When bloggers ask for my advice on what they can do to build/improve their blogs I have a standard response.
- Content is king and always will be. If you do not provide good content you will find it very difficult to build and a retain readers.
- Use a user friendly template and a font that is easy to read.
- Keep it simple.
Let’s go back to the headline of this post and tie it all together. Many people associate Mission Statements with business but there is no reason why they cannot be used here. A Mission Statement provides the purpose/reason for the existence of the business or in this case the blog.
In regard to blogging I think that they are useful because once you establish the reason/purpose you are blogging than it makes it easier to establish goals and objectives for your blog as well as an outline or road map to achieve them.
So we could say that the mission statement for your blog is almost more important than content. Or important in the respect that you need it to help guide your content. Once you know what your purpose is than you can work on providing content that serves that purpose.
What do you think?
Hi Josh,
Good question! A mission statement forms your content, or rather informs it! I think mission statements are important in all areas of life – they are, in essence, why you’re doing what you’re doing. If we’re doing something and we don’t know why it’s really hard to accomplish anything. I believe it shows in blogs as well.
My mission is to build community – a place online where we can gather to talk about life. My first gathering place was our front porch so it feels really appropriate to call LFI’s gathering place a porch today.
What’s your mission statement for this blog Josh?
Hi Lori,
You have done a great job of turning the LFI dream into a reality. It really is a communal gathering place.
My mission statement here is broad. It is to build the platform I require to make writing into more than a hobby, to have fun and share it and to do what it takes to live my dreams and not dream my life.
So how do you let that move you with each post or do different aspects of your mission get addressed with different posts?
Good question. I have to think about it, but I would say it happens through multiple posts and not just one shot.
I like this concept Josh. This is something I’ve been thinking about — not just the mission statement but really the whole package — values, standards (respond to comments in X…), etc. — basically establishing the brand promise in a more formal way.
Even though I am pretty focused content-wise, I really haven’t really taken that next step of crafting a mission statement. For one thing, to do it right, is actually very difficult. It needs to encompass not only the present but also what you see as the likely future.
Good stuff.
Hi Adam
“Brand promise” is a good term. I really like it. If it is used well there is all sorts of opportunity.
I agree with you about it being challenging to do a proper job of crafting a mission statement. It takes some real thought to try and craft something that is appropriate for now and later.
I have a general plan as to where my blog is going but I’ve not thought of putting a mission statement together for it.
I guess it might help keep focus but I think I might find it a little too rigid as well though.
Hi Tim,
That makes sense to me. It is not required, but some people need the structure. I also suspect it might be useful for group blogs.
Hi Josh
Maybe as time goes along we need to evaluate where we are headed. When we set out on the blogging journey, we may find that our purpose has shifted, just as Brian has indicated.
If one can stay generally focused on the main objective of why we are even blogging, sharing or trying to connect with people and if the purpose shifts, maybe it is time to see where our blog fits in. Or if it can’t grow into the new direction maybe it is time to abandon and start a new. Example if you find you want to blog about self-help and you have a fly-fishing blog, you just have to start fresh. That of course is extreme, but if the site can’t possibly evolve and make sense, it is really okay to start over.
I am really trying to get focused and decide if I even want to continue with a few of my blogs or transform them, since I have neglected them for awhile. Parts of it I want to grow but not necessarily in the way it is at the moment. One good thing about it is, that it can remain with only a yearly renewal fee for the name.
Mary
Hi Mary,
I would be shocked if someone told me their blog didn’t evolve at all over time. As you find your voice and rhythm certain changes come along with that. As you mention it might mean that your point and purpose has changed too and the question of what to do and where to go becomes more serious.
One of the things I love about blogging is that it is a dynamic environment that lends itself to change. It is easy to shift gears and go a different direction, at least in the short term.
The harder part is sustaining our effort, but that is a different post.
It sounds to me like you might have some interesting opportunities coming down the pike.
I really do need a mission statement. I tend to wander all over the map. My blog was originally about my foibles in woodworking. I rarely write on the subject anymore. I’ve lost my woodworking readers, but no I have social media readers. It is important to keep those and not get off on a tangent about the history of juggling cats in the Baltic countries.
Hi Brian,
I think it really depends on your goals and what you want. On my other blogs I don’t bother with a mission statement because it doesn’t matter. I don’t need a focus, I just want to write and have fun.
It is different here because of the professional focus and the desire to “show off” my skills abilities.
It really depends on how you want to use your blog.