A baby takes their first step any day after 12 months of watching his mum and dad running around to care for them, and the desire to be up and running like their parents shows in baby's eye.
It isn't a fast process and you can't expect him/her to be running around the house soon.
Blogging is the same process which also takes a lot of time to be up and running at full speed. Many bloggers start blogs these days with grandiose dreams of making lots of money and getting thousands of readers.
While there's nothing wrong with dreaming big, because it is absolutely possible to build blogs that are widely successful and profitable, but the reality is that it takes a lot of time and hard work to achieve it.
Focus on first step Blogging Goals:
Babies can't dream of running overnight; they take the first steps and learn to walk slowly. So new bloggers can also do well if they spend more time thinking about the first steps and setting proper blogging goals that will bring them closer and closer to the bigger dreams they have.
I had a chat with a brand new blogger sometime back who had some very big dreams and blogging goals, I reflected back to him that instead of the big dreams he could benefit more by setting some realistic, short term goals.
By short term I mean something where he could see results over a period of “3 weeks” or “2 months”.
Here are some examples of short term blogging goals that I would suggest every upcoming blogger set during their first steps:
- Publish 20 quality blog posts
- Work on the design of your blog to make it stand out and easy to navigate
- Leave a 20 awesome comments on other high visibility blogs in your niche for engagement
- Get your first comment from someone you don't know
- Get your blog indexed by Google using Google Webmaster Tools
- Build a readership with more than 20 readers per week
- Hit a level of 200 unique visitors a day
- Do your first guest post on another blog
- Hit the level of 100 RSS or email list subscribers
- Get your blog earning $100 a month
For new bloggers these blogging goals can be really helpful to take their blog to new level quickly. These short term achievements will boost your confidence and give you the encouragement you need to keep growing.
Now you might think those are great goals and all, but how exactly one would accomplish them? How does one get people to visit a blog that is completely isolated on the web? How exactly is it the few random visitors I get would like my blog and my content? Plus I know that the readers of the blog should be the main source of promoting it, but how do I get the first readers?
Well, spend some time reading the information here on Basic Blog Tips, this is where you can find answers to all of those questions and more.
When babies achieve the first step, they work towards the next steps to be able to walk or run, maybe with the help of parents, but the babies also work hard and sometimes they even fall down too. I'm sure that you can relate to this experience on your blogging journey thus far.
So, now if you've hit the target of your first step goals, start to increase them and double the numbers for your next step.
For newborns to blogging setting realistic blogging goals can be the key to keep your sanity. It's really great to have lofty ambitions and to keep them in mind daily. It might be a small accomplishment that will keep you going everyday, and then it starts to get easier to keep the momentum moving forward for your blog.
Final words:
In today's world we are thinking about instant gratification as a way of getting things done. We sometimes forget that it's a journey to get anywhere in life and too often we think that the end result is what which matters the most. In fact It's a process of getting there which matters the most and which is meaningful.
Being able to build a blog as well as following requires you to be honest with yourself like a baby and learn the idea of taking it one step at a time.
Now I turn it over to you:
Do you agree with me on this? What do you think of those short term and first steps for new bloggers?
I remember the last time around 1-2 weeks ago someone have pinged me on FB asking what he can do on his blog to at least generate $100 a month. My first suggestion to him was stop thinking of money and focus on your writing.
But, he pinged me again asking what should he do to increase his blog’s traffic. And my answer was in same point that you have written here from 1 to 10. Mine was not exactly 10 but was quite similar to it.
Comparing blogging from new born child is something new I’m reading on web. I’m impressed that you have ability to write content on your daily learning’s. Keep them coming!
It’s sometime really hard to make a newbie understand that focusing on money at first is really a mistake and you should focus on the growth of your blog, the writing and other things instead of money.
