Setting Small Goals for Great Big Blogging Success!

This is the first post I ever wrote on my blog Sleeping Is For Losers:

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!!!!

How to find your tribe and make collaboration work for you

Long title, real advice.

In my last post I talked about why collaboration (working with others to achieve a goal or many goals) is the key to having real success (however you define that) online. I cannot stress how much I believe that to be true: any and all of my online "successes" have come from relationships I have established or partnerships I have formed.

However, collaboration - finding the right people that you want to support and who want to support you in turn - is not easy. It sounds like it should be easy, but it truly isn't. There will be lots of bumps in the collaboration road once you start down the path. You will meet people who you think are perfect to collaborate with and they will let you down. You will have "big breaks" that turn out to be nothing like they were sold to you. You will feel like you are putting in all the work and someone else is reaping rewards. How do I know? I've been there. Way too many times.

But here's the great thing (and this is based off my personal experiences with success and failure). If you approach collaboration correctly - as a mutually beneficial 'business' transaction - even the not so great collaborations will turn into great experiences for you that help to propel you forward toward your goals. 

I guarantee there will be bumps in the road and disappointments but I also guarantee that if you continue to approach collaboration professionally and with the mindset that it needs to be mutually beneficial you will see huge rewards. 

So let's get you started...

Choose a project (projects!) to collaborate on

First of all, let me ask you a question: what do you want to achieve? I'm going to challenge you to make a huge list of goals - I really love handwritten lists that allow you to put out everything (I mean reach for the stars!). Once you have that list put it away. A few days later pull it out and highlight a few items that are reasonable to achieve with a little bit of help (also known as collaboration). 

Find a potential tribe

Everyone is going to go about this in a different way, but the steps are similar no matter who you are and what your goals are:

a)     Determine what you want to achieve from any collaboration

b)     Determine what you bring to the table

c)     Determine who would help you reach your goals but also how you could help them reach theirs – this is the tricky part but is so important. SO IMPORTANT. When I have a goal, I like to start by trolling my own social media and blog. I look for who comments, who likes, who reposts, who interacts. Then I look to my existing circle. Do I have friends who blog or engage in similar social media topics as me?Do I have acquaintances that may have similar goals and interests? Put together a list (seriously, I love lists) and make it as lofty and realistic as possible! 

      

         “Date” potential collaborator(s)

      Once you establish WHO you may want to collaborate with,  you need to figure out if a) they are willing and b) it's a good partnership. Like any relationship (friendship or romantic), take the time to figure out if a  collaborative partnership will work by being honest, open and realistic.

a)     Define your expectations (will you post each other’s blogs, retweet each other, reach out only when you need assistance, create vlogs together? Be very clear on what you hope to achieve together.)

b)     Define your parameters (what is NOT ok with you? what is NOT ok with them? What are your deal breakers?)

c)     Work on a non-essential project together (create a link up, a topic you both blog on and share, etc.). Do something that doesn't necessarily have money attached to it to make sure you are comfortable and work well together.

d)     Establish trust and honesty 

   

 Create your “tribe”

 Once you've found your collaborator (or group - don't rule out a team of people that support    

 and lift up each other!), make it work for both of you.

a) Clarify “ground rules” for your tribe- use your previously established expectations (which you've already done by now) and clarify what is expected from any collaborator. Is this on a project by project basis? Will there be an expectation around sharing each other’s work? Will there be multiple people included in this “tribe” or is it limited to one or two partners? Be especially clear and specific on what you need and want but also be open to changing and shifting expectations as necessary!

b) Establish a space for your tribe- use a closed or private Facebook group (of Google doc) to interact with each other, throw out ideas, suggest projects to work on, and ask for help.

c) Start supporting – remember that any good collaboration takes time and the more you put into the more you will get out of it! Become stars at making each other shine and sharing the spotlight with each other.

The truth is that there is no exact science to making a collaboration or partnership work, but it is worth putting in the work to find the right people and lay ground rules for supporting each other. When you have support it will not only improve your online exposure but it will allow you to feel more confident in what you can bring to the table when pitching brands, establishing new contacts, and branching out into uncharted online territory!