goals Archives - Pearls and Polkadots

Samantha January 5, 2017

New Year, New Me: A Mantra Worth Following

Every year, we ring in the new year with resolutions and mantras that revolve around the “new year, new me” attitude. People attach this mantra to everything in an effort to improve upon their lives. I, for one, am guilty of this as well but…

I don’t see it as a bad thing if I fail.

How can we ever fail at something when we actively decide to do something other than what we have set out to do?

I want to blog more…but life gets in the way.

I want to eat healthier…but junk food is easier (and cheaper) to cram into my mouth.

I want to be spontaneous…but sometimes planning ahead is the right way to go.

The concept of “new year, new me” doesn’t mean that we have to completely makeover or change ourselves. It also doesn’t mean that we have to feel like failures if we alter our goals throughout the year! That’s what living your every day life is about: making your own decisions.

We all have the best intentions to start the year off fresh, and that is great but it doesn’t need to be the be all and end all of life!

It’s great to have goals, but don’t be afraid to change them!

Don’t get me wrong, I am not hating on this phrase or saying that we shouldn’t embrace it. Quite the contrary actually, I love this phrase and am making it my mantra because it is positive and inspiring. However, I am not taking it at face value. I am me, and I am not going to change.

What I am going to do is set realistic goals for myself that I can manage and not be afraid to alter should I need to. That’s what the new year is all about, right? A fresh start! A chance to try new things! An opportunity to feel good about yourself.

It is not a time to feel like you are going to fail – because we can’t really call it failure if we actively decide to do something other than what we have set out to do.

So here are my totally realistic and changeable goals for Y2017:

1. Have a super awesome, cute brunch in the city with friends.

2. Live a happier, healthier and fuller life on a daily basis.

3. Write about what I want to write about and makes me feel stellar.

4. Make new friends and embrace the ones I have had for years.

5. Get active in a fun way.

6. Travel to at least one new, cool place that I have always wanted to go to.

7. Make the most amazing memories and photograph it all.

8. Give as many smiles away a day as I want to (at least one).

9. Remember my fortune and be thankful for what I have each and every day of my life.

10. Give back to those who need it more than I do.

There you have it! It didn’t take me long, but I have come up with ten, amazing goals for Y2017 that I can carry throughout the year. Each and every one of those goals are realistic and completely changeable, should something get in the way of doing them. Yes, they are pretty general…but that is what makes them realistic.

Life gets in the way sometimes.This idea goes hand in hand with everything in moderation.

No one is perfect, and the “new you” doesn’t have to be either. Happy New Year!

Samantha April 14, 2016

Staying On Track + Tips to Stay Positive

In January, I showed you some key blogging tips in order to stay on track with what you want to accomplish. Today, I want to talk a little bit about what I have learned since that and share my 2016 blogging attitude so far. When the year changed over to the big 2-0-1-6, I took a hard look at my goals I set for myself in 2015, what I had accomplished and what I wanted the future to look like for Pearls and Polkadots. So much happened in my first year of blogging, but there was a lot of things that did not happen. That can get really discouraging when you look back at the last 365 days of your life and realize that you haven’t really advanced (the way you want to advance).

I was getting super frustrated with why I was even blogging. Why I was putting 2-3 hours in every day trying to make my blog better – look better, sound better, and grasp the attention of readers. There were some days that I felt the only one who even cared about what I had to say was my Mom! I know now that there are things that I could have done to help me, for example I could have used something like WordPress Hosting – edge cache plugin and this might have helped me stop stressing out so much. But now I know better.

There are a lot of things that can get you down about blogging and so to get them off my chest, I am going to share them with you and tell you how I turn those downers into positive motivation!

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Low Engagement

This, I’m sure, makes any blogger feel that their work isn’t being appreciated. No comments, low hit counts, virtually no engagement on social media – it gets you down because you feel like you missed the mark. Guess what!? Just because your content doesn’t sky rocket in views the first day it’s up, that doesn’t mean it won’t. Instead of taking that as a hit to your confidence in your writing or content, turn that “No comments” read into motivation to ask yourself why and what you can do to improve! Believe it or not, the right web hosting server can have a positive impact on your blog’s engagement. If you are looking for new web hosting, you can find cheap hosting on sites all over the internet.