Glad you liked the post Ifran. I’ll impress you even more, just wait and watch 😉
I originally started my blog as a way of helping others make money online, not hoping to make money off my own blog. I have other avenues of making money online so my blog wasn’t one of them. I agree though, with ANY online business you need to realize it is going to take time, time and money…you are going to spend money in order to make money online, sorry but those are the cold hard facts…whether it’s blogging or IM…you are going to have to have a host, you need an internet connection etc. I love your tips though and am thinking maybe I SHOULD be looking into my blog making me some money…I won’t expect a waterfall…but every bit helps!
Yes, I’ve said it a lot of time that not to hesitate to invest on your blog because It needs investment too. Nice to know that you’re helping people make money online on your blog Ron.
Thanks for sharing your views.
The above article is really very good. Most of new bloggers think first about the Money, but they dont know that first we need great content high qualy content. These thing may take some time for promotion. Keep post good articles and wait for your turn when your blog will make huge money as Cash Machine.
I like the tips and goals Ehsan!
Dream big but make short and long term goals. Make your short term goals reachable, within a short time frame. This will help you remain patient when things get tough as a newbie blogger.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Ryan, I absolutely agree with you. Dreaming big is good, but making short term first step goals to achieve that goal is essential.
Thanks for stopping by.
@Ehsan
Nice guest post dude …
Not thinking of earning money from my blog right now .Got a decent job. Blogging is my hobby .
Currently working on my posting schedule and promotion of my blog.My first goal is getting decent traffic .
Blogging as a hobby is good Kushal, but be sure to set goals and work towards it to achieve 😉
I don’t really think of my blog as the starting point for income. I started building my email list before I started my blog so my income mainly comes from my email marketing sales funnel with my blog on the back end.
I use my blog as a content sharing platform which in turn generates new visitors and new subscribers. Even then (like you said), it’s important to set actionable goals to reach your bigger ones.
Thanks for the great post!
-Gabe Johansson
Nice to know that you’ve an effective email list that converts for you Gabe.
Using blog as a sharing platform is good, but treating as a social networking blog would also be a good idea, won’t it?
Thanks for stopping by Gabe, glad you liked it.
Quite interesting list of short term blogging goals brother. It’s very important to set targets and press towards them. One key to success is organization and planning. Whether you are newbie or experienced blogger, there is always the need to set goals and work toward achieving them.
Thanks for sharing this
Thanks Enstine, Glad you found the short term goals useful. The key to blogging success is to set short term goals and work towards it to achieve it.
Thanks for stopping by Enstine 🙂
Very cool goals for new bloggers.
I think with the right goals, new blogger can start as a successful blogger.
Yeah I want to make my first $100 from my blog with 100 unique visitors a day in the next week 🙂
haha, I’m sure you’ll be making more than $100 from your blog in short time.
Thanks.
I think short terms goals are great. They keep you grounds. Lofty goal always seem to be out in the distance. Each of your milestones are measurable and attainable.
Yup, they are useful If you set right goals to achieve.
Thanks for stopping by Mike.
Everybody said set your goal and its great of you that you’ve presented the real goals themselves. It will be much helpful to any blogger to track their progress and proceed.
I just tried to present some of the first step blogging goals and I’m sure there are a lot without the ones I shared here. Hope newbies will find it useful 🙂
Thanks for your comment Suresh.
I think focusing on giving people a reason to come back, with good content and design is a great tip for new bloggers. Can’t go wrong with bad content.
I mean can’t go wrong with good content =D
Hey, don’t make a mistake Tube Blogger 😀 Finding your proper audience and giving them a reason to come back is must.
Thanks for stopping by.
Nice set of goals for one to achieve. Blogging should be fun combined with passion to succeed. Obsession without any action is not good at all. Hence the goals you provide are realistic and achievable.
Thanks Shalu, I agree with obsession without any action won’t be a good idea.
Glad you liked the goals that I shared here.
See ya on my blog 🙂
Blogging takes time.
Success isn’t built overnight.
Mistake many have. It is having guts to fight through anything!
Agreed with you Samuel! Thanks for your comment.
Yes, you are right, we must take small steps towards are blogging goals initially when we start to blog because slow and steady wins the race. If we try to proceed on a faster pace, we might end up either making a mistake or going a bit too far, which is also not good for the blog.
