Last year I made it a goal to make more money. I did manage to do that but barely. It was only because of a few rare opportunities that fell into my lap that I can claim any kind of increase. I also spent more than typical because I attended a blogging conference and chose to fund it myself instead of securing some kind of sponsorship.

All in all I think things went in a downhill direction truth be told and I can only blame myself for my lack of direction and follow through. Making more money is a rather vague goal. I needed to have more specific goals and more specific ideas about how to get to where I want to be. My business goal was also at odds with my personal goal which was to have more fun. I knocked that goal out of the park which often meant I wanted to play and have fun instead of work. Emails went unanswered and work went undone.

I actually got a great proposal that offered me an ambassadorship deal and a sponsorship to a blogging conference in 2013 and I ended up not getting it because I skimmed the first paragraph in the email and tagged it to read later in the week so I could get to the gym. I figured it might be a product review request anyway. Well it got buried by other emails quickly and I ended up not reading it until a month later when the deal had already been offered to another blogger. Talk about kicking myself!! I actually lost out on a few opportunities for the exact same reason… email overload and distraction by personal things.

Well this year I am still determined to have fun and give the same amount of time and enthusiasm to fitness but I am going to have to buckle down and figure out a plan of action to keep things going on the business front. First that means admitting some hard truths.

I procrastinate and skate by…doing just enough to sustain comfortable momentum. I do not PUSH into new territory even if I know I should. I will have to work very hard to leave my current comfort zone. I also started out last year making a huge mistake because I wanted to take a risk even when I knew in my gut it felt all wrong. So yes, I need to push myself in new directions but only when part of me is not screaming RUN! My mistake was that I did not trust myself and I let someone talk me into jumping on the “latest trend”. That move actually damaged my business and much of 2013 will be spent repairing and regaining ground instead of growing sadly.

But after seeing where I went wrong, I can now see where I need to improve. In 2013 it is my goal to:

• Create at least six new niche affiliate websites (I did three in 2012)
• Prune some of my old sites/domains that are not performing or being used
• Update my niche sites at least once monthly
• Create more brand partnerships
• Pitch more of my ideas
• Revamp ad packages
• Reply to unpaid pitch emails and opps asking for payment (give them a chance)
• Create a bank of blog posts to rely on when I am unmotivated
• Collaborate more with other bloggers
• Write more tutorials and epic posts
• Start using video
• Cover more current events
• Establish a better presence on Google+
• Email my list with offers more often
• Create more Squidoo lenses
• Study my analytics often…like every month
• Write another ebook and revamp old ones
• Get better about updating ALL my fan pages and engaging that community
• Outsource more of my article writing and graphics
• Develop an editorial calendar to stay on track and be on time with assignments
• “Play” less on the computer
• Reduce useless email volume

I think this is a good place to start. Some of these goals seem a little vague even but I plan to print this list and tape it to the wall beside my computer monitor so I have a constant reminder of what I need to be doing. I will check in with progress soon!