I spent a lot of 2018 worrying about my ever yo-yo-ing Instagram numbers. Can you believe at one point I was so close to cracking 3,000 and now I am hovering at 2,700? It sucks. Not only does it suck, it often makes me feel inadequate like I don't have an Instagram followers life, but to be honest I don't, and that's just something I have to come to terms with.

The thing is, though, my Instagram numbers don't reflect my blogging skills at all. I am by no means bringing in hordes of traffic, but I am also bringing in more traffic now than I did when I was closing in on 3,000 page views. Everything is increasing over here, except Instagram, and I find myself so unnecessarily fixated on that.

To Focus On Instagram Or Not To Focus On Instagram

Here's the thing, I am not going to stop posting on Instagram. I used to get a kick out of the platform when I wasn't so obsessed with numbers.

When I was creating my goals for 2019, I thought for a second that I wanted to get to 10,000 this year. Then I decided that would just put unnecessary stress on myself. I can't control the numbers as much as I'd like to think I can.

Instagram is a great platform that I would like to build in 2019. It would be great for the sponsored post work that I want to get more of this year.

The problem with putting so much focus on this platform is that it's just too stressful. There are bigger fish to fry, and I'd rather spend that focus time building other areas.

A pretty Instagram feed doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. I don't need a fantastic feed to make money online. What I'm trying to build here goes beyond that.

The financial freedom I am trying to set up for myself goes beyond building a perfect Instagram feed.

You and I are more than our Instagram following counts.

Perfect little squares can never encapsulate how amazing we are!

Some Of My 2019 Blogging Goals

So, now that you know I am not focusing on Instagram, I wanted to share a few of my blogging goals for 2019. Some of these goals may shock you based on what I just said, but hear me out!

Build My Email List

Unlike Instagram, I own my email list. As long as y'all permit me to send you emails I can send you all emails, I can change email service providers, et cetera.

I used to have a pretty large email list, but I decided to scrap it. It wasn't as a great as I wanted it to be, and I felt like it wasn't as engaged as it could be. This email list I am building now is based on subscribing to my new free resource library. I've made a bunch of excellent resources for it that I am excited about. I have stuff in there about starting a blog, being grateful for what you have, and crushing your goals. So much great stuff!

To bring more awareness to my email list I have a subscription form at the bottom of every post as well as an exit intent pop-up that shows up when visitors show signs that they are ready to leave. I will also be sharing other forms when relevant in blog posts.

Speaking of, sign up for my mailing list right now:

Become An Interactor, Not A Browser

I've noticed one thing about my social media life; I am such a social media browser. I hardly ever comment, and I can mostly be found passively liking stuff.

In 2019, I am vowing to change that. Instead of passively browsing social media, my goal is to interact with people more. I want to comment on more stuff, share more pictures and updates, and generally be more present.

I know that we could all benefit from being more present when on social media. If you need to be more present, I hope that you follow through and interact more.

Post 2-3 Times A Week On Instagram

Okay, you may be wondering, why I have a goal to post on Instagram if I'm not focusing on Instagram.

I am tired of being disappointed by my consistently dwindling numbers, but I know that there is something positive about Instagram still.

I have made so many amazing connections on Instagram, I love sharing my day on Instagram stories, and I am confident that with the right energy, I can do amazing things on the platform.

So, I am going to continue to post pretty consistently on the platform. Not every day by any stretch of the imagination, but I am going to post frequently.

My goal is to post 2-3 times per week. Some of the shots will be more curated shots taken by my dad, while others will be iPhone shots of my day to day life, encouraging videos, or anything else I see fit.

Post 2-3 Times A Week On The Happy Arkansan

This will not happen overnight! I want to post three times a week by the end of the year, but not right now. Right now, I am going to focus on posting 1-2 times per week. I want to do that consistently for the first half of the year. Then towards the middle of summer, I want to turn up the heat and try to post 2-3 times a week. By the end of the year, I want to post three times a week consistently.

I don't see myself posting more than three times per week. I know that as a lifestyle blogger, I should be posting more, but I am not going to kill all of my creativity trying to post five times a week. Plus, I like posting real content for y'all, not short-form junk. I can't imagine posting 1,000+ word articles five times a week and still making money serving the awesome clients I work with.

If you ever have any ideas you'd like to see me cover on The Happy Arkansan, contact me so I can see your requests!

Conclusion

This year is bound to be our best year yet, folks! I have so many plans for The Happy Arkansan, Colorful College, and my freelance business Amanda Cross Co.! I hope that you are excited to follow my journey this year.

Please let me know in the comments what your blogging goals are if you have them. I'd love to hear them!