When planning a new blog or evaluating your current blog, measurable goals help you determine if your site is successful. The LexBlog philosophy of blogging skews away from content marketing and towards connection and reputation building. Who you connect with, be it a colleague or customer, should be your desired outcome.
Characteristics of effective goals
Your goals should be specific, measurable, realistic, and time-based:
- Specific: Avoid fuzzy, unclear words like "Improve my online performance."
- Measurable: Numbers and data give you a clear metric for your goals.
- Realistic: While your goals should motivate you, an unobtainable goal can weigh you down when you don't reach it.
- Time-based: Give yourself a deadline. Again, this goal should motivate you, not weigh you down.
Examples of effective goals
Your blogging goals should focus on creating meaningful, quality connections. Set goals like these:
- Publish a post per week for a quarter.
- Add a comment to someone else's blog posts twice a month.
- Speak to two influencers at a conference this weekend.
- Invite your readers to comment with a genuine question on one post per month.
Adjust your goals when necessary
Revisit your goals once a quarter or once a year. You should adjust your goals based off of your progress. If you are having trouble meeting your goals, don't be afraid to change them to something you can achieve.