Is goal planning crucial? Yes, it is. Planning goals gives us a target to shoot for. More importantly, goals allow us to focus our thinking when it comes to our online business.
Imagine if you will, a brand new blogger that is ready to take on the world. They start the day doing some keyword research, but get caught up in the Facebook feed. Realizing that two hours just disappeared, they do some quick research and write a post of about 500 words. Then they move on to looking at their analytics, but since the numbers do not mean too much, they decide to check email. An hour later…
Now imagine this scenario: new blogger starts the day with creating content for two hours (could be blog posts, or it could be creating a new freebie to give to new subscribers of the newsletter). After taking a break, they then work on the course that they bought to learn how to run successful Facebook ads (or any other course helpful to our return on investment aka ROI). And before quitting for the day, they start working on how to set goals in Google Analytics.
In your mind, which of these two scenarios belongs to the successful blogger?
Welcome to Fearless Affiliate. My name is Irma and I help new bloggers to learn the ropes. There is a lot to take in that first year of blogging, from choosing a niche to changing your mindset from worker bee mentality to that of successful entrepreneur.
I like to focus on practical information and positive thinking, so if that sounds good to you please sign up for my weekly newsletter of tips and free stuff for bloggers. In return you will get the password to my resource library of PDF printables for bloggers like my Smart Goal Setting Worksheet and Weekly Goal Planner Page. #win
Why is Goal Planning Crucial in Business?
Did you know that the majority of start-up businesses fail within their first 5 years? According to experts, a large reason behind this is the fact that many business owners fail to plan ahead.
Without adequate planning, it’s easy to lose direction and become overwhelmed by the day to day running of the company. That’s why goal planning is extremely important.
In my last post, I showed you how to use the SMART system (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) to set efficient goals for internet marketers specifically. But the SMART system works for all kinds of goals, like setting goals to quit bad blogging habits. Like going on Facebook early in the day. Or checking email.
Tasks like these waste time because they do nothing for your return on investment (ROI), which should always be at the top of the list of things to do for bloggers. If it will not eventually make you money, it is not worth your time.
Related Post: Internet Marketing Goals: Tips For Success
Goals are the building blocks to your success
Business goals help you to propel the business forward, helping it to succeed. No matter which part of the business you’re looking to improve, the right goals can really help you to take your business to the next level.
This also refers to how you think about your business. And thinking of it as a business is key to its success. If you do not choose to spend your time working on tasks that make your business a business, then your website may be one of those new businesses doomed to failure.
Without goals, you won’t know which parts of the business to focus on
So, you’ll likely end up stuck in a rut, not really achieving anything of significance unless you have realistic, measurable goals.
Setting a goal to gain 100 email subscribers in 3 months is a goal that can easily be monitored. If you reach the 100 new subscribers, you worked on the right goals. If you only gain 50 subscribers, you can tweak your goal to see if you can raise that number in the next quarter.
Because I was one of those people who wasted a lot of time before I learned to set blog goals, I want to share with you how important it is to figure out this part of your business. If you do not set effective goals, your success will take forever.
I wasted a lot of time in my first year of blogging. I was spinning my wheels because I was not focused on reaching even one goal. All my blogging efforts were all over the map and I was ready to quit. It was clear that I did not know what I was doing and that bothered me. A lot.
I had to learn proper goal planning
Not just blog goals, but goals to declutter in my home, goals to stop spending money on frivolous items, and goals to meet more people (including other bloggers). I did a “no spend” challenge for one month, and then I did it again the next month.
The result? I am locked in to thinking I only have so much money to spend, so I only spend that much. The rest goes into savings that I use for charitable giving. So freeing. That is what goal planning can do for you!
Related Post: 5 Business Goals Examples For Bloggers
They enable you to monitor your progress
In order to succeed in business, it’s crucial to monitor your progress. Which parts of the business are doing well, and which could use a little improvement?
Unless you have a clear idea of where your efforts should be focused, it’s easy to waste your time, money and energy on the wrong tasks. So, setting goals and then reviewing them, helps you to see how far the business has come and the key areas which require additional focus.
Think of your marketing strategy as a good example here. When you’re spending money trying to attract new customers, you need to know you’re not wasting your efforts. So, setting goals and then reviewing them will help you to see which marketing strategies are working, and which ones you should tweak or let go of completely.
Related Post: Google Analytics Tutorial
Goals help to boost motivation
Remember that excitement and motivation you felt when you first started the business? It’s what pushed you to launch the website and get it off to a great start. However, it’s natural for that motivation and initial excitement to fade after a few months. That’s where goals can prove extremely useful.
Goal planning, which can be easily achieved, helps to keep your motivation intact. As you tick off the goals, you’ll feel a renewed motivation to push forward and achieve the next one. Without motivation, it’s practically impossible to succeed in business.
If you are unsure of how to set goals for your website or blog, start small. Just change one thing that you are doing, like adding the Feed Eradicator extension to Chrome or Firefox to give you motivational quotes on your Facebook feed instead of the…feed. Logging in and not seeing your feed can help to remind you that you have more important tasks.
Wasting time on social media is more of a habit than a goal, but if you want to break a bad habit or create a new good habit, you will have to set a goal to remind you to keep at it. My favorite free printable habit tracker is this one.