I must say that going to fast is also a mistake that bloggers make. Work towards your goal and try to achieve them smartly.
Thanks for sharing your views Katie.
Hey Ehsan,
You’re certainly right, You can’t start earning $1000 from next day. You should have your long term goal but you need to have short term goals as well that helps you to accomplish your main goal.
Once you start accomplishing your short term goals it gives your confidence to accomplish your main goal, however if you concentrate only on your main goal then it could become very frustrating for you and one can even lose his interest in blogging.
Glad you liked my point Aasma, of course the first step goals is necessary to achieve your final goal.
Thanks for stopping by.
nice goals and it’s require hard work to achieve but nice guide step by step for sucessful blogger thanks
Hey Ehsan,
Great tips to getting started blogging. The only thing I would add is for those getting started with blogging is to turn their blog into a list building machine.
The quicker you build a list the faster you build a repeat reader base which leads to loyal fans and people who buy from you over and over.
I agree with you Joshua, building an email list is essential for your blog and that is what suggested by all pro bloggers because the only subscribers are those who will come back to you.
Great list of realistic blogging goals for someone just starting out. I think a lot of people struggle mainly with maintaining a steady flow of good content on a reguar basis.
You’re right Hadley, but It isn’t necessary to update your blog in daily basis If you can’t bring uniqueness in your post, or is it?
No Ehsan I agree it isn’t. That’s extremely important, to bring uniqueness to each post, otherwise noboy is going to be interested long term. I generally schedule a bunch of posts at once so I don’t have to worry about eash time.
Good for you Hadley, It is easy update a review blog in daily which you’re doing, but in niches like blogging It isn’t easy to schedule a bunch of posts at ones 🙂
Thanks.
Great steps hear i found to get success.If any one want to get success in his life then he should go through some troubles.As well as we should do hard work for achieving success as a blogger. This post helps a lot who are going to start a new blog.
Very interesting approach. We often make the mistake of setting unrealistic goals, so when we didn’t reach them we become unmotivated.
That is really a big mistake Jack, one should love what you do than you won’t become unmotivated ever.
Wonderful post Ehsan! All the short term goals you mentioned are really amazing, especially 1 & 5. If one hits the first goal then one should start to increase/double the numbers of next step. Thanks for sharing this info and tweeted the post:)
Blogging takes a lot of time and effort and that is what I’ve said a lot of times before on my blog, See ya on my blog Carl 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Jack.
Great design is the next big thing in blogging. Fresh design can reduce bounce rate on your blog and visitor will spend more time on your blog. These factors will be counted by Google while counting your ranking in SERP’s.
I absolutely agree with you Rinkesh, A simple and clean design plays a big role in order to take your blog to the next level.
Thanks for including another point.
Great way to look at setting up blogging goals. My blog is fairly new and I have “big” goals with it. lol I’m going to do as you said and create short term blogging goals like having X number of visitors and doing x number of posts.
Agreed with you Heidi, Having big blogging goals isn’t bad, but setting short goals to achieve your main goal is great.
Another great article ehsaan, the most basic thing any bnewbee should is to know the niche of the blog he writing about.., i am somehere between in the list you have provided.., thinking to write the guest post for other blogs..,
by the way awesome article ehsaan, keep it up….
one more thing, the customisation of your blog “guideandnews.com” is fantastic..:)
Thanks Rohit for sharing your views 🙂
I’m so happy you liked the design of my blog.
Thanks man.
by the way, could you tell me what theme you are presently using in guide and news..???
Rohit, I’ve mentioned in below every post on my blog that I use a theme from Theme Junkie, but spent months in customization.
An initial blogging goal should be writing good and exceptional quality of content. Blogging is all about writing a great post and targeting readers in a way that they are interested in visiting your blog and read the content. According to me, this should be the primary goal of any blogger.
Yes Steve, Making readers love your blog is the most important step for bloggers. O suggest you read my last guest post here at Basic Blog Tips where I mentioned some strategies to make your readers love your blog.
