Blogging Goals in 2021 the S.M.A.R.T Way

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Working S.M.A.R.T.

The hardest part of writing goals is setting them up with clear actions that can be measured.

I'd like to write, I want to make $5,000/month net by the end of the year. Wow that would be so awesome for me, however I really have no idea what that means for my blog. I don't know how to break down that goal in actionable steps. (If you do please let me know!)

What I am doing instead is looking at what I'd like my blog to be doing in the next 12 months and let the money or traffic part be a side effect that tells me if I am doing things right. Also, I am choosing projects I know will move me towards my financial goals.

Side note: After measuring what I am doing consistently for a longer stretch of time, setting numeric goals might be more realistic for future years as this blog is only 6 months old and I am a newbie.

I have read about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, which many of you have probably heard of before. It's an acronym meaning Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused, and Time-bound.

I have figured out a general social media and blog post schedule that is my baseline (more about that soon), but then I also have larger projects that will help improve my existing site.

PS. Anyone is welcome to use these goals for themselves too!

Word of the Year

Automation.

If I have learned anything from these past 6 months is that there is not enough head space for me to be thinking about EVERYTHING every day of the week. I need to set a schedule and have areas of my work automated to leave room to think ahead. Otherwise, its like swimming in a storm, you never see more than an arm's reach away and the likelihood of drowning is high.

Quarter Breakdown

As I look at the year a head I am planning specific projects per quarter so that I am not stressing over doing it all right away. There are 4 projects I'd like to focus on:

  • Q1: Establish relationships for Guest Posting. I am going to write 1 guest post every 4 months (4 posts total for 2021) but am I looking at establishing those relationships in the first quarter by seeking out 10 websites and starting to comment on their posts. This way I can get to know their content and they will start to know who I am. Considering joining some Linkup Parties for this.
    • By the end of this Quarter i will have 5 websites I am following commenting on regularly.
  • Q2: Improve my Site Health. As we know Google is all about user experience this year and my site is NOT up to par. It's not BAD but its not GOOD either. I want to really dig down to learn what is stopping my site from loading faster as some basics like using a light theme, minify and small images are already in place.
    • By the end of this Quarter I want my website Site Health to be all Green.
  • Q3: Learn and Join Pinterest Boards: I am doing OK on pinterest but traffic to my site is not too hot. I've heard a lot about the power of Pinterest Boards and would like to spend a quarter learning about them to see if it will help me increase traffic.
    • By the end of this Quarter I want to have joined 3 Pinterest Boards
  • Q4: Small Digital Product. Not sure what it will be yet but with my design background I imagine some sort of affirmation cards I can make in Illustrator or maybe a small book related to my niche.

Baseline

Blog posts go out Wednesday and Sunday. Each week I write an informational post and an affiliate post (either product review or round up post). I will write a different Blog Post on my Content Schedule for the Year. (I'll link it here when its done).

Mondays I automate social media for the week.

I make and schedule Pinterest Pins for the week. (I just use Pinterest not tailwind). 1pin/ day has me getting roughly +1K impressions buildup weekly so I am going to start making 2 pins daily for my website's busy times which is 12pm-1pm and 7pm-8pm (you can see this in Google Analytic).

I will schedule 2 blog post shares/ day for the whole week via Facebook Businens Suite on Mondays too. (Total 14 posts shared weekly on my Facebook Page. These posts always have engaging text to encourage comments by my followers.

I post 2x day to Instagram which is connected to my Facebook page and will be automated via the Facebook Business Suite weekly (on Mondays for the entire week).

  • 1pm post is a Quote or Informational related to my niche.
  • 8pm will be manual posting. I will add a personal image of the day to keep things in real time and 1 story to keep me in the header until the following day. (they go 24 hours).

Affirmation

Now that I got all that S.M.A.R. T stuff out of the way, I also have a daily affirmation that I will write down and hang up somewhere.

In 2021 My Blog Has Enough Traffic for Mediavine and Is Generating Affiliate Sales Consistently.


What Are Your Goals For The Year?

Comment below!


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Recent Comments

3

Awesome, Stephanie! Go and Get those goals!

Happy 2021!

Jeff

Really lively that your goals and plan for your busines is lovely
Hope you will be keeping us posted to see how you get on

Sounds like a plan ... good luck... Phil

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