Why I Set Blog Goals: A Message For Beginner Bloggers

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I don’t want to be stuck in the same place. I hear people talk a lot about how numbers don’t matter and to an extent yes, you don’t want your sole motivation of blogging to be riding on the back of followers and stats but at the same time, life is about evolving. As a student the idea is not for you to be forever learning at the foot of the professor. The idea is to learn, apply, and to grow. One of the greatest gifts a teacher can see is a student who has become a teacher. It shows that the student has applied the lessons and that the professor has done his or her job, for its one thing to know and an entirely different thing to pass on information so that others can understand it.

Why Do I Set Blog Goals? Because numbers don’t lie. They are not here to be ignored. And while they are also not here to lean too much on, they do serve a purpose in the end. That purpose is to market growth and development. This means that if we desire evolution then we must put those things in place that are necessary to get there. What I love about the blogging community is the excitement of seeing someone who has reached a certain viewership or follower number. I love this because if you don’t appreciate the little things in your life, then why are you deserving of more? You are not defined by your numbers, but they are there for you to measure improvement. Life in general is about learning and applying and evolving so it doesn’t make sense to me not to strive for excellence.

Deep down everyone knows that goals are the difference maker between so-so performance and stellar achievement.  Studies conclusively show that goal-setters routinely outperform their “wing-it” counterparts. – https://pushingsocial.com/3-goals-that-every-a-list-blogger-swears-by/

In no other area of your life can you grow or increase without a clear definition of where you want to go. You want to write a book but you have steps you need to get there. You want to start a blog. You want to grow a blog, but you need a clear vision of how you are going to get there. You can’t just sit back and wish for more interaction. Nor can you simply know what your goals are, but you need a clear plan on how to reach them. Setting a goal for your blog can be beneficial to increasing your number of views and subscribers, growing your brand, and taking you to that next level.

Quick Tip:

Selecting the right goals are just as critical as achieving them

https://pushingsocial.com/3-goals-that-every-a-list-blogger-swears-by/

There’s a lot I want to do with this blog, including purchasing a domain name for it. But, how do we get there? Some of you may wonder how to set goals for your blog and that’s a different post in itself because you don’t want to set just any goal. You want to set the right goals. Usually we say, “I want this many followers and this many views” or as I’ve just said, “I want my own domain name for my blog” but in my short experience as a blogger these are not the right questions, not in the beginning. Your first goal should be defining your audience. A bloggers strong understanding of their audience is a sure way to see results. Ask yourself: Who are they? What Problems do they have that my content offers (or will offer) solutions for? And as you go throughout the week, push the content that specifically answers these questions. These are the best posts and the ones of value. Just got high interaction on a post? Listen to it. Study it. What did it have that, let’s say your least successful post, did not?

Why Do Authors Need a Copyright?

Excellent need-to-know information from Colleen. I’ve noticed that lots of people have been the victims of stolen work lately. It may be wise for all Self-Publishers to include copyright cost in our book launch plans.

The Winners Are In: Stella Trilogy Spring Giveaway

Good Morning!

The winners are in! Here’s how it works:

Starting today, I will publish the winners of the contest starting with the 3rd Place winner and ending with the 1st place winner Wednesday.

*Disclaimer: All winners were randomly picked by Promo Simple. I had no clue who the winners were going to be*

file(1)3rd Place Winner:

Entry #29

tjaneen.jt@gmail.com < If this is your email Congratulations! You’ve won paperback autographed copies of my Stella Trilogy with matching Bookmarks and my special author seal! Please email me at ahouseofpoetry@gmail.com to claim your prize!

The 2nd Place winner will be announced tomorrow! Stay tuned and look for your email address!

Book Promotions @ HarsH ReaLiTy…

Calling All Authors and Aspiring Writers! Promotional Opportunities Available on Harsh Reality. Jason’s offers are very reasonable for anyone seeking to increase visibility of their work.

Don’t be an Empty Cup 

Well said. Excellent post Whitney.

Whit Izz's avatarWrite, Live and Love

Have you ever felt like you had absolutely nothing left to give of yourself, yet people still continued to pull you in every direction, demanding your attention?

