Setting the Stage for 2008

Each year I write a holiday family newsletter, and start by looking over the previous year's version. It's usually fun to reminisce, but this year it was depressing. I realized that many of the things I had thought were going to happen to me professionally in 2007 never materialized.

2007 Wasn't What I Expected

First, there was the client who promised a marketing director job in his start up food business. Then he went through some health issues and went back to cooking and event planning for his former clients. I couldn't blame him. Why go through the headache of starting a new company when you don't need the work or the money?

Then there were the website content overhauls that were brought in house or that never materialized even after numerous meetings. The gigs I did get were small or involved too much work for the pay. Then there were the assignments that radically changed from a lot of work to a little, or that were canceled altogether. Less work meant less pay.

I also spent a lot of time in 2007 looking for freelance writing assignments. I contacted old clients. I approached firms that were recommended to me by other writers. I applied to freelance jobs that I found online. Mostly, my inquiries went into the great resume black hole in the sky. No wonder I was suffering from burnout last spring.

2007 Was Pretty Good After All

Looking over 2007, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. I was this close to meeting my financial goal of $1000 per month from writing. (Keep in mind that I do this part-time.)

Update: a few late checks came in putting me just a little over my goal!

I fulfilled many of the minor goals I set out for myself such as getting a backup drive for my computer, entering writing contests, and going to two blogging conventions and two writer's conferences. I finally created a testimonial page, got my business affairs more organized, and planned out my blogging posts and writing assignments.

My biggest achievement in 2007 was that I realized what was and wasn't working for me.

• Joining a blog network like 451Press? No, because I was making more money and building a better readership with my own blogs.
• Writing for others? No, because projects got changed or were canceled. This was just the opposite of 2006 when I was getting paid very well to write for clients. Back then I almost didn't have enough time to take on all the jobs I was getting.
• Putting my efforts into getting freelance writing gigs? No, because I didn't have the time to properly market myself as recommended in books like The Well-Fed Writer. Instead, I wanted to be home with my four-year-old daughter and had to be available to drive my son to/from school, sports, and his numerous speech therapy sessions. Blogging worked well with that schedule. Freelance copywriting didn't.
• Talking to small business people about blogging? Wrong audience. Even though I believe that the New York Times is right in saying that Blogging’s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool, it wasn't right for the businesses I was talking to since they were very small. Instead, I've found a great niche in talking to writers about blogging. Many want to blog just to have a place to write on a frequent basis. Others want to learn how to make money doing it or how to promote themselves and their books with social media.

Sometimes You Have to Go with the Flow

I realized that blogging for myself was the only way I was going to meet my financial goal. I had to become a better blogger to do that, so I joined Yaro Starak's Blog Mastermind Mentoring Program. Not only did I learn an incredible amount of valuble and usable information, but I networked with and continue to get support from the BlogMastermind community.

Joining the Blog Mastermind Mentoring Program was the best investment in myself and my business that I made in 2007.

Opportunities came my way that I wasn't expecting like the community manager job with CafeMom. My other goals changed as well:

• Instead of local networking with small businesses owners, I decided to only network with writers and bloggers. I let my membership with my local chamber of commerce expire. I stopped going to business newtworking events. I became a member of writer's associations like the Boulder Press Club and the Northern Colorado Writer's Association. I joined a writer's group that meets several times a month. I even made it to a few local blogger meetups.
• Blogging instead of freelance copywriting. In 2007, over 95% of my income was coming from three blogging sources: 1) being paid to blog for others, 2) monetizing my blogs including joining advertising networks, doing affiliate marketing, and being willing to do sponsored posts, and 3) talking to writer's groups about blogging. It was time to drop any goals around freelance writing and concentrate only on blogging.

I also gave up some goals due to the lack of time and energy. This included magazine writing, pursuing a syndicated newspaper or online column, and marketing myself as a freelancer to medium to large local companies. They were worthy goals and ones that I will pursue in the future, but in 2007 I just couldn't.

Reviewing what happened in 2007 was a great exercise for planning 2008. Now on to setting my goals for the upcoming year.