I have always been a big goal setter. I feel that it gives me more structure and more organization when I am trying to reach something that I want. No matter if you choose my 1 on 1 coaching service or my Blogology coaching program, we always start with goal setting as a blogger.
As a beginner blogger, it may be confusing to create goals when you haven’t been a blogger but in this blog post, we are going to talk about how to set goals, why to set goals and give some great examples of blog goals that you can use and make your own.
If you are looking for some ideas of the goals that I set for myself, read my 21 goals for 2021 blog post where I share 21 goals plus a few extra ones.
WHY GOAL SETTING IS IMPORTANT AS A BLOGGER
When I first started blogging, I didn’t set goals that were specific to blogging. I didn’t because I was just writing to get the thoughts out of my head. I didn’t plan on anyone reading what I was writing and so I just kept putting my ideas down and moving forward. I soon began to realize that in order to know where I was actually headed, I needed to create some goals.
Goals are a great way to ensure that you are still on the right path to making your bigger vision come to life. I suggest setting goals that are big, small and outrageous. I love the goals that terrify you to reach them because you know that you are stepping outside of your comfort zone to reach those goals which means MASSIVE GROWTH.
A few of the benefits of setting goals are…
It gives you a direction to where you want to go.
Provides motivation for continuing to move forward even when times get hard.
Gives you clarity when you need to make a decision.
Gives you personal satisfaction when you reach a goal.
Helps you use your time effectively.
WHERE TO BEGIN WHEN YOU ARE READY TO SET YOUR BLOGGING GOALS
You start at the beginning. I know that seems like the simple answer but this is really the best and ONLY way to begin. What I mean by at the beginning is this…
You need to start with your why.
Why are you starting your blog?
Once you have your why the next step is to create your blogging vision. Your blogging why is going to be the biggest piece to your vision. Creating your vision means looking into the future. A few questions to ask yourself when it comes to creating your vision.
Where is it that you envision your blog to be in 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months?
Do you want to be making money through your blog?
Where do you see your blog in 5 years?
Once you have your vision in place, you can begin to create goals that are going to match up with your vision.
HOW TO BREAK UP YOUR VISION INTO GOALS
Now that you have your vision laid out, you will now want to break it up and begin to create some goals.
With the questions that you answered above, you will begin to brainstorm some ideas under each of them. When it comes to making money with your blog, how do you think you can do that? Write down every idea that comes into your head. As you continue with your blog, you will know what will work for you and what won’t work for you.
I would break up your vision into vision categories. Creating categories means that you are going to give a focal point to each piece of your vision.
The categories to use when breaking up your blogging vision are…
Education
Social
Monetization
Outreach
Growth
Schedule
Foundational
Desire
Mindset
Now let’s talk about each of these categories and what they mean.
Education. This is the category that covers what you want to learn when it comes to blogging or specific to your niche. What classes or courses do you want to take?
Social. This is the category that is talking about other bloggers. How are you connecting with other bloggers in your niche? How do you want to reach out to other bloggers?
Monetization. This category is all about making money through your blog.
Outreach. This category is all about showcasing your expertise. Guest blogging, podcast interviews, Facebook group interviews.
Growth. This category is going to cover your numbers when it comes to your blog and to your social media.
Schedule. This category is going to cover the content schedule that you are creating. It is going to cover your social media content schedule as well as your blogging schedule.
Foundational. This category is going to cover what you are going to need to run your blog more efficiently.
Desire. This category is all about what you want.
Mindset. This category is obviously working on your thought process and knowing that you are worthy.
This is a great way to brainstorm. I would start with a 3-month or 6-month breakdown and then a 12-month breakdown.
A FEW EXAMPLES OF BLOG GOALS
You are sitting there racking your brain, trying to figure out as a beginner blogger, what some goals are that you can set. This is your section. This is filled with some examples of blog goals that you can set and work towards when you are new or just starting out as a blogger.
I would again, start off with writing goals for 30 days, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. This gives you a great layout to start setting reasonable goals for your blog.
1| How many views do you want in a 7 day/4 week period? My analytics does daily, 7 days and 4 weeks. I normally don’t keep track of the daily and on the first of every month, I write down the 7 days and 4-weeks analytics. As a beginner, I would start with between 50-100. You can re-evaluate after the first week and then change them if you aren’t happy with the number you wrote down.
2| How many email subscribers do you want?
3| How many followers do you want on your social media platforms?
4| What ideas do you have to make money with your blog? If you are at thepoint where you are ready to monetize your blog, in my blog post, 10 ways to monetize your blog, I share with you how you can do that.
5| When do you want to start implementing your monetization plan for your blog? I would suggest not doing them right away but waiting a bit. For me, I was 5 years into blogging before I began to make money. I am not saying that you need to wait that long. I would say wait 6 months to 12 months before you decide to add in a way to monetize.
6| What freebies do I want to create?
7| How many guest blog posts do I want to do? You want to start guest blogging immediately. It may be harder to get guest blog posts when you are a beginner but keep going. Don’t give up no matter how many no’s you get.
8| How many times do you want to post fresh content to your blog? This will change over time. I suggest starting with once every week or once every other week and build up from there.
9| How much money do you want to make when you begin to monetize?
These are just 9 beginner blogging goals for you to use when you are ready to start your blog. There are so many other blog goals that you can create. Get creative and have fun creating these goals.
If you want to have somewhere that you can be held accountable, brainstorm ideas and create relationships with other bloggers, join my membership group. Every month we have a mastermind call where we will discuss goals and create a plan, masterclasses to help you learn more about blogging and access to my digital products and courses.
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