My youngest boy will take his first steps any day now. He’s been watching his older brother (and his mum and dad) run around the house for 12 months now and you can just see in his eyes the desire to be up and doing it too. This week he’s started pushing around the block trolley (right) and is practicing his standing up without the aide of anything to pull him up.
It’s not been a fast process and by no means do I expect to see him running around the house soon but he’s almost ready for his first steps.
Many bloggers start blogs these days with the dream of millions of readers and making large amounts of money.
While it is possible to build blogs that are widely read and profitable and there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big – the reality is that it takes time and a lot of work to build these kinds of blogs.
New bloggers would do well to spend more time thinking about their ‘first steps’ than just the big picture dreams and goals that they have..
Yesterday while chatting with a brand new bloggers who had some very lofty goals for this blogging I reflected back to him that I felt that in addition to the big dreams he had that I wondered if he might also benefit from having some realistic goals for the short term.
Here’s a list of 9 first step type goals that I suggested to him that might be a good place to start:
- Publish 10 Posts
- Getting your first comment from someone you don’t know
- Get your first link from another blog
- Build your readership up to more than 20 readers a day
- Hit a level of 20 RSS subscribers
- Getting your blog indexed in Google
- Get your blog earning $1 a week (update: only if making money from your blog is one of your goals – it’s not for everyone
- First guest post on another blog
- Having someone (not you or your mum) tweet about your blog
Note: Others goals might include goals more to do with setting up your blog including those related to design, platforms, setting up metrics/stats etc.
To someone who has been blogging for a while these kinds of goals might seem rather small and insignificant – but for a new blogger they’d be where I would start.
For new bloggers these goals might also seem a little insignificant also (in fact the blogger I was talking to told me I was thinking too small and dismissed my idea) – however I’d argue that to get to your big dreams there is a lot of steps in between – many of which might not be glamorous or as fun to think about. However sometimes it’s helpful to visualize the very next steps that you need to take in order to move towards your goals.
Tangent: I once had opportunity to meet a guy who had travelled the world climbing some of the highest mountains. When I said to him that it must be an exciting thing to do he told me that there are moments of exhilaration and excitement but that the reality is that much of what he does when climbing a mountain is pretty boring. It’s one foot in front of another type activity through foothills, carrying a heavy pack and not feeling like you’re making much progress. Of course once you make it to the top or conquer challenges along the path you have moments of excitement but it all starts with setting out from base camp and with the goal of getting to a point where the climb starts in earnest.
Once you’ve achieved these first goals start to increase them. You might want to double the numbers for the next step (although for different bloggers the numbers will no doubt be different) – then double them again and so forth.
What other ‘first step’ goals would you suggest to a new blogger just starting out? If you’re a new blogger what are your first goals?
Taking action and putting the first step is really important. As the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand steps begin with one”.
Good list, especially about the 10 posts. That will get you blog noticed by Google real quick.
I would add…start building a customer opt-in list as soon as you can by offering some sort of free giveaway.
Andrew
So far out of the 8 steps the last three are the ones that I haven’t done so far.
Get your blog earning $1 a week >>This one I haven’t computed it.
First guest post on another blog >>not yet but soon
Having someone (not you or your mum) tweet about your blog >> This one I don’t know. lol!
Really i can still consider myself to the blogging world. around 3months old. Probably just like your child, i still don’t know how to walk. but the message under tangent is so meaningful to me. it indeed is true that it’s hard to reach the top. I’m sure you too struggled when you started but as Miley Cyrus’es song goes “it’s the climb” that makes the journey more meaningful and joyful!
Thanks Darren!
I read you everyday, for my every blogging needs. Know what! I had two goals.
1. To earn lot’s of money
2. To get lot’s of subscribers
And I think I have done my job well. Things have gone really well. People know me now. A web presence is created.
about your question for few more things to do:
Join a blog group like blogosphere or mybloglog and be known!
What adorable kids you have there Darren. As a father of 5 young girls I can relate to just how enjoyable this time must be for you.
Thanks for this post, it kind puts into perspective what the ‘big guns’ of blogging look at as those first baby steps. I’m happy to report that I have achieved all of those listed milestones except for the guest post.
Any offers?
Interesting post I have to say I can’t agree with you more. Many of the biggest mistakes i’ve made as a beginning blogger has been to think about the big things before I got the my house in order. I love the fact you’ve left get adsense account off the list. As a blogger in good standing for a whole two months, I’d have to say I have only really started enjoying my blogging since i’ve started focusing on the little things that will make my post better today. I need to focus on different things than an A-list blogger. One thing I’d add to your list of milestones is get your first hit from search engine traffic. Having started out with very little knowledge of SEO or blogging in general it took me a while until my indexed site got any real click love.
