It still amazes me how fast my reader fills up with new info and updates. I’m taken back by all the great content out there and how well all these great ideas are formulated so eloquently into words. I have numerous “works in progress” in my drafts folder, so many in fact, I’m not really sure how to begin sorting through them all. Incomplete, lonely, tidbits of text I can’t get up to courage to finish or figure out what to do with.
So why has it been so challenging for me to get this blog up and “running?”
The most challenging part of this process has been finding my own voice, feeling confident in my thoughts, and striking a balance between my personal and professional tone. It’s easier than it sounds, isn’t it? I’ve spent the last month or so really investigating what great bloggers are doing right….
Consistently posting valuable content is a key ingredient of success, but it takes more than just that. Developing a strategy, including objectives, tactics and goals are important even when it comes to your own blog. Linking to other’s blogs, weighing in, contributing to the conversation, organizing your thoughts before blurting them out, making it shareable, asking for input…the list goes on and on.
So I decided to start small by laying out some personal goals I have. Better late than never I guess.
My Goals:
- Leave a comment on three other blogs a day, be consistent.
- Include at least one link to an article, blog post, quote, etc in each blog post I write.
- Allow other’s thoughts and insights to inspire my own entries.
- Blog to inspire change, not conformity.
- Make it easier for others to share it. This includes anything from the entries I write to the comments people leave.
- Market yourself, promote you blog, just don’t overdo. Be humble.
- Don’t be shy, be me.
- Be respectful.
- Be confident.
- Always end a post with something engaging, invite others to participate in your conversation.
- Write what you feel, not what you think others want to hear.
- Take part in the conversation, don’t ever initiate a discussion and leave it to die.
- Have a focus; always ask yourself, “Does this relate to my ultimate goal?”
- My ultimate goal: share my experiences, key learning’s, lessons, failures, successes, processes, trends and perspectives on social media in a corporate environment. Specifically, as it relates to internal corporate communications.
- Utilize all of the knowledgeable resources around me. Always have another set of eyes read, review and revise before I publish.
- Forget about the numbers. Visits/traffic is NOT how you will measure success. Comments left, frequency of engagement, key takeaways, and the relationships I build, are factors that I WILL use to gauge my success.
This list of goals is just start. I will add to, modify and revise as I see fit.
What are your thoughts? What experiences and challenges did you have in the beginning I may have overlooked?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I think that you have an excellent list to guide you! The challenge for me at the beginning was much the same: finding my own voice. After all, you need to be different to stand out from the crowd right? Commenting on other blogs and getting to know other readers helped me through this process. We go to know one another and as a result it became easier to ask each other for feedback.
I’ve always been one to ask for feedback and my blog’s always been an ever-changing piece (I think that’s ok too).
Again, going back to your list, I think it’s an excellent list and an excellent guide to follow!
Ricardo, thanks for your support! I’ll keep at it, as I know it takes some time to build up a loyal following. Thanks for re-visiting, I look forward to our future conversations