This should be the primary goal, but ya know bloggers are just focusing on making money these days.
Hi Ehsan…Excellent guide and really there is no shortcuts,
But just before the first baby step towards blogging the best strategy is that, you must start rolling on your knee, I mean you must have to read blogs and especially the comment section wheres lots of ideas and tips for the newbies. Unfortunately I love the comment section even it’s a single word.
Thanks for sharing.
That’s great point Ranjan, reading other blogs has lots of benefits. Connecting with them, learning new skills everyday and interacting is what which is only possible If you read other blogs in your niche.
Thanks for your comment.
Hi Ehsan,
those 10 points or steps are really very realistic. I have already done them and i wish i have read your post before even starting, but anyway thanks for the post.
I would also appreciate if you write a post like this but about taking the blog to the next step 🙂
Nice to know you have already done them Ali, I think you have done even greater on your blog from what I can see. Keep going man!
To make a blog successful quality contents and link building is not everything, dedication and patience is also highly required. Your post is to the point and I like the list Ehsan! Believe it will be helpful for new bloggers.
Hey Taswir, nice to see ya here. I’ve seen lots of bloggers started with the intention of making money and lost their patience after sometime, so being patient is must and as you said content and link building isn’t everything.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for useful article, i am trying now to create second blog i have some problems, The first one is going smoothly, but the second…i do not know maybe i should change a style of writing? I must think about indexed it by Google or another search engine, anyway thanks for tips!
Nice to know you’re going to start your second blog Dorota, just set small few goals and work towards it to achieve. I’m sure you’ll be doing great with your second blog.
Great blog post!~ This is a sure helper for those beginning to take blogging more seriously for what ever reason. I remembered the first time, I struggled a lot in thinking on how to format may blog, the design, what apps will be used. We are a community here, called netizens. And I salute someone like you who is helping the community grow.
Thanks for the nice words Marc, I’m glad you found this post to be a useful one for newbies and for your community, I’m honored really!
Nice goals. I think it is important to realize that your blog is probably not going to be an instant success overnight. Like all good things it is going to take time and a lot of hard work to really make it in the blogging world. Thanks for the share.
Thanks for your comment Ashley, It isn’t going to be an instant success overnight and you have to keep working hard towards your goals..
Nice article Friend. You are right. A sucessful blog does not happen overnight. It is obvious that you are in this for the long haul, and you are sure to help a lot of new bloggers along the
Glad you liked it friend :).
Nice goals for newbies, but success comes with hard work, it takes time and effort both.
But above goals are achievable with a proper schedule, which is must for a blogger 🙂
BTW thanks for the post!
That`s very simple post to make all beginners start walking (blogging), and to improve walking who already started. 🙂
~@khajamoin1
Hey Ehsan, these are some great tips for beginners. I wanted to stres the importance of article creation BUT more importantly is article/ blog post promotion. This is a step some bloggers forget and putting your posts out to the various social media sites can help drive more traffic/ visibility. Keep up the great work i enjoy reading your blog. cheers
Hey Eshan Great starting. and good example. I have also started my new blog last night. Working on content then will move on to design then comments oh I am doing it side by side. Nice post. Keep it up
Just follow the right strategies and keep working hard towards your goals Danial, you’ll see your blog to the next level very soon.
Success in blogging is requires time and effort. You can’t success instantly. I’m agree with you Ehsan about the first step that need to do as blogging. Success in blogging is like baby growth. We must enjoy the process and have determination to learn new skills of blogging. Beside that baby teach us about never give up spirit. As blogger we need this spirit because problem is inevitable in blogging. We have to face it and learn from it..
thanks Ehsan for great posting
Hey Werry, I’m glad you fount this post useful. You’re right that blogging success requires time and effort. It’s like a baby growth and you’ve to treat it like baby to take to it to the next level.
Thanks for your comment Werry, glad you enjoyed it.
Another Good one Ehsan.
Writing quality content is a goal but there are many mini goals behind it like choosing the right keywords, getting/creating awesome images for them, etc. etc.
