I suppose if I were terribly organized and blogged with great intentionality and foresight I would have prepared this post and shared it back around January 1 when we were all in the goal-setting mindset. Perhaps you will indulge me and allow me to talk about goals today, seven weeks in to the new year.
I would love to write many words that that inspire you to evaluate the goals you have set in place for your blog. I would love to offer you some incentive to join me in setting attainable goals for health and wellness. I would be honored to write words that encourage you to establish goals for growing in your faith and leading in the spiritual formation of your family.
But as I sit here, typing on my computer, mulling over what I want to say, those words aren’t coming. I know exactly what I want to say. I want to tell you:
You know it’s true, don’t you? As I dwell on the idea of setting goals I am specifically thinking about setting blogging goals for this space, A Royal Daughter. If I set shallow goals, I will likely put forth shallow efforts. Which ultimately leads to shallow results.
What are shallow goals?
For me shallow goals are often tied to numbers:
number of subscribers
pageviews
unique visitors
facebook likes
twitter/instagram followers
number of pinned images & graphics
number of comments
my klout score
Those numbers entice us, don’t they? They eat away at our own identity and self-worth. Depending on what our numbers look like, we’re tempted to think too little of ourselves (my blog is too small and insignificant) or to think too much of ourselves (I’m the next big break-out blogger!)
We have this mindset that bigger automatically means better. That higher numbers equal higher worth. That being popular results in making a difference.
How wrong we are. We are misguided and disillusioned and so we spend our days and nights expanding our ever-growing network instead of nurturing the already-present community. We spend countless moments tweeting about nothing in particular instead of using our online presence to influence others for good. We waste mind-numbing hours pinning and repinning and pinning some more instead of seeking ways to inspire change and growth. We pour our efforts into time-wasting nothingness instead of challenging ourselves – and each other – to do something, anything that actually means something.
Why?
Because our goals are shallow.
Our goals are wrapped up in numbers instead of people.
Our goals reflect our never-satisfied desire for quantity instead of quality.
Our goals are focused on ourselves instead of focused on others.
Friends, please hear my heart behind these words. Numbers are good. Tracking and analyzing and strategizing are very good business practices to implement. But we must remember this one unchanging truth: our worth as bloggers is not found in how high our numbers go. Our value as women is not found in how many people pin our DIY project. Our contribution as mommies is not how many people bought the stroller we recommend. Our importance as wives is not found in how many pageviews our home tour posts receive. Our success as business owners is not found in how many time’s we’re retweeted.
Let’s redirect our goals, shall we? Let’s redefine our own self-worth. Let’s reevaluate our definition of success. Let’s accept the challenge to encourage, equip, inspire, and nurture the hearts of those readers who happen across our blogs.
Are you ready to be an inspiration? (To find out the purpose of this community, please read this post.)
- Please visit the others who link up and leave kind, encouraging words for them. This is about encouraging, inspiring, and building up one another.
- If you tweet about linking up, please use the hashtag #desiretoinspire so we can find each other.
- Link up your own quality, read-worthy posts.
- Focus on how you can be an inspiration, not what inspires you.
- You do not have to follow ARD, but of course I’d love it if you would.
- Link up your specific posts, not your blog’s homepage.
- Please do not link up giveaways, blog/social media hops, or shops.
- Please link back to A Royal Daughter in your post (using the button below, or a text link back) or add this linky party to your linky party list.
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Blogging and Family Q & A with Framed Frosting
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ARD: Is your family supportive of your blog/business? How do you use your blog/business to bless your family and strengthen the family relationship?
FF: If by family you mean my college roommate, then yes! She’s the one who encourages me the most and has my blog as an app on her phone. {Yeah, she’s the best!} Although she may not comment on my blog, she is always sure to send me a text to let me know she’s behind me 100% and that I’m doing the right thing.
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As a has-been blogger I don’t know what those numbers mean. . . .
But this I do know – Jesus had a circle of 12 friends – and one of them was not a real friend at all., and the others were definitely fair-weather friends. Jesus could attract a crowd (blog followers?) but not many of them took to heart what He said; what He did; or who He was.
