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Jan
07
Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Set Goals for 2010
2010 at 10pm Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Welcome Bloggiesta participants!
For the last week, my gym has been crowded with newcomers, I’ve seen a rash of cheesetastic new self-improvement books in the media, and I can’t change the channel without seeing at least twelve commercial for diet products. It must be the new year! And you know what means….
It’s time to make some resolutions!
But we all know that no one sticks to their resolutions, so let’s just set some goals. Sure, the difference is really just semantic, but go with it.
The Challenge: Set Goals for 2010
There’s nothing quite like publicly committing to something to motivate you to do it, so take a break from the bloggy action and spend some time thinking about what you want to do with your blog in 2010. If you’re like me, you have some kind of blogging routine. This is your opportunity to evaluate your blogging practices, shake things up, and dedicate yourself to a set of self-appointed goals for the coming year.
Some ideas to get you started:
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your blog and identity opportunities for improvement. How’s your routine working for you? What would you like to be doing differently? Is there something you’ve been wanting to try but haven’t gotten around to? This is your chance.
- Take a look at your blog’s content. How can you make it better? Are you stuck in a rut of weekly memes or stale writing topics? Spend some time brainstorming ways to add original content to your blog and commit to working on it regularly. This might mean writing one original piece each week, or revamping your review format, or cutting down on the fluffy/cluttery content, or adding a new twist that shows your personality and enables you to form a stronger connection with your readers, or, well, pretty much anything else you can think of.
- Explore your blog stats. We’re all obsessed with our stats anyway, so you may as well make your obsession work for you, right? How would you like to see your blog grow in 2010? Set a goal and record what you’re going to do to get there. Participating in social networking and Twitter, commenting on other blogs, reaching out to professionals in a related industry (this would be authors, publishers, and publicists for book bloggers like me), making business cards, or attending a conference are all possibilities. Pick some (or all) of these, come up with some of your own methods, and commit to doing them.
- Seek inspiration. Think about the blogs that you love. What makes them stand out? What keeps you coming back? Identify ways to adapt the principles they work on to your blogging practices.
- Set goals related to the topic of your blog. If you’re a book blogger, set some reading goals. Maybe you want to have a year of reading deliberately or branch out of your comfort zone. What about that series you’ve been wanting to finish or that great author you want to read more of? Is your reading diet lacking in certain genres or topics? Make a list of books, authors, topics, series, etc. you want to cover in 2010. Do you want to read a certain number of books or pages this year or commit to spend a set amount of time reading each day? Track your reading with Fyrefly’s awesome spreadsheet. You get the picture.
For non-book bloggers, just adapt these concepts to your topic. Commit to take a certain number of photos or cook a certain number of new recipes or write a certain number of new stories or essays or whatever it is you do.
- Now, how are you going to make it happen? You’re more likely to achieve goals that are realistically ambitious—goals you can obtain if you stick to the plan—and for which you have a plan. Break your goals into manageable steps, identify a way to reward yourself or celebrate each increment, and give yourself a concrete way to measure success.
Now let’s move along before I completely transform into the Bloggiesta version of Tony Robbins. (I suppose he would have to be Antonio, si?)
The Follow-Through
If you haven’t already signed up, sign the Bloggiesta Mr. Linky to let everyone know you’re participating.
Once your goal-setting wheels are turning, write a blog post about this challenge. Leave a link to it in the comments here and on the starting line post at Maw Books. That’s how Natasha will keep track of who’s at the party. Update your post to record your progress. To make it more fun, tweet about your blog improvement efforts using the bloggiesta hashtag, follow @Bloggiesta on Twitter, and subscribe to the shared Bloggiesta RSS feed.
Everyone who completes the challenge will be eligible to win a publisher prize.
Now put on your sombreros, shake your maracas, and get down with your blogging bad self. Ole!
Related posts:
Great article and challenge! This is something we could all have a look at in our own blogs.
