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We All Need Blog Goals, Even Frivolous Ones

by 36 Comments

What would a blog be without blog goals, right?

First, I think your blog should have goals. Whether it’s a personal blog, business blog or a mix of both, having goals will help you focus on what to write, how to write it, how to reach people, etc. It makes sense.

I’ve accomplished a lot of bigger goals with my blog — namely connecting with others. I’ve met a ton of great people (some in-person), and that’s led to a host of opportunities.

But what about some smaller, more frivolous goals? Goals that speak to the ego of every blogger who likes to see his/her name in the proverbial lights of the blogosphere.

So here goes…by Christmas, I’m hoping to:

  • Get into the top 15,000 at Technorati (Feel free to add me as a favorite there!)
  • Get another post on the front page of Digg. Digg is like crack, I can’t help myself!
  • Get 220 FeedBurner subscribers (I average around 190 now.)
  • Get a link from Seth Godin.
  • Run one more group writing project.
  • Finally dip my toe into some affiliate marketing (For the experience more than anything. The Bluehost link I have in the sidebar and 1 sale through Amazon don’t count!)

Those are some of my frivolous blog goals. If I achieve any of them, I’ll be happy, no question, but I’m certainly not going to lose sleep over them. Even if I don’t achieve a single one of these goals, my blog has returned incredible value to me, and I’m forever grateful for that.

1 More Day Till the Post-Thanksgiving Goal Writing Project is Over! Write Your Goals Down Now and Tell Me About It!

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  • Well, damn Ben! Not too far away from that top 15k!

  • Well, damn Ben! Not too far away from that top 15k!

  • Hey Paul – not too far off but cracking 20,000 took forever!

  • Hey Paul – not too far off but cracking 20,000 took forever!

  • This website is becoming more and more focused on the word GOALS.Do you target this word ? 🙂

  • This website is becoming more and more focused on the word GOALS.Do you target this word ? 🙂

  • Such great points Ben! I really enjoyed your insight on how digg and reddit worked out for you. So far, I haven’t had the same luck but maybe soon? But as always your posts are engaging and inspiring and incredibly well written. No wonder you’re one of my favorite bloggers :).

  • The Digerati Life

    Such great points Ben! I really enjoyed your insight on how digg and reddit worked out for you. So far, I haven't had the same luck but maybe soon? But as always your posts are engaging and inspiring and incredibly well written. No wonder you're one of my favorite bloggers :).

  • Only this week anyway. This is “Goal Week” — but you’re right, I should see a lot of Google traffic for every search term related to goals, right? *grin*

  • Only this week anyway. This is “Goal Week” — but you're right, I should see a lot of Google traffic for every search term related to goals, right? *grin*

  • I hope you will get some trafic, anyway inform us if you see some results from this “Goal posts”

  • I hope you will get some trafic, anyway inform us if you see some results from this “Goal posts”

  • I haven’t seen much in the way of search engine traffic yet but it’s still early.

    I did do some quick research using Google’s Keyword Tracker tool to see what goal-related keywords are most commonly used / have the least competition, and although I used some of these in my tags I didn’t focus on keyword richness in the posts.

    For example, I could have used ‘personal goals’ more often and I think that might have helped, but that’s OK, it’s not just about search engine traffic!

  • I haven't seen much in the way of search engine traffic yet but it's still early.

    I did do some quick research using Google's Keyword Tracker tool to see what goal-related keywords are most commonly used / have the least competition, and although I used some of these in my tags I didn't focus on keyword richness in the posts.

    For example, I could have used 'personal goals' more often and I think that might have helped, but that's OK, it's not just about search engine traffic!

  • What can I say.You have to wait some time, let’s say 2 months, and after that you will see something, and them I hope you will write a post named “Goal posts made me RICH.” 🙂

  • What can I say.You have to wait some time, let's say 2 months, and after that you will see something, and them I hope you will write a post named “Goal posts made me RICH.” 🙂

  • Ahahaha…wouldn’t that be nice! Goal posts made me RICH. I’m all for it!

  • Ahahaha…wouldn't that be nice! Goal posts made me RICH. I'm all for it!

  • Digerati — your comment got caught by Akismet, just found it now. First, thanks for the compliments.

    As for digg and reddit – the success is still limited. I got onto the front page of digg once which resulted in crazy traffic numbers.

    reddit used to be much more consistent for me, but lately it hasn’t been doing as much. I need more people to reddit me. *grin*

  • Digerati — your comment got caught by Akismet, just found it now. First, thanks for the compliments.

    As for digg and reddit – the success is still limited. I got onto the front page of digg once which resulted in crazy traffic numbers.

    reddit used to be much more consistent for me, but lately it hasn't been doing as much. I need more people to reddit me. *grin*

  • I’ll tell you what, getting links from the likes of Seth Godin, John Chow, Darren Rowse, etc. can be great for traffic. I had a trackback to a post that Seth had and it gave me over 50 visits right off the bat. No it isn’t several hundred or thousand that Digg could send, but it certainly helps.

    I was also one of the first to post about a targeted AdWords ad that appeared on John Chow’s site that generated a lot of traffic to my investing blog. I think I get more traffic by leaving comments than I have elsewhere, although forums tend to send a lot as well.

  • I'll tell you what, getting links from the likes of Seth Godin, John Chow, Darren Rowse, etc. can be great for traffic. I had a trackback to a post that Seth had and it gave me over 50 visits right off the bat. No it isn't several hundred or thousand that Digg could send, but it certainly helps.

    I was also one of the first to post about a targeted AdWords ad that appeared on John Chow's site that generated a lot of traffic to my investing blog. I think I get more traffic by leaving comments than I have elsewhere, although forums tend to send a lot as well.

  • Robert – your advice is sound – leaving comments elsewhere, and linking to others (for trackbacks) makes sense.

    I haven’t used forums at all, but I know they work well for generating traffic. I guess I reached my limit in terms of time investment with blogging and commenting elsewhere, I cut out forums…but I know they work.

  • Robert – your advice is sound – leaving comments elsewhere, and linking to others (for trackbacks) makes sense.

    I haven't used forums at all, but I know they work well for generating traffic. I guess I reached my limit in terms of time investment with blogging and commenting elsewhere, I cut out forums…but I know they work.

  • Pingback: The Post-Thanksgiving Goal Writing Project Ends With Some Great Goals » Instigator Blog()

  • The blog looks good – you now have 191!

  • Dave Forde

    The blog looks good – you now have 191!

  • Dave – glad to have you onboard and subscribed. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Hope to see you around in the future!

  • Dave – glad to have you onboard and subscribed. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Hope to see you around in the future!

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  • “the ego of every blogger who likes to see his/her name in the proverbial lights of the blogosphere.” – How true!

    Justin

  • “the ego of every blogger who likes to see his/her name in the proverbial lights of the blogosphere.” – How true!

    Justin

  • Justin – the ego is part of the successful blogger, you can’t separate the two!

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting…

  • Justin – the ego is part of the successful blogger, you can't separate the two!

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting…

  • Pingback: Did You Achieve Your Goals in 2006? : Instigator Blog()

Ben Yoskovitz

Founding Partner at Highline BETA, a startup co-creation company that launches new ventures with leading corporations and founders.

Previously I was VP Product at VarageSale and GoInstant (acq. $CRM), and Founding Partner at Year One Labs.

Angel investments include: Breather, Spoiler Alert, SendWithUs and others.

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