A blog gives you the ability to share with others. You can let the world know what is on your mind, recommend products, pass along you knowledge from your area of expertise, and the list could go on forever but in the end, you are sharing. The question at hand is, what do you want for doing this?
Blogging Goals – Creating Your Roadmap
Your first plan of action is to set your blogging goals. What is the drive behind you starting a blog? For most people it is about money. They think that by posting every now and then and maybe reviewing a product will get others to make purchases from their blog. After that falls through, they give up and the blog joins the crowd of millions – no joke, millions of blogs that are never updated again.
By planning, your chances of failure are greatly reduced. This plan comes in the form of setting a goal and performing the necessary steps to achieve it. Don’t just say “I want to get rich”, pick something specific. I want to make $100 a week from blogging or I want to increase my follower base by 3000 within the next 6 months. These are both good examples of realistic and obtainable goals that can be accomplished by performing actions.
The best way to obtain a goal is to first break it down into smaller goals.
By breaking the main goal down, it becomes easier to recover from a failure. Failing at large goals has a tendency to make people give up. You will not feel so bad after having a little goal go down in flames because coming up with an alternative plan will be much easier.
Are You S.M.A.R.T. ?
Many successful people use the S.M.A.R.T. method of setting blogging goals. By following this technique, you can prevent yourself from having issues further down your path to success. Here is how it works.
S – Specific: I want to make $100 a week from blogging
M – Measurable: It is halfway through the month and I am at $48
A – Attainable: I am setting aside 1 more hour a day to make this happen
R – Realistic: I can set time aside by not watching as much T.V.
T – Timely: I have 15 days left of the 30 in this month to succeed
Specific applies to overall plan of what you want and how you are attempting to get it. The measurable criteria let you know where you are at in your goal and how much more needs to be done to fulfill it. Attainable goals are ones that you can commit to thereby reducing your chance of failure. Is your goal realistic? Without the necessary skills and abilities, your chances of making your goal a reality are slim to none. Timing is a key factor when it comes to setting a goal. Knowing when you are starting and ending brings the whole plan together. By setting up a time frame, you have the ability to react to situations as they occur and not at the end.
First and foremost, write your blogging goals down on a piece of paper. Tape it to your computer or put it somewhere in plain sight so you can look at it every day. Successful blogs do not happen overnight. Coming up with a plan of attack and with perseverance, you will achieve what you want.
