When you are planning to make the move from having your blog as a hobby to making your blog into a business, it’s good to be clear with yourself as to your purpose. This is so that when you have enough material on your blog to begin studying your audience, you can look to your metrics for advice on where to place your energy for your next steps toward your goals for growth.
Get clear on your goals (mind mapping and journaling is a great way to help you define your goals and steps toward them). Check out my post on mind mapping here and my post on journaling here. When you are clear, it is easier to then go back and measure how close you are to having met each goal you defined for your blog. How you choose to measure these goals is important too!
Be Sure to Fine Tune & Make Your Goals Specific
I find that even once I feel I’ve narrowed down a goal – or a method with which to go about narrowing down that goal – I can always go a step further. For example, rather than simply saying (or journaling) “I want to have more email subscribers”, I can say “I want to have 200/500/1000 more subscribers per month from my e-book opt in”.
So you can see how the latter wording is much more focused, and tuned in to the method I would like to work with. It’s important to stay focused, and this helps to keep energy from being diverted or spread too thin. Much more can be accomplished when you really focus on one piece at a time.
Ensure Your Goals Are Realistic & Reachable
So let’s say your goal is in fact to get 1,000 new subscribers per month. Let’s stick with the example above. Do you have an idea of what it will take to get more eyes over to your blog, in order to sign up for the e-book you are offering? What will you be able to do to realistically make that happen? (Check out Twins Mommy for some other great ideas on creating items to grow your email list.)
If you have a good sense of what steps you need to take, then move forward with those. If you don’t, then hit the pause button and take the necessary time to get the information you need to lay out your next steps. One of the most integral aspects of attaining success is to be willing – and prepared – to change course and rework your plan.
To make sure you are prepared to make any shifts and changes to your plan, make a list of your required steps that will see you through to the end of your goal. How will you design (or redesign) your e-book if need be? How will you edit and improve it? How will you ensure that your freebie is reaching the readers that are most interested in what you are offering? Then of course, you will need to check in to be sure that your outreach methods are working for you. This would include your blog articles, article marketing and outreach, and social media.
Make Sure the Goals You Have Set Can Be Measured
It’s good to be sure that you have a way to check on whether or not the methods and goals you’ve laid out for yourself have been a success. One sure way to do this is by using Google Analytics.
Being able to measure the success of the goals and steps you have taken so far helps you to understand if your hard is paying off, or if it’s time to try something new. Changing tactics when necessary also helps you to see your work and projects with fresh eyes!
The most important factor is to always be ready to take pause and take a good in depth look at your results. Always have a backup method at the ready, and keep a journal of some kind on hand so you can jot down any new ideas and flashes of insight. And as always, Happy Creating!
[…] If you’d like to read a bit further about how to establish your blog goals and metrics, please check out my post here. Each goal that you are striving for should have a way to track your results. Make sure you […]