So, I think you’re on the right track by wanting to avoid setting shallow goals in order to possibly attract big crowds.
Be meaningful, be sincere, be authentic. . . but don’;t be alarmed if that doesn’t translate into big numbers. And know you are in good company.
Amanda, this is a grrreat post! I don’t know of one blogger who hasn’t at one time or another fallen into the shallow goal trap. I am so thankful to you for reminding me of the true measure of success! God bless you as you abide in our Lord and inspire others so beautifully!
I agree. Totally. Numbers are very shallow. I have been stewing over a post about numbers, and helping others. Not to be helped back. But, encourage a smaller blogger. Read their posts. Who cares if that only have 152 followers. It doesn’t mean they aren’t a good writer. Comment. Think outside yourself.
I so needed to hear that. Thank you for encouraging me in the right direction.
Amanda, I love this post. It’s so easy to fall in the numbers trap. This may be lame, but I’ve got a post it not with my goal/point of my business/blog where I can see it as a reminder. xo
A resounding YES!!! to everything you wrote. Our blogs are about more than just numbers. Even if only 1 person read our words, that 1 soul matters to God. And think of it in real-life faces. If you have 100 readers, can you imagine standing in front of them sharing your words every.single.day? Even 50 readers is nothing to sneeze at – would they even fit in your living room? People are not numbers, and our ultimate goal should not be numbers. It should be PEOPLE, and touching hearts and encouraging souls. Thanks for this timely reminder!
I agree! The numbers are bad, but they shouldn’t be the driving force behind our blogging, tweeting, etc. Thanks for challenging us to think in terms of big picture and set our priorities in a way that honors God and doesn’t glorify ourselves.
Cure for Shallowness: numbers themselves do not have a solid meaning, even if they’re in the hundreds or thousands each day. Having a “huge following” may come in the form of many click-aways who clicked the interesting thumbnail, or a tag at the end of a comment … and never even read our stuff!
People don’t always comment, either. Many shy people read blogs, and many more have difficult issues in their lives that they don’t feel confident sharing in any way. Leaving a comment may feel like being asked to speak in front of a large group. And, you may well do so, because the size of the crowd does not show. Stage fright, anyone?
I have a goal of sharing my experiences and the thoughts that come from them in hope of helping someone else get a leg up in her own life, to improve or save a marriage, and to encourage steps of faith. Most often, I think I accomplish more of that through other people’s comment sections. Go figure. Go, God!
I have already had the ultimate blog blessing. I have had the very unique opportunity to have the person who negatively affected my marriage find my blog (by the grace of God, as I don’t use my full name), and feel inspired enough to work on her own marriage and leave mine alone. One person is all I prayed to help. God got the job done, and all the glory is his. He allowed the experience, he gave me the words, and he helped this person find them.
Just because I had my own target audience doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t found a seed and felt it growing, just by reading a few lines I’ve offered. We may never know the effect of our words, our deeds, a smile, a simple prayer.
THAT is why we do this. Or, more accurately, that is why we SHOULD do this!
Thanks, Amanda, for your open heart.
Wow! New to the blogging world for a few months now, and can definitely feel uninspired to write anything at all sometimes, feeling like I need to make sure it’s “interesting” enough to bring in new readers and increase numbers. Needed this. Thanks!
I enjoyed this thoughtful post and couldn’t agree more. This is my first time visiting, via the Bliss Diaries FB post, and I was excited to link up and poke around. Thanks for hosting!
Yes!! I want to use my blog as a ministry tool to bless and encourage! In addition to the things you listed, I’m also careful about my content. Just because someone offers a guest post or a free product to review, etc., I need to be careful what I’m endorsing and not compromise for the sake of numbers or a freebie.
Hope you have a blessed day!
Mrs. Sarah Coller
Amanda~ great post! You are such an inspiration to me! I am encouraged at your words and your loving firmness
I think we’ve all been caught up numbers and such… but quality is way better than quantity! I love your desire to inspire, Amanda!
