle bloggers and influencers did. I didn’t get much joy out of fashion content in those years.
This year, I’m on a journey of rediscovering my personal style and I want to share it with you! I’ll primarily share the ins and outs of refreshing my personal style over on Instagram, but you’ll see an occasional blog post here, too.
Shop this adorable pullover and my look here!
REFRESHED VISION
My “why” (reason) for starting my blog remains the same – to have a positive outlet for myself and to connect with others – AKA, you! I’m looking forward to really leaning into that this year.
FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME
Come join me on socials! I hang out on Instagram the most but I share content across all of my channels regularly. Grab a cup, hit the follow button, and let’s get chatting!
FACEBOOK – @SUMMERTELBAN (FOR REELS CONTENT)
FACEBOOK – @COFFEEWITHSUMMER (BLOG PAGE)
I am so, so happy you’re here! Thank you for all of the love and support throughout my blogging journey. I appreciate YOU!