I have hit 7 of these. I actually had post #200 earlier this week.
For some reason, the people I attract aren’t very “clicky” on adsense (or I have implemented adsense poorly) as I struggle to make $5/month. Ah, well … I’ll keep chugging along :)
Personally, I enjoy seeing international visitors.
Kosmo
http://www.observingcasually.com/
Thanks for your insight Darren. I will keep these goals in mind as I work on my new blog! They are perfect to keep the focus…even though I have big dreams for my blog too! BUT I read your book and know that these things take time. Thanks for your help.
On a side note…your kiddos are pretty cute!
well said :) I think I am through these goals now :) should make a plan with higher numbers now though ..
Thanks for this post. Having just started blogging, I was missing objectives to focus my strategy around, and this is a great start for someone like me. I do think that #9 is fairly negligible as far as the other ones go. If you write it, someone is bound to tweet it. It’s a no-brainer.
Great post. I agree. You do have beautiful kids. :)
So far, out of the goals listed, I haven’t achieved:
5. Hit a level of 20 RSS subscribers
7. Get your blog earning $1 a week
8. First guest post on another blog
9. Having someone (not you or your mum) tweet about your blog
I think setting up goals like this is a great idea. Some extra goals I’ll add onto the list:
1. Make the 40 post mark
2. Have the blog running for 3 months
3. Build my readership up to more than 100 readers a day
4. Have at least 1 post popular on Digg
5. Receive over 300 page views on any given post
6. Receive over 15 comments on any given post
Thanks for the good read!
Darren-
I’ve been reading ProBlogger for a few months now, and absolutely love how much great content you’ve built up! I’m extremely glad you wrote this article, as it applies very specifically to my situation.
What do you feel about getting guest bloggers to post on your blog as it is beginning? I have already had a few guest posters contribute and a few more lined up, but I don’t know if this might look “bad” to readers who are seeing a new site where the creator isn’t even responsible for all the content yet.
Thanks for everything you do,
Andy Zweibel
THis is a great posts, I am just starting out with my blog and I think these are some, exciting and obtainable goals that I hope to accomplish within the next few months (weeks for some of them).
Thanks Problogger.net!
Myndmelt
To learn about what everyone is talking about. Blogging has its own language and it can be hard to decipher what a ‘learn to blog’ post is all about when they use so much ‘lingo’.
There are so many new words to learn (post, blogger, dig, meme, RSS, SEO, tweet, link, etc) that most bloggers now take from granted but generally blows the minds of greenies.
(I’m so glad I’m not a greenie any more ;)
Thanks Darren for the list.
1. Well for me, I will make sure that my traffic increases in a weekly, then monthly, for at least 5 ~ 10% of increase of traffic.
2. To make sure that I hit at least page rank 2 within 3 months (Google will review page rank every 3 months).
3. Link to previous posts that are related to the the forum topic, or from comment to the post.
4. Increase lead capture from the blog to 20 on the first month, then increase by 5 ~ 10% every month.
That’s all I can think of besides your 9 points, Darren.
This is great for new bloggers like me. The only thing I haven’t done is try to earn money, which is what I’ll evenly get to when I start out with Google Adsense.
Also, thanks for the suggestions everyone.
@ Joshua Elliot, what do you mean by “lead capture?”
One of the highlights in my blogs relatively young (7 months) life, was when the one and only @problogger tweeted about one of my posts having to do with Twitter changing their @replies (http://thejeffbrown.me/2009/05/12/im-about-to-kick-twitter-in-the-nads-or-i-want-my-collateral/).
I was fortunate enough to have Darren following me on Twitter. I was able to DM him the link to my post, increasing the chances he’d see it. (Note: I’ve done this only one or two times and only when I felt my post might be worthy of the attention. DO NOT do this every time you post something or to the same people. It’s rude AND they’ll probably unfollow you real quick).
I’ve managed to have a few of my posts tweeted by people who have thousands of followers. In every case, I spent several months connecting with them (when appropriate) and attempting to offer value or feedback whenever possible. It’s all about the relationships. If you’re taking and not bothering yourself with giving, you’re gonna fizzle out fairly quickly.
another milestone; re-work your daily schedule to allow for “dedicated” blog writing/developement time (and stick to it for at least one month) !!
I am through with 4 of the 9 steps above mentioned. Hope the rest of them are achieved soon !!!!
Thanks for the tips, Problogger!
I’m just beginning (and I’m just 17) with a new blog myself (mainly about webdesign) and I think this will realy help!
I’ve had some blog-ecperience in the past, but nothing serious. I think my blog will start somewhere this or next week.