Honestly, when I first saw that graphic, I thought you were going to tell me how to be a better blogger as defined by numbers. My mind just goes there, to numbers. Which I don’t have, and I honestly am okay with that. I’m not blogging to get numbers. But it is a temptation to define myself by numbers = “I’m not a real blogger because I only have X followers.” // My link is a follow up to last week’s post about the 2nd time we fell in love. This week I’m linking a post about being real with people. Something I wish my honey and I had done from the beginning – with each other and with those around us. It would have saved a lot of hurt. // Thanks for the opportunity to link up.
I read this post as I was driving in with the Hubby this morning. You know what I was doing the whole time I read this?
Nodding my head up and down.
And inspiring my heart…
I thank you, friend, for giving your community of bloggers a voice and {a lot of the time} courage to write from our hearts – not for the numbers – but for us…for me.
I’ve been searching for a link up.
And this will be the one.
Inspiration. I am so deeply inspired by a vast number of things, that I’ve come to desire my life, and thus my writing, to be just that – inspirational.
I’ve already written a post for my Thursday today, but I will link up any way. And next week – I will write, with this specifically in mind.
I can’t believe I found this, I’m so ready and excited. To write real. To meet women. And you know what. I even saw your older post on why you participated in your What You Wore Wednesdays.
I’m not a stay at home mom, I’m a stay at home sister. And that post put words to what I’ve been feeling lately.
All that to say? …
Ohhhh… now you have me thinking and re-thinking! Great insights- something that we are struggle through and need to re identify in our world of writing.
I am so glad you wrote this and that I really read it. I don’t know what my blogging goals are – only that I want to be successful. What a wonderful reminder to think about what the goals are and to make them real goals – not just number driven.
Amanda, as always your words are so encouraging. Your are such an inspiration and a blessing. I really enjoy reading your posts and love the challenges that you put forward to us. Thank you. Tara (The Proverbs 31 Sanctuary)
Thanks for this awesome link up! Found your little button at the bottom of another blogger’s post (Amanda Lynne Designs) and thought I’d hop over and check it out. Love your intentions for this linky party, and I just so happened to have just written a post that would fit perfectly!! Hoping to link up often!
I agree that we are worth more than our Klout score and Facebook followers, and it IS hard to not get caught up in it, especially when we are around it all the time. I just choose not to let it consume me. I blog for me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about numbers and set goals–its human to want to attain something! But for me, living life–REALLY living it– has more merit than how many people think my blog looks good.
When I saw you put this on Facebook, a light blub went off. I have been so green with envy over the last year with bloggers who hit 1000+ followers. I threw fits in my own home, had long talks with the hubbs and really wrestled with the numbers game. But then my BF reminded me that I started blogging to write. Not for followers, but for readers. I may have a little over 800 followers currently, but I’m more concerned with readers. I love the feedback, I love the comments. The writer in me whats to inspire and spark interest.
I’d love to grow my blog and gain a loyal readership, but I’m no longer interested in setting up giveaways and promotions. I feel like that’s not why I started this blog in the first place. I know it helps, and I’m thankful for those individuals who sponsor my humble little writing adventure, but I just want to write.
I appreciate this post so much. I wish I could give you a great big hug and take you out for coffee! This is what I’ve been telling myself for months. I thought I was the only one who felt this way!
I have no idea what my klout score is. I’ve signed up for Influenster, but they have yet to send me a box. Random companies are sending me info for promoting their products, and that’s all fine and good, but honestly, I just want to write and I just want someone to read it.
Happy Blogging friend, and love this place you have here!
XOXO
Megan
I was writing in my journal today, pondering all the goodness of the Lord and all I could think about was this is all that matters. In the back of my mind I was thinking about my blog and what I write about. He is all that matters. Nothing else does. Like you said, not the stats, the response. Just Him and what He’s got going on.
i needed this today.. thank you. god is using you to work in me! thank you for obeying him!