Advice for New Bloggers: Define Your Goals

Posted on January 15, 2008

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.

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Comments

8 Responses to “Advice for New Bloggers: Define Your Goals”

  1. Viktoria on January 16th, 2008 2:20 am

    I love your blog now and what is has turned into compared to what it was when you started. It has grown tremendously, I think, and it is always an interesting read.

  2. Sarah Caron on January 16th, 2008 8:18 am

    Hey Viktoria!!

    THANK YOU! That has to be the best compliment I’ve gotten in awhile!

  3. Rachel@fairycakeheaven on January 17th, 2008 2:15 pm

    Hey Sarah, this is a fantastic idea, I have a friend looking to get into blogging and this is perfect for her as although she likes the idea she’s unsure how to proceed.

  4. megan on January 20th, 2008 11:02 am

    Thanks for the tips.
    I’ll take all that I can get!
    Now I’m going to go roam around your blog a bit!

  5. Kelly Mahoney on January 20th, 2008 11:30 pm

    Thanks for the tips! This is a great start for any blogger.

  6. Advice for New Bloggers: Be Comment Happy « Sarah’s Cucina Bella on January 22nd, 2008 6:01 am

    [...] Check out last week’s tip for new bloggers: Define Your Goals [...]

  7. Sarah Caron on January 22nd, 2008 10:05 am

    Thanks Rachel! I hope you and your friend keep checking in — I am going to post advice on Tuesday mornings every week.

    Megan and Kelly, thanks for dropping by!

  8. Advice For New Bloggers: Round-Up | Sarah’s Cucina Bella :: Family Food on March 19th, 2008 12:54 am

    [...] Define Your Goals [...]

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