Nout
I agree with Joshua with regards an increase in traffic. This is probably more of an incentive than making the first dollar or getting 20 RSS readers.
On top of that, traffic from a search engine should also be on the list. Especially if you want your blog to make money; people who find a site through search engines are more likely to click on AdSense ads than people who follow tweets or subscribe to an RSS feed.
I definitely agree with this as a beginner blogger. (6mos) I too began with stars in my eyes and my fingers itching to type my latest and greatest thoughts about organizing the home, and being the newest celeb on the blogging block. But I realized that it is really the community that matters. I have another goal and that is to learn something new every day that doesn’t relate to my blogging niche…gardening, parenting a premie, adoption, Korean culture, cooking, and cake decorating are the other blogs I learn about. Blogging, and building your blog I feel is about sharing your knowledge, personality and unique experience with others. A great way to gain readership is to stop concentrating on your niche and explore other interests…learn something new, and gain some perspective. Thanks darren, and your kids are so cute!! Good luck with the walking, mine is 18mos and we are still working on this one. :) Abbie
Very Nicely put …
This is also true for anything in life , like Career , relationships or trading stock markets .
Perfect example . However I would like to say to there can be many blogs who has acheived these but still lag behind in one point or the other . Like for my blog i acheived all the milestones long back , but the 7th one came very late . Even now I dont make more than $4-5 a week .
Manish
http://www.jagoinvestor.com
Love this post. I was very pleased to see that I have completed three and a half of these (there’s an oxymoron for you) in just over a month as a blogger.
I’d add my goal of posting at least once a week through the summer, then at least 5 times per week in the Fall.
My 2 sets of twins are underfoot for the summer, but by the time they’re back to school in the Fall I plan to have completed all 9 of your list. Thanks for helping me set those goals!
An important goal would be developing your writing style with your own personality and ideas. A lot of new bloggers want to copy somebody else’s writing style (usually a blogger they admire) but developing your own tone is essential. :)
Darren, thanks for your advice. As always a great post.
I personally have achieved most of it except the guest post on another blog and twitter (new to twitter).
Guest post is a great idea and to date I didn’t know that it was a welcoming concept by other bloggers. I thought it would be very difficult to post on other blogs.
Since this article came out today, I have done some research on your blog and I think guest post is very important for early success. Working on one for problogger already!
Twitter – well I am a late starter but I find it a wonderful tool to increase the readership of my blog. I am still learning about it and I hope one day you will start to follow @startupbooster.
-Guna
Thank you so much for this post Darren. I started my blog about a week ago and it is a little disappointing two see less than 10 visits of which many are my friends.
This post reminds me it’s not something that will happen fast. It’s actually a very long process. But what helps is that I’m writing about my passion, so it doesn’t feel like a chore. I enjoy writing about it.
I’ll be using this post as a guide for my goals.
Thank you again Darren.
– Mario Garza
Hi Darren, great post and beautiful kids!
I have started my blog about two weeks ago and I have accomplished several of the goals you mentioned but I still have to go for the most difficult like having a post retweeted or making 1 dollar per week!
I am saving some of the promotion to a later time. I dont want to go promoting like a crazy and then having a lot of ppl coming to see my blog half empty, so Im dosifying my marketing actions. I think thats a good advice for anyone starting….. dont try to get huge in two days and dont promote your blog as the next big thing if you only have 3 posts.
That’s my two cents :)
I was able to do this on both of my blogs, but it has been a slow battle. It took many months to do these things on both of my blogs, but I was persistent and they have happened.
Just stick with it and write good posts. The rest will mostly come in time.
First month blogging, and I’ve managed to do all those except 2, and 8.
This is a very cute post as it parallels a baby’s first steps.
Here are a few refinements I would make
– Publish 10 Posts of at least 500 words deemed useful to others
– Get your blog earning $1 a week if money is your goal
– First guest post on another blog after the first 10 posts are done
– Add a timeline to each of them, if you fail, ask for help
– Show some consistency in your posting schedule
I have been in web design and development for a very long time but it is only now that I started my blog on web promotion and marketing, maybe a few years too late due to procrastination…ah well, I’m paying for it.
I started my blog a month ago and my stats are incredibly better than what you wrote, (not excellent but better) so I could be proud of my, but I still have some great and bigger goals for the time coming.
one of my goals is: a big blog like you linking to one of my articles, when you do it I’ll be happy.
Thanks
Thanks for the baby step goals. I’ve met quite a few of my own baby steps and regularly set new goals. So much of the blogging stuff I read is for business/marketing/really making money type blogs. It’s nice to see someone reminding us to think about and celebrate those baby steps.
Cute kids, by the way! Isn’t it hard to believe that those first baby steps will build and build until you’ve raised a competent, confident adult? One step at a time.
