While checking out sites when I was judging the 2007 Food Blog Awards, I stumbled on this post at Dine and Dish. I loved the idea of Adopting a Blogger. After more than two years at this, I’ve developed some great insight that I hope will be helpful to others. Anyway, I signed up and forgot about it until Kristen of Dine and Dish left me a comment last week to let me know that I had been paired with Rachel of Fairy Cake Heaven (love that blog name! how fun!). She wrote a really nice post about me and this blog — check it out here.

As part of my commitment to the program, I have to write a post too (which is what I am doing, duh!). So, I thought about what to write in my post. Then it came to me: Why write one post when I could write a series of posts that would tackle subjects that might be helpful to Rachel and other new bloggers? So here it goes:

Define Your Goals

Ask yourself: What are your goals for your blog? Why are you blogging? Who are you blogging for?

These are three really important questions that bloggers — new and old — should ask themselves. They help you to focus on achieving your goals and reaching your audience. If you want to write a good blog, you need to know why you are writing.

When I first started this blog, it was to see if I liked food writing and, more importantly, if I was any good at it. I had learned about food blogging at a conference I attended and a food writer suggested that was a good way to “break in.” After starting my blog, I only shared it with a few friends. Then I found that not only did I like writing about food and experimenting in the kitchen, but I also really liked blogging about it. At that point, I started getting involved in events around the food blogosphere. My traffic also increased beyond the initial group I shared the blog with.

Your purpose might, and probably will, change over time and that’s okay. It’s just good to know why you are doing it right now.

A great example of a blogger whose purpose has changed is Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. She started her blog as a way to share recipes with family and friends. But her great South Beach Diet cooking drew a much bigger audience and she eventually redefined her audience. These days, Kalyn’s posts reach thousands of people each week and she provides a comprehensive and easy to use resources for people on all phases of the South Beach Diet.