Written on August 1st, 2005 at 11:08 am by Darren Rowse
Strategic Blogging - Mission
This post belongs to the Strategic Blogging Series.
13 years ago when I started studying my Marketing degree the focus of many of my first year lectures was ‘Mission Statements’. I remember writing mission statement after statement - to the point where I started to dream about them. It was obvious that my lecturers through they were a pretty important starting place for any good business venture.
Whilst perhaps ‘mission statements’ are not quite as much of a buzz phrase as they were in the early 1990s I still see asking questions around mission as a worthwhile task - especially when it comes to blogging.
‘Why do you exist?’
This is the key question that my friend’s strategic process asks in the area of ‘mission’. I don’t think it’s asking us to ponder the meaning of life - it’s not quite that deep - but it does ask a business (blog) owner to try to get back to the basics of what they are on about.
‘Why do you blog?’
Take a few minutes (or better still a few hours or even days) to ponder this question. What is it that you blog for? What are your core motivations? Be honest as you answer this question because it’s important to nail it down as much as you can as everything else comes from this.
Some blogging ‘missions’ might include:
- ‘I blog to make a living’
- ‘I blog for recreational purposes - to help me relax’
- ‘I blog as part of my plan for world domination’
- ‘I blog to keep a record of the life and times of me’
- ‘I blog because I want to help others’
- ‘I blog to because I’m lonely and want to connect with others’
- ‘I blog to pick up cute girls/guys’
- ‘I blog because it’s fun’
- ‘I blog because I want to build profile - I want to be known’
These are just a few examples that come to mind off the top of my head. Some of us will have simple sentences, for others our reasons for blogging might be a little more complex and combine a number of things.
One person’s blogging mission will be differnt from anothers - there is really no right or wrong here - behind each blogger there is some sort of mission whether it’s deep, shallow, silly, smart, selfish or altruistic. The task now is to name yours.
To identify these missions is very helpful because knowing why we blog then helps us to work out how we should blog to best reach our mission.
So what is your mission? Why do you blog?
This is not a question about measurable goals or strategies and your answer probably shouldn’t be too blog specific yet (ie don’t write one for each of your blogs if you have more than one) - rather get at your motivations and big picture hopes for your blogging.
Read more posts in this series at Strategic Blogging Series.
26 Responses to “Strategic Blogging - Mission”
» Strategic Blogging: Blog Tips - ProBlogger
August 1st, 2005 11:04 am
[...] see the whole process. I hope you enjoy. The posts written in this series so far are: Strategic Blogging - Mission
[...]
Dave Lorenzo
August 1st, 2005 11:34 am
My rule of thumb for Mission Statements - Shorter is Better.
In case you were wondering, my personal mission:
I exist to help my clients set the standard of excellence for their industry.
That’s it. Short and sweet. It doesn’t matter if you are a housekeeper or a CEO, I want to help you dominate your industry.
duncan
August 1st, 2005 1:38 pm
ahhhhhh!!!!! Mission statements, I’m having flashbacks!!!!!
Unfortunately I need to rehash the original mission statement, as I am yet to be the supreme overlord of all human kind, so I’ll aim for some more basic guides :-)
audaces fortuna iuvat
vincit qui se vincit
Ajay Sanghani
August 1st, 2005 5:03 pm
My mission is to empower entrepreneurs to leverage the power of Web.
Ajay Sanghani (Blog )
Mindtracks » Why blog?
August 1st, 2005 5:59 pm
[...] ging Darren Rowse of ProBlogger has two interesting posts today. In as series on Strategic [...]
Paloma Cruz
August 1st, 2005 6:24 pm
I don’t have a mission statement for my blogs. I don’t have a business plan for my blogs. Truthfully, they are creative outlets, soapboxes, my venue to vent and give my opinion and add my two cents to other people’s conversations. And if I never earn a dime from them, and if they never add one bit of credibility to my professional life, I’ll probably continue to add to them.
Randy
August 1st, 2005 6:38 pm
sounds like a mission statement to me Pamela!
Great post Darren - I think you’re spot on with this approach. Whilst many bloggers will say they don’t have a mission statement behind their blogs in reality they do have something that drives them. To identify it like you’re suggesting (even if it’s like writing what Pamela just wrote) is helpful because it will clarify in their mind what they are doing which gives focus.
