2017 Goals Update: May

2017 Goals Update: May | https://www.roseclearfield.com

I set some really ambitious 2017 goals. In an effort to keep myself accountable, I’m sharing my monthly progress here on my blog.

I’m posting my May update late because Jake and I just got back from a two-week trip to Europe. It was a fabulous trip, really a once in a lifetime vacation. I’ll be sharing lots of details about it (plus, of course, a ton of photos!) in the coming weeks.

Reach five figure monthly page views.

To reach 10K visitors by the end of December 2017, I need to increase my page views by about 570 per month. Here are my monthly blog page view benchmarks and actual views thus far in 2017.

January benchmark – 3,663, actual – 5,561
February benchmark – 4,233, actual – 3,505
March benchmark – 4,803, actual – 6,079
April benchmark – 5,373, actual – 7,533
May benchmark – 5,943, actual – 4,875

May 2017 Google Analytics roseclearfield.com | https://www.roseclearfield.com

As you can see, my May figures were down quite a bit from March and April. I didn’t have any new posts that really took off, and I only had a couple of Pinterest spikes, all from this post, right at the end of the month. I was publishing and promoting posts as usual right up until our trip. But a number of other tasks were pulling my attention, and some blog promotion did take a backseat. I’ve had too many other things happening lately (and no, that’s not code for baby) to let it get me down too much right now.

Reach 2,000 Pinterest followers and 1,000 Instagram followers.

My projected social media figures for May were 1,535 Pinterest followers and 665 Instagram followers. My actual May figures were 1,620 Pinterest followers and 619 Instagram followers.

Instagram followers May 2017 | https://www.roseclearfield.com

(This graph is from the analytics section in the pro version of Later.)
My Pinterest followers have continued to grow well beyond my projected figures, which is great. I’m about a month behind my Instagram projection. But I had much better growth in May than I did in March or April.

I am still using the following social media strategies, which I outlined in my original 2017 goals post.

  • Participating in Facebook blogging groups.
  • Using Later to schedule Instagram content in advance.
  • Commenting on non-follower Instagram accounts daily.
  • (slightly modified) Using Tailwind alongside Boardbooster to schedule, campaign pin, and loop content to my personal and group boards as well as Tailwind Tribes.

I’ve also been trying to interact more with my Instagram feed and follow more Instagram accounts, which I think has helped with my growth. Let me be clear that I’m NOT playing the follow/unfollow game. At most, I’m following 3-4 new accounts at once, and I’m not unfollowing anyone.

Here are my Pinterest analytics from May. This is the first month in 2017 that I’ve seen a significant drop in numbers, particularly for people you reach. As many of you know, recently Pinterest has made a number of changes to their algorithm, which I think is contributing to the major drop. It’s tough to see this sort of plunge, but I have to believe my numbers will improve again. Revisit my April update to compare the numbers.

Pinterest Analytics Pinterest Profile May 2017 | https://www.roseclearfield.com

Pinterest Analytics People You Reach May 2017 | https://www.roseclearfield.com

Pinterest Analytics Domain Activity May 2017 | https://www.roseclearfield.com

Finish all major home painting projects, home framing projects, and other major home organization projects.

I didn’t tackle any major home projects in May. All of my extra energy went into finishing up work before our trip, scheduling blog content and social media posts several weeks in advance, and taking care of other pre-trip tasks (i.e. last-minute errands, getting ready for the house/cat sitter, etc.). We did get the front exterior lighting installed in May (following the landscaping, you can read more about it in last month’s goal update).

Exterior Front Lighting | https://www.roseclearfield.com

I was going to get an exterior shot with the house lit up at night for this update, but the power went out as I was finishing up the post. I’m already publishing it late and didn’t want to wait another night to get that shot. I may include one in a future goals update. (You can also ignore all of the ant hills that popped up while we were out of town.)

Before we went on vacation, I did finish up my work in the guest bathroom, in preparation for having friends visit in a couple of weeks. But that was about it. I still haven’t finished up the final tasks in the living room or started any new projects.

With our friends visiting later this month, I’m back in the getting ahead on work and scheduling content and social media routine and working to maintain something of a regular household routine without any major home projects. I’ll be picking up this goal again more seriously in July and August!

Finish editing, exporting, and backing up all of my 2015 and 2016 photos.

To finish out all of my 2015 and 2016 photos by the end of 2017, I need to work through about 1,200 photos per month in addition to editing 2017 photos. I ended April 2017 at 3,934 2015 photos and 5,947 2016 photos. I ended May 2017 at 3,934 2015 photos and 4,206 2016 photos. I purposely pushed through a ton of photos in May to make up for slacking off in January and April and to clear out as much room as possible before dumping a ton of photos back on the hard drive and external drive following the trip. My 2017 total is high now with the trip photos, but I’ve still done a good job keeping up with my other 2017 photos.

May 2017 Reads | https://www.roseclearfield.com

Read 30 books.

In May, I listened to six audio books and read two books, bringing my running total for 2017 up to 38 books. I’m really enjoying writing separate posts about what I’ve been reading and will have another one for May. Stay tuned for that post tomorrow! I’m going to continue to talk about the books I’m reading in future goal updates as well, even though I’ve met this goal.

[Disclaimer: There are a few affiliate links in this post. Thanks for your support!]

How are your 2017 goals going?
If you wrote a goals post for May, leave a link in the comments!

A new month is a perfect time to start an editorial blog calendar! I have a free calendar download for 2017.

Past 2017 Goals Updates:

January 2017
February 2017
March 2017
April 2017

 

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8 thoughts on “2017 Goals Update: May”

  1. I hear you on being too busy with preparing for a trip to really promote blog posts! Luckily for me, May is always my best traffic month. I wish I’d had more time to spare for Instagram – things continue to be difficult for me on that platform, too.

  2. Casey Cromwell

    Sounds like you’re doing a good job witling away at your goals! I definitely have been enjoying lots more books and reading time this year!

  3. These are great goals. I am still working on getting more traffic to my blog and figuring out how best to utilize Pinterest! Here’s to a successful June for you!

  4. I feel like traffic typically goes down during summer months so it makes sense why May dipped a bit! People are out and about and traveling! 🙂

  5. Travel can play havoc on your work schedule. I had a busy six weeks and even though I posted regularly, my social media attention was down. You are ambitious with your goals!

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