Success of other Bloggers

If you are in any type of blogging community, you will know at least one blogger who is more successful than you. Maybe it only took them 6 months and all of a sudden the sponsorship and collaboration opportunities are rolling in! That can be really frustrating and it’s easy to get jealous of the success of other bloggers. Don’t get down about it – form a relationship with the girls in your community! Most of the time, bloggers support bloggers and that is one great mantra to live by! Reach out and ask for tips to their success and see what you can learn from them! No matter how crazy your blog content may be, from food to marijuana, somewhere you will find a list of blogs that will give you some inspiration. You can see a list of top weed blogs here, and you may even find inspiration for lots and lots of other niches; there will be something for everyone.

No Reply and Rejection

As I have been moving in the direction of monetizing, I have grown some courage and “thick skin”. It takes a lot to message a company, walk into a store, or call to pitch an idea that you have and then receive…rejection. Rejection can be hard on anyone, but the best thing to keep in mind is stay positive. You know your strengths, and you also know your weaknesses. Which means you know exactly where you can improve!! In the end, the companies that reject you or don’t even reply are missing out on a great opportunity!!

Well there you go…we all experience things that we wish we didn’t have to go through. In a recent conversation I was having with some fellow bloggers and friends of mine, it came up that “blogging is a marathon”. This is the most important thing to wrap your head around when you get into blogging and throughout. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Cliche, but true. It takes work, dedication, rejection, support and a million other things to keep you going!!

How do you deal with the blogging blues? Let me know in the comments below…

Samantha January 7, 2016

Coming up on Pearls and Polkadots

This week, I have really been focusing on the “new year, new me” concept. That sounds completely cliche – I know…but New Year’s resolutions can be a good thing. I make them every year and even if I don’t stick to them, I still feel it is important to have some sort of direction. If I didn’t, then Pearls and Polkadots would not exist (that was my resolution last year)!

Today, I want to detail some of the things I hope (and will!) bring to you in the next year. We are at the beginning of a brand new year and semester, which means I am really going to try and put 110% into quality posts!

1. 5 Posts per Week

On July 1, I took up the #30Dayblogging challenge, which required me to post every day for 30 days. I got so into it, that I carried it past July and ended up writing every day until mid-November. Once I began school, I started to get extremely busy. Posting every single day became tedious and my post quality quickly deteriorated! For 2-0-1-6, I am focusing on quality posts on weekdays only.

2. Outfits, outfits, outfits!

Style blogging requires outfit posts – so I am hoping to bring you regular outfit posts to beef up the style side of Pearls and Polkadots. Not to mention, I love a good photo shoot! Hopefully I can do several in a week, but we will have to see!

3. Collaborations

Bloggers support bloggers. That is a motto to live by in this world. Without each other, we would get nowhere. So expect to see more collabs with different style bloggers, communities, etc. I am really trying to focus on this aspect of my blogging career.

4. #FlashbackFridays

One of my favourite things to do is go back a month or two (or three!) and see how my blog has evolved. As you become more experienced and get to know your blog (and your niche), you seem to improve your writing skills, standardize your format, and get better at what you post. I am slowly revamping each post to be consistent with my writing style now, and for the next month or so, I want to reflect and flashback on those old posts.

Follow my journey with me as Pearls and Polkadots grows.

It’s going to be a great year and I can’t wait to have you follow along with me.

Samantha January 5, 2016

Blogging Tips to stay on track!

This is the first official day that I am back in full swing. I move back to school, classes begin, and the holidays come to a (sad) ending! In 11 days, it will be Pearls and Polkadots’ one year anniversary (say what?!). Time has completely flown by. In one year I have found my niche, gotten a blogging format together and made some amazing friends. There are more bloggers than you realize, and I certainly did not realize how many people do this every day, like me!

