Summer Strategy Series: Create A Blog Strategy
August 16, 2011
Topics: Blog, Blogging Tips
As I was thinking about a topic to write about this week, I realized that I have overlooked one of the most important strategies we, as content creators, should not ignore: creating a blog strategy. Over the past few weeks I have covered the basics of creating the content, promoting it and building links to gain traffic, but all that effort will go unnoticed if you don’t plan out your goals.
With well over 255,000,000 blogs created as of last December 2010, gone are the days of creating a blog and expecting the magic to happen overnight. Having a clear strategy, goals and a message that delivers will help catapult your status as a force in the space.
For many, if not all of us, blogging started out as a way to express ourselves or as a journal chronicling our lives as mothers, caretakers, foodies, travelers, etc and didn’t think about making it a business or creating a concrete strategy that would get us to the next level.
Whatever your ultimate goal is, you have to give yourself/blog a reason to exist in this space, this is where having a solid blog strategy comes into play. It is about not having the one blog fits all mentality. Despite there being thousands of blogs within your same niche doesn’t mean you cannot break out and create a sub-niche to make your site stand out above the rest.
Below I have created some food for thought that may or may not fit your ultimate goal, but may get you thinking about how you can expand your brand in ways that will get you the respect and notoriety you deserve.
Set and define your goals
We all think about what we would like to accomplish with our sites but simply thinking about them isn’t enough. There are some basics that we need to fulfill before getting our hands dirty. Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing down your goals:
- What are you passionate about? Your blogging goals should be directly tied to your passion. And with that passion, you should reach out to as many people as you can.
- Be very clear when identifying each goal. Ask yourself questions such as How much traffic do I want to gain for the month of August? How much money would I like to make by the end of the year?
- Jot down the smaller goals that need to be completed before tackling the big ones.
- Separate your objectives into categories such as short-term, medium-term and long-term or 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc.
- Keep a record of your accomplishments. Not only will it make you feel good, but it will also keep you motivated and on track.
Think about what you can learn and build your stage
I am convinced that blogging provides us all with lessons that we would not be able to learn anywhere else. Blogging allows us to express ourselves in a way that can get people thinking and change minds/perspectives. It affords us the ability to do and say the things that matter to us. This powerful tool gives our words a voice, and an audience to consume it and provide feedback. With that power we in turn challenge ourselves to think outside the box and test out limits in ways we (under different circumstances) would not have.
Stand for something and be an authority
Your site doesn’t need to be an income generator to make a difference or be a force to be reckoned with in the space. One of the best ways to use your blog to become an authority or influencer in the space is by directing attention to your accomplishments on other projects you are a part of.
Leave your mark in the space and…
Don’t write anything you aren’t going to be proud of.
The sole purpose of creating and defining your blog’s strategy is so you don’t go into situations blind. The strategies you create for your site should inform you and keep you on track on what you should be and should not be doing.
Love and care for the work you do for your blog because if you don’t, no one will.
Jessie Nuez a native New Yorker covering stories that focus on mobile and personal technologies. When You can find Jessie writing for her site Hecho Para Mama. Follow her on Twitter @JessieNuez.
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