This year, 2021, was for sure not a repeat of 2020, the most chaotic, scary, and crazy year we can say we have experienced in recent human history, but the pandemic did not just disappear, meaning there were still plenty of challenges. Techie Mamma grew in its authority in 2021, and I am overall pleased with the results.
Doing an annual review is one of the most important things, I believe, you can do as a business. Have your hand on the times and how your business is doing is critical for growth and success. I started doing the Annual Reviews in 2019 after reading an eBook from the Ultimate Bundles Productivity Bundle. In that review, I decided 2020 was going to be a year of growth, then in 2020 I decided 2021 would be the year of authority.
From the beginning I felt like it was important to move Techie Mamma from being a hobby to a business with courses, digital products, multiple content streams, income streams and more! Starting Techie Mamma as an outlet of one mom writing her experiences was for sure something I never thought would grow like it did into a full business. Do you find yourself in the same situation?
As the blog and business grows another year older, I am looking back at 2021 at all the efforts I made to grow and looking forward to 2022 and my new goals going forward.
I love doing this reflection and process for my business and myself but possibly even more powerful is to do this process as a family and together come up with its things to change.
Pro-Tip: Download my Annual Review Worksheet. I will highlight some things here but the Worksheet is a great way to look back and also plan for the future!
Year Review: Looking Back
The new year comes along and everyone talks about planning and setting goals. It is a good habit but looking back and reflecting on the previous year is just as important as it can help you understand successes and challenges and just how much can happen in a year. By learning from the past you can plan your future in a way that you don’t repeat the same patterns and feel more in control of your own life.
To review the past year, go through the calendar week by week or month by month. Write down any important events, family gatherings, and projects. Make sure to include both the positive and the negative.
Once you start this practice year after year, you can consider not just the previous year but all years before and take it as a fuller blogging and business journey. Up until 2019 I had JetPack installed on my site. I decided to remove it because it was just a bit of a heavy plugin. As my blog and my knowledge matures, I know know that Google Analytics is the best resource for stats, and encourage everyone to setup GA as soon as they start their blog. This year, I also created a new infographic. I do believe my design skills have improved.
Techie Mamma Stats
Overall Users
I started the Techie Mamma blog in November 2016.
- 2016 – 119 Visitors
- 2017 – 701 Visitors
- 2018 – 817 Visitors
- 2019 – 4490 Visitors
Jetpack Statistics
| Year | Users |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 186 |
| 2017 | 835 |
| 2018 | 1,642 |
| 2019 | 4,804 |
| 2020 | 14,235 |
| 2021 | 87,800 |
Traffic Mediums
| Medium | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Organic | 25.9% |
| Referral | 8.5% |
| Social | 4.1% |
Social Traffic
| Social | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Twitter & YouTube | 3.3% |
| 55.1% | |
| 39.9% |
Traffic by Location
| Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| US | 60% |
| Canada | 5% |
| UK | 4% |
Content, Content, Content
Content is something that I intentionally focused on this past year. Not just on the blog as posts but also in creation of courses, eBooks, and printables. Many digital products grew from 0 and a few in 2019 and 2020 to several in 2021. I did not worry so much about the blog posts and was not as consistent with adding content although I still got a fair amount of organic traffic, even a significant increase.
| Year | Posts | Courses | eBooks | Printables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 75 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 113 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| 2021 | 134 | 4 | 3 | 34 |
With the overall goal of authority, I wanted to make sure that I was showing myself as an expert in as many places as I could. I presented in 10 different summits or conferences and also contributed to several bundles, including big players like BC Stack and Ultimate Bundles The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit.
My list continued to grow a fair amount in 2021. Contributions to various bundles aided the growth and I steadily passed the 3,000 subscriber mark. I started the year with a little over 1,000 subscribers and ended the year with about 3,100 subscribers. A nice increase of over 2,000 subscribers!
Social media and YouTube in general also grew but I did not focus on this greatly. More than outside services of social media, I wanted to build my own memberships, courses, and more. I created by the end of 2021 three different membership offerings and although they have not been promoted a lot, I have nearly 30 members in my DIY Mompreneur Mastermind, and several more in my Mompreneur Powered By WordPress membership. The DIY Mompreneur Academy still needs some attention, but with no promotion, it is not surprising.
