So it’s a new year, new month, new week, or even a new day – and you have a new goal. Great! Goals are fantastic because they keep us moving forward in our health, our relationships, our finances, and our overall life satisfaction. Often, when we have new goal, we want to share it, and if we’re bloggers, that means writing about it for all to see. Not only are we putting it in writing, but we also have an entire blog community to help us out with accountability.
But after you set that goal, how do you keep it from taking over your blog? How do you maintain the integrity of your site and keep your regular readers coming back? Well, if you’ve recently resolved to do something new, whether it’s running a marathon or eating less meat, we’ve got some tips for you.
Let everyone know that you’ve got a big goal, and that you’re going to keep them updated. Even if you’re not going to completely shift the focus of your blog, it’s always a good idea to give your readers a heads up about potentially large shifts in content. Writing, “This is the year I want to try a dance class instead of my standard elliptical session, so I’ll be writing a few posts here and there about how it’s going!” will warn them that you’ll be trying something new, but you won’t be completely changing what they know and love.
If you ARE doing a major overhaul of your blog because of your goals, let readers know that too. You might lose some readers if they liked your old content better, but they won’t feel like you pulled one over on them by doing a 180 and hoping they wouldn’t notice. If folks know you as their regular grocery store guru who can whip up meals from pantry staples, they probably won’t be too thrilled about suddenly reading through time-consuming gourmet recipes with only obscure ingredients found at upscale markets. But if you’re up front about it, you might find that your readers appreciate your honesty, and you could gain a few new ones!
Keep the updates to a minimum. If you set your sights on that 5K in April because you’ve never set foot on a treadmill, then good for you! However, if you’ve also never talked about running in a single post, now is not the time to completely turn yours into a running blog. Give a weekly update about how that Couch to 5K plan is going, but don’t only talk about your new shoes or gadgets, or post about how hard your two-miler was every single day. This is the year I want to compete in a figure competition, but I’ve never been one to post a ton of my own workouts, so I don’t plan on changing the format of my blog. I may give quick updates within posts about how I’m doing, but if my readers aren’t asking for it, I feel more than OK about leaving it out.
If you don’t want your content to change, consider seriously if your goals even apply to your blog. If your goal is to save enough every week to have a nice little nest egg by the time 2011 ends, but your blog is about your foodie adventures, those two might not necessarily mesh well. So either mention your goal and see if anyone asks for updates on how you’re doing (You can even offer up a simple, ‘”Let me know if you guys want updates!”) or find a way to combine the two, like cooking an extravagant meal on the cheap. Again though, you don’t need to change your entire blog to accommodate your goal, because if your initial readership wasn’t looking for info for the foodie on a budget, they might not appreciate the switch.
Are you talking about your goals on your blog right now? How do you plan to keep your site from becoming one big update on your progress? Any tips I missed?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post. Especially since every blog I’ve read the last three days have all been about goals!! (not necessarily a bad thing)
With my big goal to train and compete in a figure competition, I decided to just great “series” of posts called “competition diaries” that way it’s well known that that particular post is all about training. That way it doesn’t over run my blog and peole can choose to read or not.
My big goal this year is the Portland Century. It’s not until August so I’m definitely not going to be talking about bike training for the next 8 months! Instead I’ll do quick recaps on how my training is going once in awhile. When it gets closer to the event, I bet more posts will be about it.
Lisa´s last post ..January Weigh In
Because my blog reflects both my personal life and by professional life as a health coach, I’ll probably be incorporating some updates on my goals for the year. At the same time, I’m hoping (from a professional perspective) to help others stay motivated with their own goals and offer some tips around that. My goals/theme for the year tie in pretty easily with my blog as it is, so I’m hopefully it will be simple to integrate everything!
Paige @ The Gravy Boat´s last post ..Jumping On the Garlic & Honey Bandwagon and How I’m Not Really Hardcore Enough For This
I posted my 8 goals for the new year on my blog. They’re not all food/blog related, but I want to start doing a bit more life casting, so I figured that was a good way to start. Also, I’m hoping that posting them will keep me even more accountable to actually making them happen. I’m planning to post full goal-related updates on the first of every month. I also added a page to my blog where I’ll regularly update my progress towards my goals; this way, if people are interested they can read them, if not they can ignore them.
Emily @ Relishments´s last post ..Highlights- Year End Lists
Great tips! I feel like I’m the last person to put my goals up, much less figure out what they are but I will get them up one of these days. Saving money is a big thing in my world so I will be incorporating some financial goals along with health ones. I like the tip of if you are going to be changing the content of your blog due to one of the goals, let your readers know. I used to read one blog and they did a 180 without any explaination, etc. and it kinda turned me off.
Tiffany @ Simply Shaka´s last post ..Meatless Monday Round 1
Great post. I was thinking about some changes for my blog, and this is some helpful information to remember in advance. Thanks for sharing.
I’m a reader, not a blogger, but one of my pet peeves is when a blogger does what you say not to – totally change the content. A ton of “popular” blogs started out as strictly healthy living, and at some point decided to randomly switch to “lifestyle”, but it’s like they are just trying to get the best of both worlds; talking about their life when they want, and then skimping on food/exercise stuff when they don’t want to be criticized or something. I think bloggers should definitely try to incorporate/link their non-healthy living goals, or leave them out.
I did a goal post too. Some are health related and some are not. They tie in to the theme of my blog which is balancing life and healthy living. One of my goals is to save money and it relates because not having enough money stresses me out which causes me to eat more.
I agree that if you have a food blog and all of the sudden start to talk about home decor outside of the kitchen it would throw some people off.
adrienne´s last post ..Keeping Track with My Fitness Pal