August 2017 Reflection

Can you believe August is already over? I don't know about you, but this month has felt like it never even begun — and yet, somehow, it's over. Wow. But you know what that means, right? You guessed it: another monthly reflection! Basically, my monthly reflections are a way for me to to reflect on what happened for the bookstagram and blog in the past month, allowing me to more easily improve within the next month and giving you guys a wrap-up of what happened. I also write about my goals and plans for the next month, keeping myself on track and giving you all a sneak peek of what's to come! With that, let's begin! (You can look at past monthly reflections here.)

Looking Back Into August

The Blog

Unfortunately, the blog did a bit worse in August by only 4 pageviews, or 1.6%. So, you could say that the blog did around the same, that pageviews were pretty consistent and that they're fairly steady, which would be a good thing. I also published a post on every publishing day this month, which definitely is good!

Bookstagram

It suffered. Again. I didn't even post anything and we didn't even take pictures, so I think I'll just skip over this... Oh, wait. Right. I think we lost around 50 followers and our status of 1.6k, ending at 1,594 followers.

I completely forgot that I posted on our bookstagram. Wow. I think that just says something about how out of bookstagram I've been. So I suppose that's improvement... But we did lose around 50 followers. That part is true.

Goals

I think I said I was going to remember my goals for this month, but I honestly only remember one.

1. I actually did this one. (I also lied — I remember two goals.) While I had started to have some sort of theme for my blog graphics/blog title images/whatever you want to call them, I wasn't too fond of it. I was usually just using a circle that that was the same color of yellow as in the blog design. But I thought that matched too much. So I made a sort of white, transparent theme instead. I originally was going to do a black transparent theme, but that's what I used to do, so I decided that white was going to be my "color." Besides, it makes it more airy and clean.
2. Are you kidding me? No, I didn't even post once on bookstagram. 
3. Yes, I did post more book reviews this month. In fact, I posted three book reviews this month, which is great improvement considering I haven't posted one since last November! I also somehow managed to do it despite the fact that I haven't been reading as often lately due to a reading slump... I suppose that's because I read one of the books a long time ago and the other two I read prior to my reading slump. 

Comparison — August 2016 vs. August 2017

I actually forgot to do this in July's monthly reflection, but not this time! It looks like the blog had the old gray/purple/blue theme, and if you don't remember that theme then consider yourself lucky. But, while the blog was doing worse than it is now, our bookstagram was actually doing shockingly well. That's when we started to post better pictures, and we actually got featured on several bookstagram feature accounts, including @bookstagramfeatures. 

Coming Up in September

The Blog

I'm sorry to say that I have no idea what I'll be doing with the blog this month. I don't really have any posts planned (which means I'm in trouble for Monday's post), and I'm still not sure if I'll continue my summer schedule of a post on both Monday and Friday. I think I'll make that decision soon, once I can see how school's going in the beginning. I do know that I will switch to my other posting schedule — posting on every Monday and the first Friday of the month (for monthly reflections) — at some point during the school year.

Bookstagram

When I say that Em and I will try to post, I really mean it. Fall is one of our favorite picture-taking seasons, and if I had to be honest with you, I would tell you that my favorite time for our bookstagram feed was during the fall when we were able to get some really nice outdoor photos. 

Goals

1. Post regularly on bookstagram. I am making this goal #1 because I really want it to happen. We have been inactive on bookstagram way too long, and I'm starting to miss it.
2. Draft some posts to put in stock. This goal is less of something that you guys will be able to see and more of a goal for myself. As I told you earlier, I don't have anything planned or written for September, and I would like to get back to having at least a post or two written a week early. You will be able to see the results, however, in the way that my posts won't be as rushed. (That is, if I complete this goal...)
3. Find and read other book blogs. This one's even more of a personal goal, but I feel like if I read other people's book blogs, I can get an idea of what people typically write about, not only giving me more post ideas but also (hopefully) making my content more enjoyable for all of you! (Psst... If you have a book blog, feel free to leave a link to it in the comments!)

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And with that, I'm wrapping up this monthly reflection! Things haven't been the best in August, especially for the bookstagram, but there have been successes as well. I'm looking forward to another month on the blog where I can hopefully stay active despite school. I'm also looking forward to joining the bookstagram community again! I think September will be fun. But who knows? I guess we'll know next monthly reflection, but until then, keep on reading, everyone!