As far as finances, this year my focus was to diversify and bring in an income via many income streams. As far as recurring income, my memberships bring in a fair amount every month. Second, I continued to limit the number of larger freelance projects and focus more on the recurring memberships. Finally, this year I was accepted into the SHE Media Partner Network, which has helped my ad revenue and with the help of ThriveCart, I have several digital products for sale. Lastly, my affiliate sales have grown and partners are more diverse than before. I also opened towards the end of 2021, an Etsy store to bring my planners and printables to a new audience. In 2022, I am also looking to publish more items on Amazon with their KDP program.
Year Review: Reflection
Following along with the worksheet, next we reflect on the past year. Did you achieve any new dreams? What accomplishment are you most proud of? Any unfinished business or things that still need resolution? What brings you joy and excitement and also what could you have done differently? Think about new people you have met, risks and challenges faced, and the times when fear held you back. Lastly, reflect on things you want to learn in the new year.
In 2021, I focused more on building authority, with this I participated in summits and WordCamps, and contributed to various bundles. All these things expanded my reach and my audience. Video work increased, not necessarily published on YouTube, but in private for my Mastermind, which was started in April of this past year. I started the Mastermind as a solution for Mompreneurs, who can not connect necessarily at specific times and so brought my community into a video first environment. The tools were discontinued but the Mastermind continues to grow and flourish.
I had the goal of being featured on more podcasts and possibly starting my own. This did not happen as planned unfortunately as things took different directions with other opportunities. This past year, the most influential experience was not directly related to the blog or Mompreneurs, but at the same time was incredibly important. I wrote a book!! I was one of 12 co-authors for The Rising Sisterhood Book, the second in a series. This experience, one being an author of a printed book, and second working with several other authors and a movement to coordinate the book, was truly noteworthy in both my business career and personal dreams and visions. With this experience, I have more energy and passion to help moms everywhere become Mompreneurs, and gain financial freedom, while still raising their kiddos and living the life they want.
I am so thankful for this year of authority! Last year, I wanted Techie Mamma to grow in authority. Next year, this will continue and the net can be cast even farther. With the DIY Mompreneur Mastermind, moms all over the world can connect, grow their business, and move towards living the life they want.
Now it is your turn what are your responses to the questions above? You have great things to contribute, take the time to think of the past year and look forward to this year and what you want to do.
Year Review: Planning the Year to Come
Now it is time for looking at the year to come. Plan your goals, visions for the future, and more. Think about your principles that are important in your life and match each one with some focused SMART goals. Areas can include health, work/business, relationships, and many others such as financial, spiritual, and maybe travel. Identify what is crucial for you and your family, and then what motivates you to accomplish your goals.
One thing learned from 2020 and the pandemic is just how much can be overturned in such a short amount of time. We went from what we considered normal, possibly child-care, school, and more, to having to wear so many more hats. Two years later, the virus is still around, and with every new variant things become tense again. I hope to not have to homeschool as I did before but want to have the flexibility for when things have to change.
One of the most challenging things of a Mompreneur life, I believe, will be finding the flexibility and peacefulness of being a mom and also running your own business. I do not believe in pure balance, as things will naturally flux at various times. I do think though that the two can co-exist in harmony and can even compliment each other. Block scheduling and batching is something that I often recommend to others and has helped a lot in the past.
The final step in the Annual Review, is to come up with a phrase that defines the year based on your goals and reflections.
The word for the year 2022 is build.
Maybe it is the final days of the Mom Life Toolbox, or just that it is basic, but build resonates for this year. I want to build community, build connections, build wealth, and recognize that I can build the life I want.
I also like a quote that I think will be on the forefront this year. Acknowledging the I have the responsibility and ability to change the outcome.
If Opportunity Doesn’t Knock, Build A Door.
-Milton Berle
Pro-Tip: Purchase my Annual Review Worksheet. I will highlight some things here but the Worksheet is a great way to look back and also plan for the future!
BY TECHIE MAMMA