Create a Vision for your Blog in 2018

By Ciara Doran

Do you have a vision for your blog this year? Sometimes it is hard to visualize, as we often doubt our progress and lack motivation. In order to create a vision for your blog in 2018, I suggest making a vision board. It is a collage of pictures depicting what your goals are.

A vision board is like a mood board created with pictures and quotes that help you visualize your dream blog and lifestyle.

Your vision is what you wish to achieve for the year with your blog. For instance you might want to focus on gaining traffic, more visibility online, more money and so on…

Sure, we all want those things for our blogs and we strive to get them. This process is about visualizing it rather than just thinking about it. By visualizing your success you can trick your brain into thinking you already have it, thus manifesting your dreams and goals quicker. It also gives you more motivation to work towards those dreams.

By creating a vision, you are convincing yourself that you are capable, therefore you are more likely to push yourself the extra mile to make those dreams a reality. The saying ‘keep your eye on the prize’ comes to mind. By visualizing your ‘prize’ daily you are keeping the focus on your goals.

Here are the steps to take in order to get create a vision for your blog in 2018.

1. Put Your Vision on Paper

Write down a list of the things you want for your blog, in an ideal world situation. Remember that aiming high is the name of the game here. No mediocre or half-ass goals. Your BIG goals for your blog, no matter how hard they seem to achieve in a year. Write them down and choose which are the most important for you. Number them in order of importance. Say to yourself that 2018 is the year your blog hits the big time and believe it.

2. Pick a Location

Choose a medium-large frame or piece of card (A3 size minimum) for your vision board and decide where to place it. The location for your vision board needs to be in an area you frequent every day. Somewhere you will see it in the morning and before you go to bed. In fact, the more visible it is, the better. The more you see your vision board daily, the more you are motivated and reminded of your goals.

3. Gather Photos

Source your pictures that visualize your dream blog from magazines, online, photos or illustrations. Perhaps you wish to quit your day job and work solely on your blog. You could find pics of your dream home office space or even your perfect holiday destination where you can go with the proceeds of your high ranking blog. If you’re planning on traveling the world while blogging, find pics of your favorite places to go. You might have a dream car in mind for when you monetize your blog or if you wish to work with famous brands, find advertisements from that brand to add to your board. Inspirational and motivational quotes are good to have as reminders and positive thoughts associated with your goals. You can make these yourself on Canva or find some on Pinterest for instance. Things like “Winners never quit and quitters never win” or ” Busy being my own Boss”.

4. Be Specific

If you wish to boost your followers on social media then go ahead and choose your ideal number. Say if you want 100,000 followers this year, print off the logo of your chosen social media and print the number of followers you wish to gain, to add beside it on your board. If you wish to have an amazing media kit, go ahead and fill in one of the templates on Canva with your ideal numbers on. Print it off in color and add that alongside it on your board.

5. Think Big

If you wish to make a certain amount of money this year, think big and write it down. If you can, write yourself a cheque to the amount and include it on the board. Otherwise just print off the amount and add it to the board in big numbers so that you are visualizing it. You can add pictures of cash too for better effect. Create a nice looking collage with your chosen pictures/illustrations/quotes/photos.

6. Assemble

Use a glue stick to place the items of your vision board on the card and add the frame if you have one. Now place it in the best spot where you can see it as much as possible. It is important to see if before you go to bed and when you wake up. This is the best time for programming your subconscious mind. Similar to hypnosis it will help convince you and manifest your goals.

7. Stay on Track

Buy a planner so that you can keep track of things that are working for your blog. You can organize yourself better by planning ahead and reminding yourself of things that need to be done. Doing certain chores and writing them down as you go, over time, become habits. Also, you are more productive and less likely to forget things when you give yourself reminders and keep notes. Planning helps to keep you motivated. I usually write my list week to week but you can plan month to month too.

8. Be Prepared

Keep a pocket notebook with you at all times. That way, if an idea springs to mind you can jot it down and are less likely to forget it. Also handy for writing down emails of contacts you might meet while out and about. If you spot a brand or company of interest that fits your blog, write it down and you can approach them with your pitch. Every 5/6 pages put a pic or inspirational quote to visualize your blog’s success, as before.

9. Make a Plan

Write down a list of places to promote your blog. Below that, list the Facebook groups to share your blog posts. List the Facebook group social media promotion days for Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and any other relevant ones. After that, a list of Pinterest group boards to pin your pins to. Next, a list of affiliates in categories to keep in mind when writing blog posts. Lastly, create a list of guest post opportunities and possible backlinks to consider and keep adding to these lists as you go along. Try to go through these lists every time you post a blog and at least once a week. It is hard to remember so many of these steps so best to have a list of each for reference.

10. The Perfect Pitch

Write a brilliant and authentic pitch to help you gain the interest of brands. Do not sell yourself short. Your time and efforts are valuable so make sure you present yourself well. Think of it as a potential interview. Keep your blog goals in mind and write down a list of brands or companies to contact. Start sending your pitch and keep visualizing your goal. Try a few different pitches and see which are working the best. Take notes along the way so that you can improve it. Be true to yourself and your blog and don’t lie. Honesty is the best policy. Only work with brands who will fit your blog and interest your readers. Don’t just blog about something you have no interest in for money.

Those are my 10 tips to help you create a vision for your blog in 2018. Why not come back at the end of the year and see how much your blog has evolved. Who knows, you could be living the life of your dreams this time next year! Let us just say, you WILL be living the life of your dreams this time next year.

Check out my online magazine for positivity, motivational and confidence tips in the lifestyle section. I am a firm believer in the Law of Attraction and manifestation. I will be doing the same for my blog this year so stay tuned. Give me a follow or subscribe to blognewsweekly.com.

My mantra’s are:

• Believe you can and you will!
• Make your vision a reality.
• Stop waiting and start creating!