Setting a goal for your blog is an important first step in it’s creation. When I talk about setting a goal I am referring to your purpose for creating the blog not your blogs focus. Although the focus of your blog should ultimately lead to the goal. What I mean by goal is the purpose for which you believe it is necessary that you have a blog in the first place. In this post I will be excluding those of you that created a blog solely for the purpose of self exploration and journaling (which I think is a great reason in itself). Some common goals for creating a blog are to generate traffic to an existing e-commerce site, to increase brand awareness, to generate income through advertising or to establish credibility in your field and create networking opportunities. You may even have a mix of two or more of these goals in mind.
Whatever the case may be it is important that you exploit your goal. For instance if you are blogging in hopes that you will generate a nice income through advertising then design that into your site at it’s conception. You may spend the first several months focused on producing exceptional content, building links and generating high traffic forgoing advertising altogether at first but when the time comes you are ready to gradually integrate money making opportunities as they arise. Basically you are approaching the creation of your blog just as you would any other aspect of business, by laying the foundation with a well formulated plan.
If you are looking to establish credibility and become recognized as in industry expert with the goal of networking, then let it reflect in your content. Prepare well thought out and thoroughly researched articles. Be readily available to answer the questions of your readers. If you are going to use it as a networking tool then get out there and start networking. Add your blog to your social networking profiles, your signatures and even your business cards.
The point is, start with a well formulated goal for your blog, create and implement a strong plan and then follow that plan just as you would in any other aspect of your business or career. Your organization will be apparent, creating a more professional and enjoyable experience which will benefit both you and your future reader.
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