Train The Trainer: 2008 Goals

The year is coming to an end and everyone is franticly finishing up projects, putting final touches on the house, shopping for last minute gifts, confirming travel and pick-up arrangements, etc.

I decided to take today to relax, and do some reading. As luck would have it, I ran across a timely Writing Project hosted by Daniel over at Daily Blog Tips. The project encourages bloggers to write about their goals for 2008.

With this blog being less than a month old, with tons of potential, I decided to grab a cup of coffee, along with a buttercream pastry, and start writing. So, here are my top 5 goals for 2008:

1 - Post weekly articles.
Before launching this blog, I created several articles. I could have easily posted every day for a couple of weeks, but decided against it. Why? I didn’t want to begin posting articles at a rate I knew I would be unable to maintain for the long haul. I figured it would only give a false impression to my readers and frustrate me.

Since launching this site, I’ve been spontaneously posting 1-2 articles per week. In 2008, I plan to post 1 article on Thursday of each week. This way my readers can expect new content once a week on the same day, and I can maintain my normal life. As the year progresses, I plan to expand that number to twice per week, by filling Tuesdays with a guest post.

2 - Build a list of quality guest writers.
My time only permits me to write one article per week, so I would like to build relationships with other bloggers and have them guest post on my site. By mid-year my goal is to have 8 writers, rotating each Tuesday. That way, each writer will be contributing to the site once every 2 months. As a result, new content will then be posted twice per week (Tuesday - by a guest writer; Thursday - by me).

If you are interested in being a guest writer, contact me with a link to your site, and a line or two about your interests and/or areas of expertise. Each article you contribute will contain proper credit to you and your site.

3 - Increase traffic.
As many might say, “What is the purpose of having a site if no one knows it’s there or cares to visit?”

To increase my readership, I plan to actively promote this blog by: (1) adding it to my business cards (2) partnering and building relationships with other bloggers (3) submitting articles to directories in my niche or field (4) participating in blog projects, like this one, and (5) writing good, quality content that trainers, consultants, and/or freelancers can learn from, and appreciate.

4 - Increase Subscribers.
Everyone knows that loyal readers are key to having a successful blog. They provide a sense of community. They offer their opinions and help out other readers when you are unable to respond. They are good at turning a boring, mundane article, into one with edge and flare. So, by the end of 2008, my goal is to have at least 600 subscribers.

If you are new here, you may want to read more about the site and what it has to offer. If you feel the information will benefit you, you can subsribe via email or RSS.

5 - Maintain Momentum
There are tons of blogs popping up everyday. People think of an idea, purchase a domain and storage (or start off with a free service), write a few articles, tag on a couple ads, and they think the rest is a walk in the park. For the first couple of months, they are riding on the high of starting their own site, publishing articles they assume others will read, and potentially making money from the comfort of their home. Way too easy!!!

Then before they know it, the thought of failure begins to creep in - they notice the daily visits to their site continues to linger below the 100 mark, their ads are not profitable, they only have a couple subscriptions from a few loyal friends, and their number 1 reader is their number 1 writer. As as a result, their creative juices begin to subside, and another blog is left hanging out to die.

My final goal is to not have that happen to “Train The Trainer.” I hope to maintain momentum throughout year, continue writing good stuff, and build solid relationships with my fellow bloggers. Hope you do the same!

Well, that’s it - my top 5 goals for 2008. I tend to work better with a shorter list. As the year progresses, I’m sure I will evaluate the success of those goals and add to them. If you would like to stay updated on what’s going on around here, grab our RSS Feed or subscribe to our email notifications.

~ Have a safe and memorable holiday and plenty of success in 2008!

Posted on December 20, 2007
Filed Under Site News

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Comments

11 Responses to “Train The Trainer: 2008 Goals”

Van on December 28th, 2007 12:36 am

Dee - good list of goals for the year. I wanted to encourage you in your of a goal of a post or two a week, and leaving it at that. Quality over quantity is in my mind lately as I am about to prune my RSS subscriptions.

If the quality is there people will look forward to the your point of view.

Best wishes on your goals for 2008!

Van
Dee on December 28th, 2007 6:34 pm

Thanks Van!

I truly believe that people value quality content. As the saying goes, “You only have a few seconds to make an impression.” I would hate for that impression to be a bad one due to a quick, insignificant article I posted for the sake of meeting an unrealistic numeric goal.

Again thanks for the encouraging words, and I wish you much success in 2008. Next time you visit, leave your site address (if available), I would love to check it out!

~Dee