content goals
Rachel Moffett

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Let’s Talk New Year Content Goals! 2018 Inspiration

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To kick off 2018, it seemed only fitting to discuss goal setting for the year ahead during this week’s #ContentWritingChat.

After all, this is the time of year when many of us are setting goals or resolutions. We’re thinking about what we want to achieve in the year ahead and how we’re going to make it happen.

Well, if you need a little inspiration, our first community chat of 2018 is here to help!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Let’s Talk New Year Content Goals! 2018 Inspiration

Of course, we had to put a #ContentWritingChat spin on our goal setting though! We decided to focus this week’s chat on content goals for the year and everyone had some great ideas and tips to share. It just might serve as much-needed inspiration for your 2018!

Q1: Do you set content goals for yourself at the New Year? Why or why not?

Although we may see the importance of setting goals for the content you create, not everyone is convinced! We asked our chat participants if they set goals and here’s what some of them had to say about it:

Kristen feels the start of a new year is the perfect time to reset. She strives to create new content goals every quarter, which surely helps keep her on track.

Maria said she made content goals for herself this year. She said it allows her to reverse engineer the goal, which helps her to actually achieve what she wants.

Goals are important so you know what you’re working toward and how you’re going to get there.

While goals help guide you, it’s also important to be flexible. You never know if you’ll need to change your path in the middle of the year.

Iain said setting goals should be an ongoing process. You want to make sure you’re check in on your progress over time.

And don’t forget that every day can be your fresh start. You don’t have to wait for January 1st to begin something amazing.

Warwick is being more strategic with content this year as well. Monthly themes can definitely help with that!

For Sarah and the ThinkSEM team, their goals are more focused on the business calendar, as opposed to the start of a new year.

Megan normally sets detailed content goals, but this year she’s scaling back. Sometimes it helps to experiment and see what really works for you.

Q2: What kind of goals do you set? Is there anything you’re hoping to achieve this year?

Now that you’re ready to set some content goals, you might be wondering what you should set out to achieve in 2018. Here’s what a few of our chat participants said they’ll be working on:

The Source Media team is setting goals related to increasing their engagement and following.

No more blah content this year! Kristen is making it her priority to focus on high-quality content, which is something we should all be doing.

Batching your content is another great goal to set because it can help you accomplish more in a short period of time.

Maria isn’t scaling back on content this year. In fact, she’s set a goal to produce more!

Jason wants to recruit micro-influencers to help with his content creation.

Danielle has set a goal to stick to a more consistent posting schedule, which will help boost her company’s blog.

Don’t forget that both short-term and long-term goals are important!

Another important element to achieving success is setting a goal that’s measurable. Give yourself a deadline or a metric to track.

Q3: Share your best strategies for staying on track with your goals throughout the year.

To help you stay on track with those goals once you’ve set them, check out this helpful advice:

To stay on top of your goals, try writing them down and keeping them in a place where they’re visible. This way, you’ll never forget about them because you’ll have a constant reminder.

Sarah also agrees with writing your goals down. However, she also said to know and write down why you want to achieve these goals. That’ll help keep you motivated and focused as you work toward the bigger picture.

Schedule time to work on your goals and stick with it!

Break those bigger goals into smaller, more manageable goals to stay on track.

Craig said he has an annual goal, which he breaks down into quarterly goals. He even sets a calendar appointment to evaluate his progress.

Danielle knows adaptability is important when it comes to your goals!

Jade suggests sharing your goals with a mentor. This gives you someone to hold you accountable.

Julia also sees the benefits of an accountability partner. It’s a great way to stay on track.

Check in on your goals often to make sure you’re actually making progress. If you are, fantastic! If not, you need to make some changes.

Time management is a struggle for many of us, so Jim isn’t alone in this one!

And don’t forget that you need to set realistic goals. If you don’t believe you can achieve your goals, how can you expect to make them happen?

Q4: What do you do if you slip-up on one of your goals?

Let’s face it, we all mess up on our goals from time to time. We slack off, lose our focus and motivation, or whatever else gets in our way. How do you deal with it? Check out this advice:

It’s okay to mess up on a goal. We’ve all been there. You just need to pick yourself up and keep moving forward.

Don’t beat yourself up over any slip-ups or failures.

Take a look at what went wrong so you can avoid it the next time around.

Jenn’s advice is to set reasonable expectations and to be flexible.

As Jim said, the pursuit of perfection is frustrating and silly. What’s important is that you strive to do better next time.

Don’t halt everything because of one mistake. Keep moving forward.

And guess what? You almost always have a second chance! That’s why Jeremy said to fix it or move on.

Determine if your goal is actually attainable in the first place. It’s also smart to make sure you’re giving your goals the proper time and attention.

What can you learn from the slip-up? Find the lesson in your mistakes and avoid doing the same next time around.

Q5: How do you combat a productivity or motivational slump to keep the creative juices flowing?

We’ve all been there… That moment when you’ve hit a wall with your productivity. Your motivation is at an all time low, but you have so much to get done! What ever will you do? Here are some great tips:

Extra coffee never hurts!

Cheval liens to watch inspiring videos on YouTube.

You can also listen to music, and even draw ideas from your competitors or social media.

Sometimes you just need to take a break and step away from the computer.

Jade says hitting the gym can be a huge help for a productivity slump.

Going for a run is Kristen’s go-to!

Craig knows those great ideas can strike any time, whether it’s during yoga or in the shower.

Sarah suggests talking to other writers. It’s a great way to discuss ideas and learn from them.

Try switching up your scenery! If you normally write at home, try going to the coffee shop.

You can also try reading content from other sources to get those creative juices flowing again.

Q6: What will you need to make your goals a reality this year? Any skills to learn or help to obtain?

Sometimes we need to seek help or learn a new skill in order to achieve our goals. And that’s totally okay! You just need to know where to begin. Here’s what some of our chat participants will be working on:

Sarah said she’ll be focused on setting more realistic time goals. We need to give ourselves ample time to complete a task so we aren’t scrambling at the last minute.

Jim said he’ll be working on discipline in the year ahead.

Time management is definitely important when it comes to content creation.

Zachary is focused on better time management, self-discipline, and his long-term vision.

Grit will help you reach your goals!

Jenn said she wants to learn more about social media and email marketing this year.

Carla is focused on learning more about working with brands and increasing traffic to her website.

Self-promotion and public speaking skills are Mariana’s top two.

Cheval knows a positive mindset makes all the difference!

Q7: Are there any hot topics or content formats you’ll try out in 2018?

With the year ahead of us, it’s the perfect time to try something new. Which topics and formats are the hot trends right now? Check out these ideas:

Video is definitely one format to implement in 2018 to receive bigger results.

Sarah knows video is hot as well! If your brand isn’t already using it, it’s a good time to jump on board.

Andrea is going to do more on video, but may even explore podcasting.

Julia is planning to do more live streaming in 2018.

Sharing some personal topics can help people build a stronger connection with your brand. It could be something for you to consider as well.

Q8: Where do you hope to see yourself this time next year in your career or business?

To wrap up the chat, we asked everyone to share where they’d like to be this time next year. Here are a few responses we received:

Sarah is clearly happy with where she’s at because she doesn’t want to see much change before next year!

Andrea’s goal is to build a more recognizable personal brand.

Warwick hopes to have a clearer vision on what he’s doing and why by this time in 2019.

Julia has a lot planned for the year! She’s publishing another book, plans to teach additional more students, and more.

Want to join in the fun this year? #ContentWritingChat takes place every Tuesday at 10 AM Central! Follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat to check it out.

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