Before we get into the nitty-gritty of nice-ing things up, I think it’s a great idea to ask yourself why you are blogging and what you might want to achieve. It’s all good and well to just login, tap something out and publish it, but I bet underneath all that drafting and posting you have a pretty clear purpose.
Perhaps it’s something simple: I want to develop a daily writing practice.
Perhaps it’s something bigger: I want to change the world!
Or maybe there’s a bunch of reasons? That’s cool too. What I really want you to do, though, is to focus in on the reason/s you want to blog. Write them down. Or write IT down, if there is one clear-cut ‘why’.
Q: Why do you want to blog?
Next, let’s think about the benefits of blogging for you. Often when we are in the trenches, perhaps lamenting our lack of readers or the tumbleweeds in the comments section, we forget about the varied benefits of being a blogger. It might be things like: building community, making new friends, learning more about technology, improving writing, having a personal ‘landing page’ for when people Google my name. Make a list of the rewards you are reaping from blogging (however small!)
Q: What will you gain from blogging?
Let’s hone in a bit more on the output of your blog. What do you think people who are reading your blog take away with them? Is it the feeling of being like-minded? Or is it a new skill or recipe? Perhaps it’s the fuzzy feeling of connecting with a ‘friend’? Think about the readers’ view of your blog and what they gain from clicking through to you. Make a list of those things too (and don’t be shy, it’s okay to big up yourself and your work!)
In the book Strengths Finder 2.0, author Tom Rath identifies a whole bunch of themes we all work to/embody , perhaps these are some of the deeper qualities you bring to your readers? Maybe you haven’t thought about your character strengths as a gift to your readers? For the record they are:
Achiever, activator, adaptability, analytical, arranger, belief, command, communication, competition, connectedness, consistency, context, deliberative, developer, discipline, empathy, focus, futuristic, harmony, ideation, included, individualisation, input, intellection, learner, maximiser, positivity, relator, responsibility, restorative, self-assurance, significance, strategic, woo!
More on strengths here.
Q: What do your readers gain from your blog?
Q: Sum up your own strengths in one or two sentences!
Finally, let’s think about the overall ‘mission’ of your blog? Bigger picture stuff. This doesn’t have to be stuff you are actually achieving right now, it’s more work-in-progress stuff. If you could narrow your blog mission down to a few sentences, what would it be? If you divided it up into a PERSONAL MISSION (what you want to achieve for yourself) and a READER MISSION (the impact you want to have on readers), how would those read? Are they a slightly different view of the same overall goal? Or a bit different?
Q: What is your PERSONAL MISSION for your blog?
Q: What is your blog’s READER MISSION?
Okay. Cool. How does that feel? Often when we are buried in the nuts and bolts of blogging, we forget to shift focus and take time to clarify our own goals, gains and mission. Did you come up with some surprising ideas and insights? Did things become a little clearer? Or a bit more daunting?!