Considering I only blogged 13 days in November and had been inactive for a whole month as I was building my new site my blog did astoundingly well. Not only did I get nominated for my third award, but my blog views tripled, my social following increased and I was contacted by a record breaking amount of brands including two of the biggest brands in the world right now. It is mind blowing how everything has come together and while there is still so much work to do- I am a perfectionist I am never satisfied- I am happy that my hard work and graft is paying off. It just goes to show that success is measured through strength and determination and while I might be permanently broke even debt can’t wipe the smile off my face as I type this. I work so bloody hard that at 2 Am I am scheduling posts for next week despite having to be up at 5 AM but do you know what? I don’t care because I know that my sacrifices will come to fruition eventually. Even if it takes me a decade of hard slog I know that I will make it no matter what. When you have a dream there can be the careless whispers in your ear that try and tell you it is time to give up and that the hard work will get you nowhere. Never listen to those whispers because it is bullshit; if I had listened to my inner demons or indeed the people around me I would not be where I am today and I know that following my heart is often the best course of action.
November was a funny month for me; it was the first month since I started blogging where I did not blog for an extended period of time and it felt strange. Despite all the hours I was spending tearing my hair out and yes I admit it crying in frustration I had a frightening amount of downtime. I didn’t like it and it was a relief when my new site was finally ready. On the first day alone the views had doubled and by day 10 I was getting 700 views/visitors a day. It was an incredible feat and I felt so much happier with my new site, feeling that for once my site looked as professional as its content. I spent a ridiculous amount of money getting it to look perfect but I do not regret my decision one bit and I cannot wait to see the rewards come in. Not only have I been contacted by Missguided to say I had been shortlisted for their new Christmas campaign but I had also been ‘found’ by River Island’ who said they had been avidly reading my blog and said they had never seen anything like it, thus wanting to work with me. Along came a flurry of even more exciting collaborations and an assortment of brands who wanted to sponsor me via monetary compensation. Not enough to pay the bills perhaps but I know it is a start and it can only go up from here.
By this time next year I want to be able to say that I am no longer working a job I hate and am doing the job I love- blogging- full time. I want to wake up in the morning not with dread but elation, excited at what a new day may bring. Because that is the best thing about blogging, no two days are the same and unlike most days you never know what will happen next, making it in my opinion the most exciting job of all. What other job do you have complete control of, a 24/7 community and once in a lifetime opportunities and collaborations all because of how awesome you are. My fellow fashion bloggers get sent clothes and products from their favorite brands while travel bloggers get to… well travel the world and the foodies get sent to incredible restaurants to sample the cuisine. But despite what people may think these are not ‘freebies’ but rewards and you worked bloody hard for that reward. So give yourself a pat on the back because you bloody deserve it.
Top 5 Posts
1,500 views ‘Change Is Good’
Sometimes we need to give ourselves a break and reevaluate our priorities. For me I was growing frustrated with Wix and its limited coding but I put off transferring my site because it wasn’t the right time. Because the passion had gone my views and my following was dropping so by the end of October I knew it was the right time to change to WordPress and I could not be happier with my decision.
1,456 views ‘Autumn Throne’
I love writing creative stories,prose and poems and the ‘Autumn Throne’ was no exception. The queen was destined to rule the Autumn Throne from the day she was born and after inheriting the throne after her mothers death she took to the role with gusto. After meeting her handsome but older consort, they fell in love and had children. You might think that this is another fairy tale that has a happy ending but as a fan of the ‘macabre’ there are a few surprises in store.
800 Views ‘Jord Watch Giveaway’
I love JORD watches and you should do; efficient, practical yet stylish these watches had been seen on every bloggers feed and its easy to see why. For your chance to get a beautiful watch enter the fantastic giveaway!
756 Views ‘Moonlight Necklace’
My second creative writing post of the month, this like the Autumn Throne is firmly placed in the fantasy genre. After seeing her mother die she recalls a conversation with the Moon God, who was once her Mother’s lover and begged her to hold onto the ‘moonlight necklace’ a reminder of what could have been.
690 Views ‘Never Judge A Book By Its Cover’
Another personal post; I recall a moment when I had lost control of all my inhibitions and drank to forget the pain. I was sick of people judging me and kept on drinking despite my body not being able to handle it. I rarely drink to that extent and it brought emotions to the surface that made me crumble and fall.
Top 5 Instagram Posts
- 756
- 715
- 713
- 669
- 660
Top Referrers
- Stumbleupon
- Search Engines
December Blogging Goals
- To Get 17,000 views a month
- To Get 5,000 subscribers.
December Social Media Goals
- To get 4,000 followers
- To Get An Average of 600 likes on each photo
1. To Get 1,000 followers
2. To drive 10 % more traffic to my blog
Bloglovin
- To get 600 Followers
- To Increase The Amount Of Reads
- To Start Posting Again
What Are Your December Goals?