Really helpful post. It’s a great reminder to all of us that the small things we do each day add up. Having a long range goal is so important, but realizing what the individual tasks are that will get you there is crucial. Having manageable goals along the way is crucial.
This was an important reminder for me. I’m relatively new to blogging (about 3 months) but at it just long enough to begin to get discouraged. Although I know everyone says that it takes time, some days it feels as though not much is happening. Your list was a reminder that I have reached some important goals along the way (I’ve accomplished about half of them). Now I know what I need to focus on in the next few months.
And – your boys are adorable. These are wonderful years – enjoy them!
Excellent advice, as ever, Darren. It’ sometimes difficult for each of us to remember when we were only 12 months old. But if we could easily do it, we’d realise that just like your youngest we learn by observing those around us and copying what they do. Transferring that to blogging, we ought to consider that the truly successful bloggers are the ones we should copy – in terms of their techniques and methods. Just like learning to walk, we would soon realise that it’s all about minor changes in actions, rather than massive leaps. We’d also realise that it’s also about continuous practice, never giving up when we “fall on our bottom” and taking things, literally, one step at a time. Far too many people want “overnight success” without realising that even those Hollywood Stars who have such a thing, usually have spent years on obscure theatres, honing their craft and learning by watching more successful actors. Your blog post is a reminder to us all that patience is one of the most important virtues we need to succeed.
The nine first tips are awesome Darren but I am not able to build my readership can you help me?
Thanx
http://www.tips4blogging.co.cc
Darren, I love this!
I am in business development. One of the hardest things for my clients is to take the first step of writing. They are so far ahead of themselves they forget to take the first step. For me and perhaps my clients as well, I would add Write one blog as ground zero, then use your list from there.
Thanks again, this is a terrific post!
Tia
Great post! It’s so important to keep things in perspective, especially when you’re just starting out. I started my blog on child photography a couple of weeks ago and my main goal is to build a steady readership. Commenting on other’s blog and participating in photography forums takes some time, but I’ve committed myself to doing an hour or so of this each day, to reach my goal. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if I don’t give up.
Your children are absolutely adorable, btw.
It will be helpful for beginner.
Thanks.
Shajib
http://www.ebooksdock.co.cc
Interesting, D.But I don’t agree with getting indexed in Google after getting 20 subscribers.
You see, getting indexed in Google is easy and getting 20 subscribers is harder (well, at least for me). I mean how would you get 20 subscribers naturally before your blog get indexed in Google? That’s almost impossible.
Here is my suggestion:
1. Publish 10 posts
2. Get indexed in Google
3. …
I’ve had my blog up for just over one month and I’ve accomplished everything except writing a guest post for another blog. Great tips and thanks for sharing!
What a very well-written post, and very practical at that. I have dreams of one day reaching many people, but I know and understand that blogging takes a lot of cultivating, patience, and upkeep. There are many aspects of it which must be tended to from the psychological aspect to the marketing aspect to other aspects.
I’ve done farily well in taking my baby steps. I’m still looking for a blog in which I can contribute a post to, and after my hiatus, I am still trying to gain more readers, but it helps so much to be patient! I know my goal will get closer and closer as time goes on and as I work hard.
Thanks for the tips and the reminder that things like this take time, and it’s only natural. :)
Darren,
Great photo and analogy. I hope that you will continue to remember us new bloggers as you make content in the future.
Right before his first birthday, my son was walking around holding onto things as it seems yours is. On his first birthday, I gave him a huge chocolate cupcake. Now we had never given him sweets before this. He ate the whole thing (big surprise there right?). He started walking on his own, almost running. He did that for hours like the Energizer Bunny (little pink mascot for Energizer batteries if they don’t market in Australia). Then, he crashed. He slept quite well that night.
The moral of the story is, if you’re just starting up a blog, eat a huge chocolate cupcake.
Cute kids Darren. I already accomplished those things, now what? just kidding lol.
Great list, I have one question.
I use google analytics to track my visitor numbers and referring links but NO idea how to check how many RSS subscriptions I have – I didn’t know this was possible.
Please could anyone advise?
THANKS
First off, cute kids! Second, thanks for the reality check. It’s so easy to get caught up in the big picture that we miss the small steps sometimes. I’ll work on these!
Thank you Darren,
I love the picture of your children. One learning how to walk and the other helping him. It is an important reminder that I don’t have to take each new step alone.
I came to your blog today once again, for steps in getting started. Voila, you even set the goals for me. I discovered your blog a year ago and starting a blog has been on mind ever since.
Today is the day my blog creation begins. Replying to this post is a big step for me. Also, I will journalize the process of my progress.
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