The beautiful Elbie, photographed by Jessica Roberts.

Hey, blogger babe: this is part four of a ten-part series, in which I tell you my top tips for kickstarting your blog & pushing it to the next level. I’ve also written about getting organised, demanding your worth, & creating new features!

You can make it really easy on yourself by just clicking on the blogging tag! Enjoy!

When I was growing up, goal-setting was big in our house. My father would always tell me, “A goal that’s not written down is just a wish,” & I’ve taken that to heart!

It doesn’t matter what you do; whether you’re a blogger, a baker, or a candlestick-maker, you need to work out what your goals are!

Danielle LaPorte would say that you should first discover how you want to to feel in your everyday life, & that will, in turn, influence your goals. (I love this way of looking at things. Her book, The Desire Map, is full of beautiful tidbits like this.)

So maybe that’s a good place to start. Begin to think about how you want to feel about your blog. Do you want to feel “successful”? (If so, go deeper. “Successful” doesn’t mean anything. Do you want to feel affluent, free, powerful? Investigate that one thoroughly!) Do you want to feel purposeful or on a mission? Do you want to feel inspired or creative? Take some time to sit down by yourself & really think about this. The emotions that resonate will dictate your goals.

Once you have a list of adjectives, write them on a piece of paper & consider what actions would help generate those feelings in your life.

For example, it’s easy to think that, as a blogger, your goal should be to increase your social media followers. But what does that really achieve? Sure, it’s good if you want to collaborate with brands, but if you don’t, it shouldn’t be your first priority. Maybe your priority should be creating really sticky content, instead. That’s exactly why I say that you should work out how you want to feel first, & then figure out your goals.

Maybe you want to feel free & affluent. That probably means you don’t want too many clients, but the few you have will pay a premium for your service. That’s okay! Feeling free & affluent is entirely different to feeling busy all the time, for example. So think carefully about how you want to feel.

Go slowly when you start to connect the dots between feelings & action. You might end up scribbling everything out & starting all over again a few days down the line, but that’s good news. This is about getting really clear on who you want to be & how you want to feel, so constant refinement is part of the process.

Once you figure out your desired result, or goal, work backwards. Think about the steps you’ll need to take to get there, then start to take them.

Remember: not every step you take towards your goal will feel amazing. In fact, sometimes it will feel gruelling, difficult & sucky. But you have to keep your eye on your prize. If it was easy, everyone would do it… That’s why you’re doing it, & that’s why you’re going to be fantastic!

Big kisses,