Notice that I didn’t say “You post too much.” That’s really none of my business. No, I’m talking about the craft of blogging. You know: writing posts, editing posts, adding photos, tweaking your site’s layout, moderating comments, checking stats, composing emails, reading other blogs, commenting on other blogs, checking stats, updating your FaceBook status, researching recipes, perusing the Daring Kitchen forum for tips on this month’s challenges, checking stats, stumbling a post, submitting photos, tweeting, tweeting and more tweeting. And breathe.
It’s a lot.
And that’s not to mention the time you spend in the kitchen developing recipes, testing ideas, photographing the process, staging your finished product, putting gas in your car to get to the farmer’s market, buying ingredients, prepping ingredients, ordering and picking up pizza for dinner after realizing that the grilled beet and gruyere sammies that sounded so good earlier in the day and look so lovely on your monitor, just aren’t going to cut it with the rest of your family.
Like I said, it’s a lot.
So what are we to do? I say we because I, too, blog too much. In fact, when I first launched TasteStopping I was downright obsessed. So much so that my new blog and the habits I developed around it became a point of contention in my marriage. And while moving the site to a new theme in November of 2009 alleviated some of that, I have also had to take a close look at why I’m doing what I’m doing, and how I might be going it smarter.
In the process I revisited an important concept that I want to share with you; an idea that could conceivably change your approach to blogging for good (and for the good). In subsequent posts, I’ll write about additional tips and suggestions to help us all find balance in our blogging lives. I’m sure you have some tried and true techniques as well that I invite you to share in the comments. What I hope is that this is the beginning of a much larger discussion where we can all support each other in our attempts to better manage our time and blogging efforts.
But first, the big idea I promised you.
What is your mission statement?
You have a mission statement for your blog, whether you realize it or not. The trick, however, is to purposefully create one that meshes with your goals for your site and how it fits into your life. After all, if you don’t put time and careful thought into crafting a mission statement, yours will end up looking like this: “I blog to waste my time and money.” Nobody wants that, but any of us could easily slip into that reality.
When I started TasteStopping, my mission statement was probably: “I run a site that publishes rejected food photos while also sticking it to the Man!” Kind of clunky, definitely not carefully thought out, maybe more emotional than anything.
Now my mission statement is: “TasteStopping supports food bloggers in their quest to increase traffic and visibility, while allowing me to develop strong and mutually beneficial relationshps within the foodie community.” Better. More focused and grounded. But still a work in progress. The question remains, how to get from there to here?
A little guidance in crafting your mission statement
- A mission statement exists now, in the present. If you write it in the future tense, you will always be putting your goals and successes just out of reach.
- Use vivid words that resonate with you and reflect your deepest desires for your blog. Only you can know what they are.
- Revisit your mission statement from time to time, as it should evolve. Mine has and will continue to as I learn more about what I want from my site.
- Write it down; print it out; look at it often.
No comments:
Post a Comment