Thanks for the share..
I always target a long tail keyword on each of my blog post to get rank for, because only organic traffic is what which converts..
nice post ehsaan, one should not make haste. slow steps will grow your blog slowly. but make sure you are not too slow otherwise it will cost you. this is what i learnt from this post. i generally don’t do guest posts but i will surely try this
Rightly said Ehsan. When I was starting out with my blogging career, I made the mistake of thinking too far ahead, something that I realized was a mistake later on. Now I just make small targets which keep me going in the right direction.
you solve my big problem because i doesn’t get good visitors on these days…I am in very big tension in these days becase i left my job and totally concentrate on blogging.
Great inspiring post, Ehsan. Thank you. I’m gonna set my short term goals now itself. 🙂
Once again thanks.
I really enjoyed reading your posts. They are all well written and informative.
Congratulation on you achievement. Thanks for providing an effective Blog that offers complete synchronization between creativity and information.Your Blogs meets all the requirements of the readers and is user friendly and provide the best and best information to the reader.
I have hit a few of those and as I’ve gotten more experienced, I’ve had more than one person that I didn’t know comment on my blog. It’s a journey and like many, I have goals of how much I’d like to make in a day. I gave myself 2 years to hit it and I’m about 4 months in. As far as I’m concerned every little achievement deserves to be celebrated.
Thanks for the starting blogger list; it does help me to see how far I’ve come and how much I have to go!
Cheers
Without goals, no one can survive. Even in blogging you need to constantly remind yourself that you need to achieve something .
Hi Ehsan,
It’s a nice post. The goal your mentioned are perfect for me. I have just started my blog. I will apply all these goals on it.
Thank you ,
Zeshan
Nice points Ehsan. Its always good to go step wise. Few newbies have no patience and they do blunder mistakes in the very first month of blogging which leads to failure. Your post is very nice for newbie bloggers who are planning to start their blog.
Nice to see ya Atish, I’ve seen a lot of newbies making the same mistakes you mentioned in your comment and my post is especially for those newbies!
Thanks for stopping by.
Great blog, I know success in blogging is not so easy but this blog help to solve more problem in my blogging career. I will start my blogging with all goals on it.
Many of today’s million dollar bloggers started from nothing, and didn’t have anything starting out. They had a long term vision. They stuck with the plan despite adversity and created a future for themselves. And sadly, those who doubted the struggling blogger in the beginning will come running back when they see the blogger making million online independently.
That’s great point Drewry, all the big bloggers and millionaires out there starting from the scratch and grew their business with planning and by following the first step goals.
Thanks for the nice comment.
Yes, I too agree blogging needs systematic process to be successful. In order to get more traffics you have to use the right tool and power network. Be updated with your blogs and be in touch with your visitors.
I like what you said about systematic traffic Owen, Thanks for your comment.
You just gave me a great idea for my plan. I’m a huge fan of plans. I’ve mapped out all the ideas for my prepper/survival site but not for what I need to do to get it to grow. I think I’ll spend some time each week on writing down some of the things you mentioned above and set short term non-post related goals. Thanks!
I’m a fan of plans too Graywolf and that is how I live my life outside blogging. Planning of something before starting is good thing.
Great tips! But have one question. On how many blogs did you comment per day nowadays???
Hey Shahzad, good to see ya here. Well these days I don’t do much comments these days, I rarely leave 4-5 comments on selected blogs.
What about you?
Hello Ehsan
Ya working in a strategic way is always better for any type of work.Creating short term goals in blogging is very effective.You share nice points about a successful blogging.Thanks for sharing them.
Ohh seems you’re everywhere Mahendra, good to found you in both of my guest postss here.
The reason I say short term goals work is that It doesn’t takes much of your time, and can be easy to achieve, so you can plan ahead.
Hey ehsan,
Nice post and Yes for a newbie, writing quality content, commenting on other blog having same niche and guest posting are some goal which they have to achieve. All the points you mentioned above are good. Thanks for sharing this useful post.