First Year Blogging (Reflection & Future Blogging Goals)

Written By Bakes

Avid writer on Men's Hair, Grooming, and Lifestyle!

October 2019 officially marks my first year blogging and I’ve decided to write this post to revisit it next year to assess how far I’ve come.  While I have ambition, vision and hustle to turn my website into a fully functional media brand its important I celebrate the small wins along the way.

It’s crazy to think that what started as myself penning letters to my best friend whilst in prison would turn into a website allowing me to showcase my creative writing, share my interests and publish content online.

With every article I have written, hitting the publish button has always made me happy whilst feeling accomplished. Some posts I created with the intention to convey a story without being optimized for SEO and some posts I’ve created with keywords in mind and have ranked first page bringing in traffic to the site which I’m extremely proud of. I know creative writing and building this brand is what I’m meant to do.

My blog has also allowed me to challenge myself and create a branded video which I will share below. After a long list of NO’s from multiple stores, I got my first yes and interviewed a store in London. Living out my comfort zone is something I will be doing more often.

So with that being said, I wanted to highlight key moments in my first-year blogging, my goals for next year, future ambition for my site and words of wisdom and encouragement for yourself and I.

 

Worked with dope Photographers

What’s the saying?

Pictures tell a thousand words!

& and what better way to turns those words into a story through images! Which is what I did.

I hired a professional photographer (E Cole) who has shot many UK artists such as Skepta and Novelist.

This shoot was important to me because my boy featured in the photos gave me the blog name idea in a voice note without realizing and he’s the person I wrote too while in prison. The Heartafact brand and website is linked to our history and friendship which is why this was not an ordinary shoot, but one with meaning and history.

 

Check out all the photos  > Here

 

 

Interviewed Clothing Brand and Universal Hip-Hop Museum

A few months into blogging I had the opportunity to interview Night Addict which is a UK based clothing brand with their line available in different retailers from Asos to topman.

The interview discussed the creative process that goes behind their clothes, it’s London/New York aesthetic and future plans.

Full Interview > HERE

I also had the opportunity to interview the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Now if you know me you know I’m a hip-hop head to the core! So, this meant a lot to me.

The idea of a museum that will preserve multiple hip hop artifacts’, allow visitors the opportunity to understand and learn the culture’s history while providing space for live shows is something I had to cover, share and celebrate.

Full Interview > HERE

 

Got Article to Rank First Page on Google

A year ago, if you would have told me I would be ranking first page on google for an article which brings me hundreds of views a month I wouldn’t have believed you!

My chunky trainer trends article currently sits on the first page of google and I’ve outranked companies such as the guardian and BBC.

 

I remember taking my time with this article, learning the basics of SEO and then implementing what I had learnt.

With the success of this article, gone are the limiting beliefs and self-doubt thoughts which sound like, no one will read my content, I’m not a good writer or I’m wasting time. 

This article for me is confirmation to keep learning, keep writing and improve on my SEO skills so that next year I will be attracting thousands of visitors to my articles because anything is possible, and I believe I can do it!

 

Produced 40 Posts in my first year Blogging

first year blogging

 

Just like a job or business, content creation requires a great level of commitment in order to succeed and tests your ability to being disciplined. Which is why creating 40 original blog posts for my site has been an achievement.

While I do admit when I first started blogging, I did not aim to write 40 blog posts, however, I wanted to test how many I could get done within the year, I have set myself a personal goal which is to write more than 40 blog posts in year 2.

Year 2 will see more blog posts optimized for search engines. In layman terms, in year 2 I will create content that people are actively searching for on google which will increase my traffic numbers which will then allow me the opportunity for browsers to watch my videos once on my site, get familiar with the brand and subscribe.

 

Created Guest Posts for other Sites

In my attempt to test my creative writing skills, gain a new audience and build links I had the opportunity to guest post for hypend which is a site creating content around streetwear, culture and music like myself.

As were in the same niche I took it upon myself to propose article ideas to be published to their sites, to which they agreed.

The first guest post was – WHY UNUSUAL BRAND COLLABORATIONS MAKE SENSE

The second guest post was – HOW VINTAGE FASHION PLAYS IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES

In year 2 I will continue to guest post for more sites with bigger brand equity and audience in hopes of building a bigger audience for Heartafact.com

 

Goals for Year 2 Blogging

Moving forward in year 2 I am putting on my business cap and will start to look at my blog through this lens as this is the only way I’m going to drive the results necessary to build a brand.

first year blogging

 

Some of my Year 2 Blogging Goals include

  • Undertake a SEO course to learn how to bring more traffic to the site in order to rank for multiple key words and implement learnings immediately
  • Increase overall Traffic to 25k + (Currently doing 1k )
  • Monetise blog with ad placements, product, sponsorship and brand partnerships
  • Challenge myself and create more brand videos
    ( Also will shoot a Q & A style video in New York)
  • Submit more guest posts to bigger bloggers, news and media sites in my niche
  • Pitch my brand story for media press
  • Increase email list and social media following
  • Have fun and enjoy the process of building something cool, unique and valuable

 

When I look at my goals for the next year, I see a massive challenge which is so necessary. I also believe I can achieve what I put my mind too.

I have already achieved much in my first year blogging so I know that with even better planning and goals I can achieve my year 2 goals.

If there’s one thing for certain its that I’m going to need to give up much leisure time in order to focus on building my site. The idea is what I give to my site will be returned 100x!

You get back what you put in!

 

Summary

I can honestly say deciding to blog has been one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself. This practice has made me realise my skill and gift for writing, it has become an outlet to journal my ideas and most importantly is a project reflecting my own self-discipline and hard work.

As i continue to grow my blog you are witnessing the transition from writing letters to a website to a brand which will allow me to create a festival, merchandise, travel, work with different creatives but most importantly add value to the world.

I believe in my vision and take 100% responsibility of bringing it to life

YEAR 2 here i come!

Bakez

To stay updated on everything happening in streetwear, culture & music follow @heartafact on Instagram

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