Happy birthday, Blog! You're a month old. This has been so much fun, and I'm still stunned that folks have tried the recipes. I make a lot of goals and enjoy the kind of reflecting goal-setting requires. I tried to keep the goals for the blog actionable and measurable because I will be checking on my progress throughout the year. I'm sure some of my supporters will too.
- Frequency: I wrote ten posts in December, but I didn't start out with any specific goal. I know a seldom updated blog is a dead blog, so I will post eight times a month. I think having a monthly goal instead of a weekly one gives me permission to get busy with other parts of life, but an average of twice per week seems reasonable.
- Challenge: On our honeymoon, my husband and I ate at The French Laundry in Napa. That experience was a living dream. We've eaten at some spectacular places: Per Se, Daniel, Jean Gorges, Le Bernardin. At the end of our meal at The French Laundry, there were two surprises. My new in-laws had treated us to this once-in-a-lifetime meal. How sweet are they!? My new husband also had a copy of The French Laundry Cookbook autographed by Thomas Keller ready for me. I was thankful, but leery about his expectations. Did he want me to make Oysters and Pearls? I was relieved to know he meant for it to be a memento, but I'm up for a challenge. This year, I will cook five recipes from The French Laundry Cookbook. [Results not guaranteed]
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| The New Mr. & Mrs. at The French Laundry |
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| Thomas Keller's Famous Oysters and Pearls |
- Diversify: I'm not referring to my stock portfolio, but to the content of my posts. I am loving the triumphs in the kitchen and have even taken a cooking class, but I'd like to share about other things. If I'm blogging eight times a month, one post will be something other than a recipe.
- Share: There are so many food blogs I follow. I'd love to have one person guest post this year. This feels like the loftiest goal because the blog has a modest following right now, but I'm hoping that grows. If you're interested in posting on The Crying Cook, reach out to me on Twitter @TheCryingCook.
Awesome! Its great to have blogging goals :) You could also review any foodie places, or other foodie blogs to mix it up a bit and take some receipe making pressure off yourself :)
ReplyDeleteReviews are a great idea! Thanks for sparking that!
DeleteHappy 1 month bloggy birthday! Isn't it exciting? I get all happy every time I see my views going up, get a new follower or, better yet, someone comments on my blog. So much fun!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share a tip with you that I didn't really know when I first started blogging. I was blogging for half a year before I really stumbled upon this. Participate in Link Parties. It is a great way to bring traffic to your blog. You share your post with a party of other bloggers, then you visit each others sites.
LinkyHere (linkyhere.com) has a round up of some Link Parties, including food specific parties. Also, if you go to some of your favorite bloggers, they will often have a list of the parties they participate in.
Have fun!
It is exciting! Someone in Indonesia checked out the blog! I did a little happy dance and dedicated it to my new Indonesian friend.
DeleteThank you for explaining link parties. I've never heard of them, but will be looking into them right now. I appreciate it!
Congrats on blogging for one month! As you wrote in your goals blogging takes a lot of dedication. I think a big way to really get involved in the food blogging community is visiting and supporting other bloggers! Maybe try to attend a food blog conference. I didn't do that until after the first year and a half of food blogging and I had wished I had went to conference earlier. I learned so much information that took my blog to the next level! good luck and congrats again.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent advice! I've been reading food blogs for a while, but I've just starting commenting. It's amazing that this wonderful and supportive community exists.
DeleteI haven't thought about food blog conferences. Where do you think I should start with that? I think I'm going to ease my way in that direction and I appreciate the push!