I know this is the kind of post that you would usually
see at the beginning of the year, but I’m never one to follow the rules! I
wrote my first post on this blog on the 22nd September 2013 – that’s
four and a half years ago – where has the time gone?! I also uploaded my first
YouTube video three years ago, which just feels crazy because I remember so
clearly both of these firsts. I started my blog and YouTube for a number of
reasons – I loved reading and watching other people’s content and was looking
for a creative outlet to distract me from my health problems. I put it off for
so long, thinking I wasn’t good enough to make my own content, but finally
decided to give it a go. I just wish I’d started sooner! When I started out, I
didn’t really have any goals or plans for my blog or my YouTube. It was just a
hobby and my only goal was to upload a post or a video whenever I fancied it.
But as the years have gone by, my life has changed a
lot, and so have my priorities for my little spaces on the Internet. I’m coming
to the end of my three-year journalism degree, and for the first time I’m
looking at my blog and YouTube channels as an opportunity for something bigger
than a hobby. The idea of working has always been a difficult one for me because
of my health problems. Trying to hold down a 9-5 job is out of the question
because I don’t know how ill I will be from one day to the next. But being able
to turn my love of writing and creating content into a career that will
actually fit around my health problems is something I’m starting to give more
thought to. I know it’s not something that will happen overnight, and of
course, it will still take a lot of work. But it’s work I’m willing to put in
if it means I can create a job that I both love and that I can actually do.
So I thought I would just share some of my hopes and
dreams for the future of my blog and YouTube channel with you. Some of them are
realistic, while others are pretty out there. But as the blogging world has
shown over the last few years – nothing is impossible!
Hit the right
numbers
I really don’t want to get bogged down in numbers
because I worry that I will lose what initially attracted me to blogging and
making videos. But the reality is, numbers open the doors to success. So I
would really love to hit 1000 subscribers both on my blog and on my YouTube
channel. In the grand scheme of things, 1000 is a pretty small number when you
consider the big bloggers and YouTubers out there. But for me, it would be a
massive achievement and would hopefully see me on the way to bigger and better
things.
Gain more
conversation
This kind of links to numbers, but for me it’s more of
a qualitative element. I would really love to have more interaction with the
people that read my blog and watch my videos. I always think it’s lovely when I
watch my favourite YouTubers, read my favourite blogs and look on social media,
and you see lots of people commenting and interacting. I have very few
commenters at the moment, and it’s something I would really love to see
increase. Now I need to get quicker at actually responding to any comments I do
get, but it would be lovely to see that number of comments growing too.
Get into a
routine
Up until now, I haven’t had any kind of schedule on my
blog or my YouTube. It’s just been a case of posting as and when I have the
time and energy. But once I’ve finished university this summer, I’m really
hoping I will be able to focus on my blog/YouTube fully, and can therefore
actually plan my content ahead of time, so you guys know when to expect a post
or a video (I can wish right?!)
Work with
awesome brands
I’ve been lucky enough over the last few years to work
with a few different brands – some quite small, but also a couple of bigger
brands. I always find it strange when I check my e-mails to find a brand I
recognise asking if I’d like to work with them – it’s one of those pinch me
moments when I wonder if I’m dreaming! But through reading other blogs and
watching other YouTubers, there’s still a hell of a lot I would love to do.
There are so many awesome brands out there that I would love to collaborate
with (I’m thinking Disney, New Look, Mac… so many fashion and beauty brands I
don’t even know where to start!) Just having the opportunity to get creative
with a different set of resources would be amazing.
Get invited to
events
I guess this one could be linked back to working with
brands, but I would love to be invited to more events. I absolutely love seeing
other bloggers/YouTubers go to all these amazing trips and events put on by
brands, and it’s the dream that one day I might be at some of those too. Yes,
it’s not always going to be easy with my health getting in the way, but a girl
can dream right?!
Travel
Much like seeing others going to events and
parties, I’m always swooning over the content bloggers create when they get to
travel around the world. This is either off their own back or through a trip
organised by a brand – I’m really not fussy! Travelling and seeing the world
with a chronic illness isn’t easy, but I know it is possible and it’s something
I would love to do more of. Being able to use travel to talk about the
realities of travelling with a wheelchair and chronic illness on my blog and
YouTube would be great.
There are so many other little things I would
like to achieve when it comes to my blog and YouTube – improving my
photography, increasing the amount of content I’m able to put out, meeting
other bloggers and making some friends. But these are a few of the ‘big’ ones
that I thought would be fun to share with you in this post. So keep your eyes
peeled – maybe one day I’ll be doing all of these things and more!
If you’re a blogger or YouTuber, what are your
hopes and dreams for your channels? What are your thoughts on mine?
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