Last week I published my blog growth report for 2019 and shared how to increase blog traffic for beginners. This week, I’m going to share my blog growth goals for the new year and my best tips for how to set (and achieve) goals!
How to Set SMART Goals
You probably learned how to write SMART goals in high school at some point, but it’s still relevant here! A SMART goal is:
- Specific: Being as specific as possible will help lay the path for achievement. Instead of saying, “I want to get better at photography,” say, “I want to master shooting in manual mode on my DSLR and define my photography style.”
- Measurable: Usually this means setting goals with numbers. Instead of saying, “I want to read a lot of books this year,” say, “I want to read 10 fiction and 10 non-fiction books this year.”
- Achievable: Obviously, you need to be realistic with your goals. If you want to start a business, for example, but you haven’t started it yet–it’s probably not going to be your full-time income by next month! Maybe making $100 in 30 days would be a better goal.
- Relevant: Does your goal drive your greater purpose? Say you’re starting a business and you want to establish a social media presence. What will you get out of each platform? In certain industries, having a Pinterest account might not contribute at all to your business objectives. So don’t waste time on things that don’t serve your long-term goals.
- Time-based: Give yourself deadlines! All of my goals below are to be accomplished by the end of 2020. However, I also break down my goals month-by-month beyond this, and into simple daily tasks to ultimately accomplish them.
Remembering to set SMART goals helps you achieve more. It does this by setting parameters that allow you to break down BIG goals into the tiny steps you’ll take to accomplish them. When you set a goal, always ask yourself: “Is it SMART?”
My Blog Goals for 2020
Here are my personal goals for Just to Claireify for the new year!
- Publish 20 new recipes. This is one recipe every 2-3 weeks, which sounds achievable to me at the moment.
- Master the flatlay shot. Many of my favorite food photos on Instagram and Pinterest are taken directly from above the food. By the end of the year, I would like to be including a presentable flatlay shot in every recipe. I just need to get experimenting with lighting, styling, and lenses.
- Double my unique monthly visitors from last year to 2,000 visitors per month (not every month, but at least one month near the end of the year). I don’t shy away from talking about numbers when it comes to blogging. I put hours into every recipe I write, test, shoot and share. Of course I want people seeing them and making them! Last year I tripled my blog traffic from January through December, and this year I’d like to double it.
- Grow my Instagram to 500 followers. Engagement matters more than likes or followers, but I would love to connect with many new small bloggers and business owners on Instagram. The current algorithms make this hard to do, but I recently got some tips from a digital marketing friend that I’m going to implement!
- Start an email list. I would love to write–this year or next–a short e-book/PDF about food photography on a budget to send out to my subscribers, so that’s the purpose of this list for me.
- Pass my digital marketing exam and sketch out preliminary ideas for a business. Not directly impactful for this blog, but since I discovered digital marketing through blogging, it’s related and a big goal of mine. I also hope to apply what I’ve learned to achieve my blog goals this year.
There are so many more things I’d like to accomplish for the future! But with a little one at home, I decided to keep my list short and sweet for 2020.
Other Possible Goals for Bloggers
Are you a fellow blogger in search of concrete ideas for blog growth goals? Here are over a dozen more, some of which will definitely be on my list in the future!
- Content creation goals:
- Complete a course in writing, graphic design, photography, marketing, or another creative field that’s relevant to your niche.
- Get ahead on your content creation by making a schedule and having posts and graphics finished a month in advance.
- Learn how to produce and edit video of any kind–stop-action, vlogs, tutorials, etc.
- Try your hand at monetizing your writing. Submit articles to online magazines that pay or try out guest blogging for a fee.
- Improve old blog posts: update them, create better graphics, and improve the SEO.
- Social media goals:
- Grow your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest account to X followers.
- Increase your engagement on a platform through increased likes, comments, or shares.
- Experiment with running paid ads on a platform. Maybe it’s worth it and maybe not, but you’ll never know unless you try.
- Join a Facebook group or Pinterest group boards with fellow bloggers to learn from people with more experience and get feedback on your content.
- Learn how to use a new software to manage your accounts. (I recently started using the free version of Later.com for Instagram and love it!)
- Website goals:
- Redo (or have redone) your logo or site design.
- Research how to write a better about page and update yours.
- Update your blog menu with your most popular topics and include links to your top posts on those pages.
- Have new professional photos taken for your main blog pages.
- Monetization goals:
- Join an affiliate network to generate passive income.
- Land a brand partnership–either by having brands reach out to you, joining a network like Bloglovin’s Activate, or emailing brands you’d like to work with to pitch a collaboration.
What are your tips for how to set and achieve goals? And what ARE your goals for this year–personal, work-related or otherwise?