Keeping your employees happy
Another reason that goals are important to businesses, is because they help to keep employees happy. If you are at the point where you can outsource some of your blogging work, you will want to convey specific goals to anyone you hire to help you. Effective team goals can help to increase productivity and communication.
It also provides clarity, ensuring your employees know exactly what they are working towards. You’ll also find setting goals helps to ensure you’re hiring the right employees. If you know where the business is going, you’ll find it easier to hire the right talent to help you get there.
And anyone that you hire will appreciate that you know where you want your business to go. Their reputation hinges on helping you get there. #Win-win.
Holding you accountable
Business goals also help to hold you accountable. You could have a vague goal in your head that you are working towards, but unless you write it down and monitor it, you’re unlikely to reach it.
When left to our own devices, we’re often not as productive or as motivated as we could be. So, having clear goals helps to keep our focus and mind on the tasks required to push the business forward.
“Goals are dreams with deadlines” – Napoleon Hill
These are just some of the reasons why setting goals in business is crucial to your success. The thing to remember is that goal planning isn’t just a one-off thing. You need to continue to set goals once you’ve achieved those initial ones. That is how you ensure your business doesn’t just keep running, but that it thrives.
Related Post: Business Goal Setting: 5 Mistakes To Avoid
Conclusion
So what do you think? Is goal planning crucial for new bloggers? Or anyone? Do you think your blog or website will be successful without setting goals? And did you come up with some goals that you can set for your online business while you were reading this? I hope so! Let me know in the comments below what kind of goals you set and how successful they are.
I am sure that after reading this post, you will have some good ideas for effective goals to improve your ROI. Look at my related posts for more help with your goal planning.
Please take a few seconds to share this post with others. Sharing is caring. And sign up for my FREE weekly newsletter of tips and free stuff for bloggers, including 2 PDF’s that go well with this post: Smart Goal Setting Worksheet and Weekly Goal Planner Page
Until next time, happy blogging and follow me on Pinterest!
-Irma 🙂
Hello Irma! My name is Yena. My boyfriend and I are running MatchaForMe together as a couple. It sounds a little confusing but I assure you it works out quite well for us.
I want to say THANK YOU for writing such a vitally important blog post!
I personally (Yena) have already signed up for the emailing list because I do want the blog post to be successful and to thrive instead of survive
We have goals but we have not written them down as of yet. After reading this article I (Yena) am now more willing to write them down and to buckle down and begin working on these goals.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the amount of ideas I have personally but writing the game plan out should help put my mind at ease.
I have a daily planner that I write in religiously so I can keep my personal life on track. And I feel SOOO good once I complete even the smallest task! Some days are better than others but for the most part I keep my schedule.
I am sure I will feel the same once Kuzoo(my boyfriend) and I start writing our goals down for MatchaForMe. My boyfriend does not get as worked up as I do but he is a more laid back take it one moment at a time type of person. Which helps me to remember to breathe if I get bundled up with stress.
Here I go on a ramble. Again, I very much appreciate you taking the time to create such a beautiful website filled with rich information. I love the fact that you are so willing to help new bloggers get on their feet into the right business direction. It brings me comfort knowing that there are people who do support each other in the business world.
Cheers!
Hello Yena Mae and thank you for visiting us today!
Wow! Thank you for an amazing comment. I appreciate that you took the time to tell me your history, which seems like the history of all bloggers, myself included.
I write the goal posts (ha!) precisely because it was so hard for me to set beginner blogger goals. I wanted to help others move out of the realm of guessing what to do each day and into the realm of money making blogger mindset.
Starting a blog can be so confusing because of all the moving parts. It is easy to settle into a routine of just writing posts and not starting some of the other projects that, over time, will help us get more traffic.
My aim with Fearless Affiliate is to help new bloggers. And one of things that, I believe, new bloggers need to learn right away is goal setting. Even if it is just setting goals to write content, you get in the habit of deciding what you will do, rather than taking the “wait and see” approach, like I did in my first year. Let me assure you, that was a huge waste of time.
I wish you and your partner much success with your online businesses. You will rock it!
Cheers,
-Irma 🙂
Very good article on goal setting. Thanks for posting this. It is a good reminder!
Hello Christian and thank you for visiting us again,
Cheers,
-Irma 🙂
Hello,
I completely agree with you about the importance of setting goals as it gives you something to work towards. Then when you meet that goal in the time frame you feel a confidence boost and work even harder the next time.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Hello Catherine and thank you for visiting us today,
I feel exactly the same! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Cheers,
-Irma 🙂
That is a different view, and I really liked what i read. I will definitely implement that. Thanks.
Hello Gojko and thank you for visiting us today,
Best of luck to you! Goal setting changes everything 🙂
Cheers,
-Irma 🙂
Great post Irma! I know exactly what you mean about transitioning from the ‘worker bee’ mentality. Having structure in the day is a lot harder than I would have expected. I will most certainly be using your great advice to get more productivity out of my day 🙂
Hello Lisa and thank you for visiting us today,
I found the transition to entrepreneur to be exciting and scary at the same time, so I knew I was on the right track. I hope that setting goals helps you to achieve your goals faster! Best of luck to you.
Cheers,
-Irma 🙂