Hello 2018: Blog Goals & Travel Plans

Happy New Year, everyone! Today is the first day of 2018, so I wish you a great year ahead. As I discussed yesterday in 2017 Reflection, setting goals is really important in blogging. Here are my blog goals & travel plans for this year!

1. Learning SEO

I haven’t focused on SEO in 2017, so 2018 is an excellent start to emphasize SEO (Search Engine Optimization). My goal is to rank more posts on Google’s first or second page for specific keywords.

How to achieve this goal?

• Read more documents and guides on SEO
• Use Keysearch.co platform to find specific keywords to rank
• Write an in-depth article (ideally more than 1000 words)
• Apply SEO-friendly techniques in articles

2. Improving photography

If you read my recent articles, you can notice that I’ve put more pictures and edited them carefully.

I’m currently taking a photography course at my university, so I hope to improve my photography skills & knowledge.

Also, as I’m learning Lightroom & Photoshop, I hope to create more beautiful content.

How to achieve this goal?

• Take Photography course & practice the techniques in free time
• Read more photography materials & understand the equipment
• Learn & practice Lightroom & Photoshop

3. Increasing pageviews

2017 ended with the exciting news that Expatolife received more than 9000 views in December. I aim at increasing more page views this year, and here is a specific break-down goal:

• January: 10K views
• February: 12K views
• March: 13K views
• April: 15K views

How to achieve this goal?

• Have a specific plan for each month
• Create more contents & publish frequently based on schedule
• Focus more on SEO & Social media Marketing
• Collaborate with other bloggers by writing guest posts & collaboration

4. Monetization

I haven’t earned any from my blog, so I’d like to change it this year. I hope to collaborate with more brands & companies and earn from affiliate marketing.

How to achieve this goal?

• Read and learn affiliate marketing.
• Apply for affiliate marketing programs and apply them to posts
• Write more content that can be monetized: gift guides, city guides, etc.
• Contact brand & companies to collaborate
• Build connections

5. Social Media Goals

I just made this infographic picture to illustrate my goals for social media in 2018. I strive to improve brand awareness, increase followers & interaction of each channel.

• Facebook: 2000 followers
• Instagram: 10K followers
• Twitter: 3000 followers

6. Travel Plans

2017 was a fantastic year as I traveled to more than 20 countries and several cities around the world. I decide to take a gap year before studying Master’s, so I will travel around Asia. This is the list of the countries that I’d like to visit and discover in 2018

• Japan: Kyushu area (Fukuoka, Nagasaki & Kumamoto), Kansai Area (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara), Okinawa, & Hokkaido. I might go back to Tokyo again :)

• South Korea: Seoul
• Thailand: Bangkok, Chiangmai & islands
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Vietnam: I’ll explore more places in my country