There are so many things that you can do to keep your blog alive and well, as well as have fun while doing it (so it doesn’t turn into a boring task)!

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Create a Calendar

Having a plan is the most important part of blogging. Think ahead and plan for what you want to release over the weeks. If you have some kind of idea in mind, jot it down and then write it ahead of time so that you can schedule it beforehand. One of the best moves I made in my blogging style is planning ahead. I would write out my posts on the weekend, and schedule them for each day throughout the week.

Post as often as possible

This is really important. When you are trying to build your following, you want to establish a presence. There are many ways in which you can create an online audience. From social media to running your own website, you’ve got many options. But one thing to consider is that you can’t run a website with the help of specialists like hostiserver. This is the factor that will get your website live on the internet for potential clients to view. Without a full functioning platform, it may be hard for people to appreciate your services and will seem unprofessional. You’ll be able to post as many times as you want when your site is active. When I started out, I posted roughly three times a week. While this was good (and completely manageable), it did not generate enough regular traffic to my blog. It was not until I joined the #30DayChallenge (where I began posting every day), that I started seeing a jump in my numbers. However, keep in mind that you want to make sure you are posting quality posts. Furthermore, if you want to optimise your blog posts for search engines, you could also consider contacting an SEO Agency Burton on Trent. Ram Digital are an online marketing company who can help your content reach its intended audience by using innovative search engine and keyword strategies.

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Join Blogger Communities

When I started out, I had no idea how many Facebook groups, Pinterest boards and Twitter chats were out there that were geared towards the blogging community. I have found so many bloggers like me through these communities. They are all different as well! Some focus on sharing love between bloggers (comment for comment, like for like, etc.), and some are for support through tips and tricks! These are my favourite communities: #stylecollective, The Blog Love Project, and Bloggers United.

Patience + Hard work

Last but not least, I will say this: be patient and focus. Success doesn’t happen overnight (unless you go viral…) and if you are dedicated in what you are writing, you’ll get there. Do this by setting mini-goals for yourself. Make sure you are paying attention to the following that you are gaining (or it will go away).

We all dream of becoming successful in blogging. How cool would it be to generate enough income to sustain yourself? Writing about what you love and interacting with people you adore…as your full-time job…is the (my) dream.

Keep going and you’ll make it!

Samantha January 4, 2016

Welcome to 2016 + New Year’s Resolutions!

Happy Monday!

Notice anything different? Look around…have you found the changes yet? Pearls and Polkadots got a makeover and I could not be happier! After one full year of blogging (well, almost…January 16), I decided to give the blog a face lift! There is nothing better than cleaning up and starting fresh and the beginning of a brand new year.

Over the past couple of days, I have been enjoying browsing themes, colour schemes, logos, and fonts in order to upgrade the interface. I finally settled on a simple palette and a minimalist theme. Of course, with a redesign, there are some kinks I am still working out…Rome certainly wasn’t built in a day. I have so many ideas to put forth so over the next little while, you will be seeing some changes!

Which ties into the next part of this post…

New Year’s Resolutions:

Yes, yes, I know – we all make new year’s resolutions that we often do not live up to. However, I make them every year and this year is no exception! Here are my simple resolutions for 2-0-1-6:

1. Revamp old posts.

This will be tedious – but since I have changed my blogging style so much over the past year, I want everything to remain consistent. There is nothing wrong with upgrading photos and graphics – which is exactly what I plan to do.

2. Get into a solid blogging routine.

Sundays are going to be my day. My day I dedicate to blogging and blogging only. Yes, school is important, but if I can get my posts for the week written on the weekend, then I will have more time to focus on work and school!

3. More outfit posts.

Over the next year, I really want to focus on narrowing my niche (fashion & style) which means I need to get styling and take some awesome shots of the style that I love.

2016 is going to be a great year for blogging. I want to do some big things with Pearls and Polkadots and I cannot wait to take you along with me!