Remember to take some time for yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

🙂

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ARCs for Honest Reviews! Creeping Shadow – A YA Fantasy

ARCs for Honest Reviews! Support Indie Authors. Visit the authors blog to learn more.

Caroline's avatarCaroline Peckham

So I’m releasing my baby to the world at last! Two years and a lot of hardwork, sweat and tears have got me here and now I’m looking for reviews on Goodreads and (when the time comes) Amazon! ☺️

So if you love YA fantasy and would like to read and review Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, #1) before anyone else please comment below with your email address and prefered file format (epub / pdf) or email me directly at caroline_peckham@hotmail.co.uk

Creeping Shadow will be released 10th December 2015 on Amazon Kindle.

Here’s the cover and blurb:

A man waits in Vale, a world void of humanity.

A mother vanishes, her disappearance concealed by the police.

A girl collapses, black magic invading her blood.

And a boy linked to them all must fight to save his family.

Earth is just one of seven worlds. Gateways divide the realms and…

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Personify Your Posts

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I actually wrote this post last night, though I did not have the time to post it. As the night welcomed us into another day, the sun lowering itself deeper into the bowels of the skies and the moon resurrecting into a position perfect enough to shine its light on the Earth, I was encouraged to write a post for you to ponder. As the brisk winds happily leap at the opportunity to shine now that fall is upon us, ripping through the air and causing us to turn up the heat and crawl underneath the covers, I want to remind you to personify your posts. 

When I blog, I try to notice what attracts me to other blogs. I understand part of the process is not just to push the publish button but to notice my behavior as a reader as well so that it may assist me in my own blogging endeavors. For instance, I’ve heard somewhere (don’t ask me where) that if you pay attention to how you purchase books or even read them, this can help you to sell them. As a reader, you know what attracts people and what doesn’t. So one thing in particular that draws me to other blogs are the ones that are written by people who indeed appear to be just that—people. Bloggers whose content is not so author or blogger expert certified that they lose sight of that personal connection.  Sometimes we can get lost in all the technical glitches, all of the electrical waves that make up the World Wide Web and we forget that our readership is made up of flesh and blood. They are people with lives outside of the internet and have a wide range of experience and expertise.

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When you share your experiences combined with your characteristics and therefore a human persona, it makes others interested in what you have to say. Your point of view can make them laugh, cry, and maybe even irritated or angry but it’s yours to exemplify. Whatever the message, if it builds upon a human foundation, I think it can help us to become better bloggers because our audience can participate with us. They can grow with us and actually become part of the process. This I have decided to embark on myself actually, to try to engage my readers more so that they feel part of the blog which means taking part in my life not that of the computer. It does not require you get too personal, but it requires you to get personal enough. You don’t have to air your dirty laundry, but you do have to be able to relate to people on some level no matter what the goal is for your blog. It is not to compromise who you are as an individual, but to step outside of your comfort zone and actually write for a readership because there are actually people reading your blog.

So make us feel like you really are that crazy friend down the street, or that know-it-all around the corner. We don’t have to agree with your perspective, but do you have one? Do we know that underneath all those blog posts there’s someone over there named Bob. He has five children that run him crazy and a nagging wife. Or maybe you’re a 23 year old named Tanya with a college professor who spits when he talks. Yea, gross us out, make us laugh, cause a discussion that makes us tear at each others throats, (or hug each others throats) but keep it real. Keep it truth. Most of all, share some of your experiences while striving to reach your blogging goals; show us why we should care.

A personality has to do with individual differences among people in behavior patterns, cognition and emotion. So attempt not to simply push a book or an agenda. Even while spreading truth you must be a fisherman of men. Meaning that you must strive to reach people where they are. Sure you may be in a good place now but you wasn’t always here. Perhaps you can share with us how you got here. What made you want to blog? How is blogging effecting your writing style? Life? Are you married? Do you have children? What’s new in your life right now? I mean, besides your new book and the fact that your a totally awesome blogger? Personify your posts so that we get to know a little bit more about the human behind the keyboard.