I’ve been thinking about what I’m wanting to do this Bloggiesta. I know I need to update it to the New Year and close out 2009. I did get my reviews caught up, as well as got my LT and Goodreads reviews sync’d with my blog’s. I know I’ll be stealing from everyone once we all get going
Thanks for the great ideas – I will think about my goals and get a post up shortly!
[...] Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog – 2010 Resolutions. You know you got them! [...]
[...] Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog – 2010 Resolutions. You know you got them! [...]
[...] Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog – 2010 Resolutions. You know you got them! [...]
[...] awesome mini-challenge comes courtesy of The Book Lady’s Blog. My blogging goals for 2010. Hmmm. I have many and I probably will not accomplish many of them but [...]
Got mine up!
http://chris-book-a-rama.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-min-challenge-1-set-goals.html
I had a New Year’s post about the challenges I plan to participate in this year. Does that count? If so, that post is here:
http://readingwithmomma.blogspot.com/2010/01/challenges-for-new-year.html
The good news is this is my fifth comment for today.The bad news: Routine? What routine? Stats? Where do I find those? I am reading all these other blogs and quickly realizing how much work I have to do. Oy! I am, however, very much appreciating the kick in the butt and the fabulous inspiration I am getting from reading all of these blogs and websites. Thank you!
Awesome challenge! I actually completed this while I did the sign up for bloggiesta, and figure it would be repetative to repost my blog resolutions!
Here’s the link:
http://readingisthespiceoflife.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-new-years-resolutions-and.html
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog – where I got involved in another Bloggiesta mini-challenge to think about my goals for my blog in 2010 and commented about how I am already completely overwhelmed. [...]
Updated my to-do list with a set of goals at the bottom. Helped me realize where I need to focus my blog!
I wish I had read this before I did my posting. There are some great suggestions. Here was my list of goals for Debbie’s World of Books
It may or may not count, but I actually already made goals for the year. My blog is very simple – I just do book reviews and Sunday Salons – so my goals are entirely reading-based. I listed them here: http://zenleaf.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-and-december-in-review.html.
Fantastic post Rebecca! I haven’t written up my 2010 goals/resolutions post yet and this gives me a lot to think about.
Great post, Rebecca! I’m afraid that my blog resolution is fairly simplistic. Take a look!
http://www.michellesmastermusings.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-update-2-and-mini-challenge.html
Thanks for this inspiration-great suggestions
Here is my link: http://chocolateandcroissants.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html#3853180707808494368
Hey, simple is good. It’s all about setting goals you can reach.
Great post! At the beginning of the year I decided to revamp my review format so that expressed more of my personality and thoughts on the book and less of the synopsis of the book. I think it’s always great to really keep things fresh and what a great time to ‘force’ people to do it. Wonderful work!
I’ve got mine up. Thanks for hosting this!
http://litandlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/blogging-goals-for-2010.html
http://www.bookworminginthe21stcentury.com/2009/12/new-years-resolutions.html
Here are my original over all New Years Resolutions – blog wise I’m really just aiming to keep it up and make it more and more original.
Great mini-challenge! Just what I needed to help organize my year. =) Thanks!
I just realized I already had already posted one.
http://readingwithtequila.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-changes-plans-and-resolutions.html
This has been very helpful
I just posted mine up here:
http://abookfulofthoughts.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-new-years-resolutions.html
A great challenge! Thanks!
Cool, thanks for hosting this mini-challenge!
http://www.readnowsleeplater.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-mini-challenge-2010-blogger.html
I tried to make daily-weekly-monthly goals, and a couple of big ones for the year like Goodreads-pimping (so to speak) and doing something to increase literacy. Good luck to everyone, too (work it!)
I have one main goal for 2010… figure out how to make blogging book reviews more efficient :\ I don’t have a clue how to do that yet though, so suggestions are VERY welcome!
http://gnoegnoe.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/the-2nd-day-of-the-bloggiesta-fiesta/
I have posted my goals for 2010.
