Well, I have decided to blog! Even though probably only my mother, maybe my husband, and a few other bored people might read this on a regular basis, I felt that I needed a new creative outlet...and blogging it is!You see, I'm now a stay at home mom- at least until April 2010. I absolutely love it- but let's face it- my son, Zachary, is only 4 months old. And while he's a bundle of fun and keeps me very busy, I do need some "grown-up" conversation every once in a while. Hence, the blog- a way for me to clear my mind of all the thoughts that are running around in there. Self-indulgent, but necessary!I had Zachary Christopher on May 2nd, 2009. He is the absolute joy of my life and I could not imagine living without him. I don't even remember what life was about before I had him. He has taught me so much it's hard to really put into words what he means to me. Each day he discovers something new...and teaches me a new lesson about life.So hopefully I'll have a few people join me as I pass along Zach's life lessons. I really feel like it's his world and he's just letting me live in it and have some fun on the ride.
That was 7 years ago. Back then, I had no idea what blogging was, why I was doing it, or even the slightest inkling of how blogging would impact the trajectory of my life forever!
"Mom blogging" was barely a thing when I began to live my life online. It certainly wasn't a potential income stream - it was truly a place for new moms just like me to vent, share, engage and grow. And I really loved and held on to that...but BOY has mom blogging changed!
Whether you are just considering starting a blog or you have been a blogger for years and years, the time has come that all us mom bloggers need to think about our blogs like a business - a means to assist us in reaching our goals [however you define them].
You may have noticed I took a small time-out on my blog [but I was still updating Facebook so make sure you follow me there too!]
What I needed was time to figure out where I was going with this site. Looking back on the first blog post was so eye-opening for me.
When you begin blogging, you usually do it because you have a need or want that is not being met. Clearly, mine was a need to reach out to other moms who were feeling lonely, overwhelmed and scared of parenthood. But now that I'm out of the baby stage and don't feel overwhelmed and scared (quite as often), I felt pulled in a million directions trying to figure out WHAT I wanted this blog to be about and HOW I was going to do it.
You see, I know this to be true: If you want your blog to grow and flourish into a site that propels you further than you have ever gone before and becomes a magnet for people who want exactly what you have to offer, you need to be crystal clear about what it is you want to achieve. What are your GOALS? What are you striving to accomplish?
The thing about goals, however, is that setting lofty ones (which are important) can seem overwhelming - at least it was for me. So instead of getting bogged down in the big goals ("making $50,000 per month off my blog" is a lofty goal that I probably couldn't even keep a straight face while I was saying because...come on!) I decided to create small, super actionable goals to work on for about 3 months at a time before evaluating and reassessing.
And guess what? Once I started focussing on my small goals, things starting lining up and falling into place at a much faster speed.
The key for me, however, was to WRITE IT DOWN. Like, pen and paper. Ya, I know. But I'm gonna tell you what, nothing kicks your butt more than seeing goals right in front of you that you haven't done any work on yet. And because I know myself, I went one step further and POSTED my goals in a prominent place (my bedroom where I sleep and get ready every day!) so that I was forced and challenged to take action.
And then, the best thing happened. I just started crossing those goals off. One by one. And every three months I would write down some new SMALL (but achievable) goals or include previous goals I hadn't met yet.
The process, for me at least, has been magical.
There's something so freeing about accomplishing the little things - I think it frees you up to start focusing on higher level possibilities.
For a long time I was just scribbling on a piece of scrap paper (sometimes with my kids drawings on the other side!) but I finally got my act together and decided to make myself a little worksheet [if you will] that I could simply fill in each time I was ready to revisit my goals and create new ones.
And that's what I'm going to share with you!
I think us bloggers often take for granted the things we want to accomplish with our blogs [and believe me, lots of my goals have absolutely nothing to do with money at all!] and don't take the time and effort require to get crystal clear about what we are doing and how we are going to do it!
So, here's what I want you to do. I want you to find a pen (or pencil or marker or something you can physically write with), I want you to print out the worksheet below and I want you to get as quiet and focused as you can. Then I want you to do the following: write out three achievable goals.
That's it. Just write it out. Use 15-20 minutes of quiet time and really focus on what you want to accomplish and achieve in the next three months.
When you're done: POST IT. Seriously, let those words look you in the face every single day and use them as encouragement to take steps toward growth, new opportunities, new financial gains; whatever it is you are hoping to achieve.
One thing I want you to keep in mind [this was such a hard one for me!]:
YOUR GOALS ARE YOUR GOALS
Don't focus [yet] on what other people are doing. Don't think about that mom blog that is making $50,000 per month on sponsored posts. Don't think about that parenting forum that gets 500,000 page views each month. Don't compare, don't wonder what they're up to! Focus on you, what you want to accomplish, where you see your blog taking you and why you want to get there.
I think you'll be really amazed at what you can accomplish!
Want my printable? Click the image below and it's yours...hope it's as helpful to you as it has been to me!!!!
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