Hey you guys! Can you believe it!? Maria Makes is finally ONE YEAR OLD. In my first year of blogging I have learned a lot of things... and most importantly, I have learned that I have a lot to learn.
Here's a look back at some of your (and my) favorite posts from the last year...
A FEW things I'm proud of...
- I made it to 1 year, while managing to post semi-regularly (about once a week, sometimes more), and I'm still here!
- This month, Maria Makes hit 10,000+ unique visitors!!! I get it, I know -- there are lots of popular sites that get more than 10,000 visitors in A DAY, but you gotta start somewhere!
- I became a guest blogger on the Whole30 blog and completed a 5-part mini-series all about Whole30 Freezer Cooking!
- Squarespace has become my home! I have made some improvements to my base template, created a recipe archive, and learned to implement some custom html and css... well not necessarily learned... more like blindly felt my way through!
My goals for YEAR 2 in the blogosphere...
- Monetize this shit. This past year, blogging has been a great hobby (hobby: an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure). BUT, wouldn't it be great to do this for pleasure AND for money? I need to do some serious research on ad platforms, affiliate programs, and sponsorships!
- Do more crafting. The numbers are pretty sad. Over the course of a whole 365 days, I have only written 6 crafty/DIY posts. I want to make more time for crafting and DIYing, which I really do love -- with the goal of adding more charm and character to my home, and gifting unique, beautiful THINGS.
- Get a decent camera. AND learn how to use it. Time to face the facts, my iPhone camera isn't cutting it anymore! I need to get a nice camera, research food photography, and get FoodGawker to accept my posts :)
It's been a fun adventure so far, and I can't wait to see what's yet to come. Thank you for all of your support, compliments, and advice! I hope you'll stick around while I continue to figure this out and MAKE MORE STUFF. I'd love to hear from you -- what kind of posts you like, what you want to see more of, what you hate, recipe or category requests... Let me know in the comments!
xoxo,
Maria