Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Tuesday Tens: Ten Goals for this Blog in 2009

I'm pretty proud of my blog, but there's a lot I would like to improve. So I've joined the Blog Improvement Project.

The week one assignment is to blog about our goals for our blog. I'm hoping my blog will be the path to someday making the fiber arts a career. Perhaps that's the biggest goal of all.

(FYI - I recommend reading this interview with Jonathan Fields from Zen Habits about making your own career path. Fields actually mentions knitting as a passion without a clear career path.)

Here are ten goals that I for this blog in 2009.

1. Have someone create a logo. I already have a lead, I just need to move on it. It's time to do some branding.

2. Completely revamp the design of my blog. I've been meaning to do this for a while. I picked one early on that I wasn't completely satisfied with, and stuck with it out of laziness. It's time for a change.

3. Fix my RSS feed and make sure I'm connected on all the social networks. My RSS feed has been doing weird things for a while now.

4. Find more ways to get more readers to participate. This goes along with number two. Blogger doesn't have a very good format for comments. I'd like something more interactive, where we could have discussions in the comments.

5. Create some sort of "Panel of Experts." I need a better way to get information from other knitters for blog entries. I'm thinking maybe some sort of Google Group or mailing list.

6. Create some sort of newsletter or way for people to subscribe to the blog. I've heard it's a good way to grow readership.

7. Increase my ad revenue. There's a lot of avenues for advertising. I need to find the best ones that aren't too intrusive.

8. Work ahead. Maybe I'll have an easier time keeping up regular features.

9. Find a better way to keep track of blog ideas. This hasn't been too much of a problem, but I think keeping some sort of running list will help me come up with more innovative ideas.

10. Have a fabulous contest to promote my blog once all my work is done. Free stuff is good.

4 comments:

Suna Kendall said...

I am not trying to make my blog really popular, but I did put a link to Feedblitz on mine, and it lets people receive your blog via email, and is no work on your part at all.

Anonymous said...

I'm also on the Blog Improvement Challenge so I came by to check out your goals. Very nice and very ambitious. I'm also a knitter although my blog is not a knitting blog. I'll be back and visit some more and watch your progress. Good luck

BTW - I love your blog name

Anonymous said...

I think the panel of experts idea is really cool! Good luck with your goals, and thanks for joining the BIP!

Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)

Lisa Flores said...

Wow, I love your goals. Very specific. Can't wait to read more of your progress.