Shop The Look
Great achievements! Very informative post. My goals is to get more followers on Instagram! Have a wonderful weekend dear!!
Hope you achieve your goal, you are doing so well on Instagram already hun! xxx
Good luck with all your goals, you are taking this seriously and that will surely pay off for you. Mich x
Sounds like your blog is doing great! This is such a good idea, a great way to keep track of your achievements.
You have some great goals and awesome achievements. Happy to hear your views have doubled, that’s huge! I’m not a fashion blogger, but I hope one day to blog full time just like you. I love gardening, raising farm animals and photography. I’d love more time to focus on the things that make me happiest! I really respect your tenacity. Never stop, you are pretty amazing 🙂
It goes to show when there’s great content, it’s what really matters. As a fan of your blog, I love the quality and it shows so you taking time off and not being so active didn’t effect your exposure and people like me coming back. Keep the great work!
I wish my stats looked like this. You honestly are a beautiful lady xo
Congratulations on doing so well in November! I can only hope you manage to go full time by this time next year!
– Elodie x
http://www.elle-yeah.com
Some outstanding achievements here, you should be so proud. My page views are nowhere near yours. I get approx 500 a month and would love to reach your levels at some point. Jo x
You are fantastic. You work so hard. Your new blog is looking great….
Good luck with reaching your goals x
Your blog is definitely one of a kind (in a bloody brilliant way!) so I’m not surprised at all that huge brands like Missguided and RI want to work with you! Well done and congratulations!
I think there’s no doubt that you’ll be doing this FT within the next year and your dreams are certainly on the way to being achieved.
Best of luck, you are really flying high right now!
x x
I must commend you on the hard work, it’s certainly paying off and I love the new look of the site. Good luck with misguided and river island collaborations
Wow, it sounds like things are going so well for you Ana! Good luck with your goals for December <3
What a fantastic achievement. I am happy that your blog is doing so well, I wish you the same success in the growth of your blog.
Wow, fab achievements and really great goals for December – best of luck 🙂 x
I hope your goals come to be. Well done on revamp, your blog looks beautiful now!
Your blog does look so much better in this format and it is much easier to read and comment x
Congratulations on your acheivements and good luck for next year!
Oh wow looks like you had a great month for blogging. my goals for December are to get back into a proper blogging routine x
Well done you- so deserved. You work so hard and I am thrilled that it is paying off for you. Kaz x
Wow you have done very well in November! those are some impressive stats
Well done pretty lady – how exciting! It looks like things are getting exciting for you! I hope you reach your targets for December!
Wow, well done you for setting such goals and sticking to them. They’re clearly working.
But don’t be too hard on yourself for some downtime!
Rachel // http://illustratedteacup.com
November has gone by so quick. It’s almost Christmas x
That’s amazing! You deserve it…hard work always pays off. I have no doubt you will be blogging full time by next year. Well done x
Congrats on your achievements. Hard work does pay off.
I love your new blog layout! Good luck on your journey to becoming full time blogger! I’d love to be able to have the time to do that! I always love readi your blog so you deserve it!
Congratulations gal on your accomplishments! Life has all its ups and downs and blogging is not everyone’s cup of tea! Good luck for your December goals!
Well done Ana! That’s so great your blog is really great 🙂 Good luck with your goals!
It’s so great to see all that hard work paying off isn’t it. Sounds like that downtime was absolutely worth it!
Your new blog looks fab. Your new collaborations sound really exciting. I LOVE MISSGUIDED! I’m excited to see how that one unfolds for you. x
You are such an inspirational lady. You came a long way. So proud of you.
Well done with your achievements and best of luck with the goals – I’m sure you’ll accomplishment them 🙂
Amazing achievement for the month and it’s so great that your hard work is paying off even if you are blogging less! Hope this continues for you 🙂
Very very well done for November – you’ve achieved some great things! I had a week off this month & it’s so strange isn’t it?!
Well done on a blog nomination for award and two huge brands contacting you. That’s amazing!
Your determination is clearly paying off! I think I need to set some goal lols this for 2017!
There is so many amazing bloggers recently taking the step and working from home! It’s crazy! well done and welcome on board 😉
That’s amazing news Ana and an incredible number of daily views, well done. Keep up the great work x
November sounds like it was a great month. You have a beautiful new site and look at those pageviews!! Great work 🙂
This is amazing, november has been a very good month for you x
November was simply a fantastic month for you and is very reflective of all of the hard work that you have put into your blog. I have no doubt you will continue to grow and will achieve all that you set out to accomplish because you are willing to do whatever it takes to get there x
Love this dress! So pretty!
Bravo to you! There aren’t many bloggers out there who share what it really takes .. the number of hours .. the hard work. I love too that you give permission to bloggers .. enjoy the fruits of your labor. You’re so inspiring .. thank-you.
Blogging is really tough sometimes but it sounds like your being an absolute #girlboss when it comes to your blog x