Unless you are an absolute newbie online marketer or a newbie/wannabe entrepreneur, you have probably heard it times and times again.
“You need to set goals and you must have a plan to achieve them.”
This is at least the essence of what it being taught by personal development coaches and almost all other successful internet marketer or offline entrepreneur.
But does this also apply to blogging? Well I guess it depends on what you want to do. A blog doesn’t have to become a business and if you are using your blog as a diary or a place to share family photos then you don’t have to spend that much time setting goals. That is unless you have committed yourself to write in your online diary every day or to post new family pictures every week. These things are goals as well and if you set them it is likelier for you to achieve them.
The reason that successful people, coaches and most other business minded people tells you to set goals is that it has been proven that if you set goals, focus and work on them, you change of actually achieving them increases dramatically. It seems logical to me but I have to admit that I can’t explain the psychological reason for it but then again, who needs to if you already know what it takes to reach your goals? It’s like the Nike slogan “Just Do It”.
Blogging Goals
If you are writing a blog in order to share your views with other people but at the same time create a small (or even a large) income along the way, then you need to set goals for your blog and after setting your goals you need a plan.
In a step by step process it’ll look like this:
1. Setup goals (quantify them and set a deadline)
2. Setup a plan on how to reach that goal (what it will require from you on a daily basis)
3. Work the plan consistently (don’t break you promise to yourself of working the plan) – Develop a “no matter what” attitude
4. Measure you achievements. Don’t just HOPE that you are on the right track. You must KNOW and if you are not then adjust and refine your plan and your actions
5. Celebrate when you reach you goal (reward yourself for a job well done)
6. Start again from point #1
Let me give you an example of how you can do this with your blog:
1. Goals for the blog
- Write 1 daily article about the blog’s topic. Minimum number of words 600. Must be done before 8pm (creating good content).
- Submit one 400 word article to Ezinearticles and GoArticles – Monday, Wednesday and Friday (linkbuilding).
- Comment on a minimum of 8 blogs per day. 2 of these blogs must be new to you (marketing your blog).
- Write 4 posts in an online forum within your niche (the niche of your blog) and remember to have a link to your blog in your post signature (marketing your blog).
- Think of one new way to make money of your blog each week + implement it if you find it to be a good idea.
- The goals are reached when: a) The daily amount of readers has grown with 300 people, b) The number of RSS readers has grown by 100 people and c) The monthly income has grown by $400.
2. The plan requires to keep a time schedule:
08.00-09.30: Write the daily article (1.5 hours)
09.30-10.30: Write and submit the article to article directories (1 hour)
10.30-12.30: Comment on 8 blogs (2 new) – requires reading + high quality comment (2 hours)
12.30-13.00: Lunch
13.00-14.00: Make 4 forum posts/replies – has to be high quality (1 hour)
14.00-15.00: Evaluate the day’s action and plan tomorrow (1 hour)
3. Creating a “no matter what” attitude takes time for most people and I encourage you to start on a personal development journey. Start reading some books, listen to personal development discs or attend seminars. The time and the money you spend will be so much worth it.
4. Once per week, once per month and once per year you must measure your achievements. How far did you go? Did you reach your goals? What was good and what was bad? Where do you need to improve and what did you do well? And remember to write it down for records. It will help you see that you have grown and expanded later on.
5. Go have a great dinner, Travel to some place you always wanted to go or Buy that new LCD Flat screen. Remember to reward yourself. It important to condition yourself so that your brain knows that hard consistent work equals pleasure when the job is done. It’ll motivate you to keep going.
6. You will probably begin to set new goals when you reach the once you have set up but do not skip point #5. Don’t just work, work, work… you NEED pleasure along the way in order not to burn out mentally.
Remember that the plan above is just an example of what you could do but I’m sure that if you followed the plan above for 4-6 months you would start seeing some great results. But you have to be CONSISTENT.
Actions must be taken every single day and if you know that there will be one day where you will have a hard time making it, then prepare and write all the articles in advance. You can even create your forum posts in advance. Don’t fall into the trap of “not making it today” but “wanting to make up for it tomorrow”. It is the ultimate “business killer” so don’t do it.
Wow… this was exactly 1,000 words but I hope that I have come across to you and that you will start using the things that makes sense to you. Good luck.
Mikael Blogging
I’ve recently bought a page at the 
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