Thanks for including this challenge in Bloggiesta 2010
I just posted my goals. But, duh, I meant to read other bloggers’ goals to get inspiration first and got so excited that I forgot. I’ll do that now. Here’s the link to my goals post: http://helensbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-setting-goals.html
Here’s my slacker-ish entry for this mini-challenge: http://dreadfulpenny.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/bloggiesta-resolution-ish-and-book-blogging-in-general/
Here are a few of my new year goals (mixed into a bloggiesta update post):
http://librariansbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-still-beating-my-blog-into.html
I am in and like the resolution idea. I have a tenancy to procrastinate on writing reviews. That is a big one for me this year and even today I am catching up on reviews that have yet to be written.
I do watch my blog growth and I monitor the posts that bring in the comments and I listen to what my readers are saying they like. I hope to continue this throughout this year and grow!
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/bloggiesta-2nd-addition-starting-line/
I posted my blogging resolutions a couple days ago. However, one goal that I’ve yet to add to the list is to get an average of 100 visitors a day. It’ll take some work, but I think I can do it!
Just posted my goals! Really need to set up a routine, as my posting is sort of hit and miss right now. Thanks for helping me clarify my goals!
http://alexia561.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-mini-challenge-set-goals.html
My goals are up!
http://2manygoodbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/joining-bloggiesta.html
Thanks for such a great bloggiesta mini-challenge! Here’s my goal post:
http://devinqwalsh.blogspot.com/2010/01/first-things-first.html
thanks for hosting this! I just posted my goals:
http://booksnyc.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-update-2.html
Here are my goals for this year!
Thanks for the inspiration.
http://ysprincess.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-new-years-resolutions.html
[...] Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog asked us this time around to make a list of 2010 goals. This was already on my Bloggiesta to-do list, so it was a great challenge for me. My goals are as follows: [...]
I’ve got my goals up on the blog. Thanks for the awesome challenge!
http://readwhatyouknow.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/bloggiesta-mini-challenge-post/
- Katie
[...] my third challenge this evening, I went to The Book Lady’s Blog Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Set Goals for 2010. Rebecca has sooo many great ideas there, and my main goals that I’ve set for myself this [...]
http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2010/01/set-goals-for-2010-bloggiesta-challenge.html
Here are mine. Enjoy.
My goals are in my Progress Update #4
Now if I can stick to it all year long… hmm.
Yet another bit of wisdom to improve my blog. Thanks!
My goals =):
http://mandycanread.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta.html
[...] on my main blogging goal for 2010 to more efficient book blogging (with which I participated in The Booklady’s Blog [...]
Finally got around to posting my goals!
http://bookwormcouchpotato.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-challenge-set-goals-for-2010.html
[...] Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Set Goals for 2010 [...]
Here are my goals:
http://smsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-mini-challenge-2010-blogging.html
I posted my goals (as part of a larger Mini-Challenge posting) at my blog!
http://lastexilewords.blogspot.com/2010/01/bloggiesta-mini-challenges-post.html
[...] at Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog I made some blog [...]
[...] Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: Set Goals for 2010 - firmed up and fleshed out my main goals for 2010 [...]
Posted my goals:
http://www.theneverendingshelf.com/2010/01/bloggeista-in-review.html
[...] I prepared my 2010 New Year’s resolutions thanks to Rebecca at the Book Lady’s Blog. [...]
[...] The Booklady’s Blog: thought about my goals for 2010 and decided to cut back on reading challenges for which reviews [...]
I’m constantly thinking about all of these things, but I think my limited HTML knowledge is a definite barrier.
[...] Rebecca from The Book Lady’s Blog – 2010 Resolutions: My laissez-faire manifesto was my first post of the year, and kicked off my Bloggiesta [...]
[...] first mini challenge is by The Book Lady. She asks a lot of questions I didn’t really want to answer, but here are some of [...]
[...] first mini challenge is by The Book Lady. She asks a lot of questions I didn’t really want to answer, but here are some of [...]