Looking forward to your next posts.
Neil Camp
August 1st, 2005 7:44 pm
This is something I never really thought about before. It is like the age old question, “why are we here?” Sometimes, it is hard to be honest with yourself about your own motivations, and it seems like that is where I am stuck at, why am I blogging? I will have to give this some thought, and maybe even blog about it!
» Strategic Blogging - Values: Blog Tips - ProBlogger
August 2nd, 2005 12:19 am
[...]
This post belongs to the Strategic Blogging Series. Having thought about our mission (or why we blog) it’s time now to turn our attention to t [...]
My Internet Marketing And Promotion Blog » Blog Archive » Building A Better Blog Project Continues…
August 3rd, 2005 12:48 am
[...] g to follow along. I hadn’t mentioned it but another post by Darren yesterday asked “Why Do You Exist?” and “Why Do You Blog? [...]
Martin (HomeOfficeVoice)
August 8th, 2005 12:14 am
Okay, honestly:
Why Do I Exist? (the mission statement … memories come flooding back from marketing lectures at Monash … that’s an Aussie Uni) …
mission statement - to help home business owners start up and run an online business and to do it via a blogging vehicle.
Why Do I Blog?
I have a small background in journalism and I love writing. Blogging is a natural extention for me. And I blog to gain credibility/authority in my field to achieve the above mission statement … and all this leads to one eventual thing: to be the pre-eminent worldwide expert in internet business run from home and make a ton of money (now how’s that for lofty goals and an ego gone loco ;-) … and I blame it all on blogging ;-)
Purva Mewar
December 1st, 2005 12:26 am
I want to blog because it will help my home business grow. It’s the future. My mission is to never have to step out ot home to make a living and empower my friends and people who want to do it but don’t know how to do it…
The banker
December 30th, 2005 1:59 pm
I blog for money and world domination :)
I would realy like to see a series called ‘How to rule the world through your blogs’ here on Problogger
Looking to Take Your Blog to the Next Level? | SponsoredReviews Blog
June 13th, 2007 10:44 pm
[...] Strategic Blogging: Mission [...]
Greg Provance
August 28th, 2007 6:10 am
This works for life, too. What is your mission in this world?
How does that affect what you do, how you do it and the legacy you leave?
Hmmm…
Greg Provance
http://www.ChangeStartsToday.com
Fiar
August 28th, 2007 11:23 am
My mission statement is to make people laugh, and feel good about themselves. This is actually a new focus. I was a bit unfocused before that. I was writing humor, but I didn’t really know what the point was. I took some time to think about it about 2 months ago, and I decided that I didn’t just want to write funny posts, I wanted to have a general aura of good feeling about my blog.
Finally, I came up with my new tagline, “Humor and the politics of empowerment.” That’s my mission statement.
Asaverle
October 17th, 2007 9:02 am
Very nice points. I wonder though how easy is it finally understanding the real reason you blog? I guess it is just a matter of knowing yourself after all. Also, what happens when you have various different “missions” which sometimes one may contradict the other. For example if you like blogging for fun but still would like to make some money from it things get a little bit complicated. There are not many examples in life where fun can/may be combined with money. Of course if and when it happens its excellent.
Muneeb
January 2nd, 2008 5:55 am
I just read this post of yours Darren and it took me to think all of what I’m doing these days. I recently started blogging and this series of yours is a masterpiece for me to learn why to blog? and what really i want to blog about. My mission was simple on how to make money - my experiences to share and above all to have a community where i can discuss things and to learn more ofcourse.
Thanks for the Great job :D
Thinkslice
March 14th, 2008 11:30 am
I wonder how many of us actually want to use our blogs for world domination? I think I might change my shift a little to be in line with that goal. :)
Seriously though, blogging seems to be a great platform to get out there and be an expert… how many bloggers have released books after getting serious traffic?
Dustin Boston
June 6th, 2008 12:45 am
Great series! I found this really helpful even for my personal blog which I do not expect to monetize. Here’s what I’ve got so far…
Dustin Boston
June 6th, 2008 12:47 am
Oops! THIS is what I’ve come up with. I apparently need a comment preview button.
SEO UK
November 6th, 2008 9:49 am
Great post, I believe off the top of my head I blog to educate others in areas where I am most skillful.
wapa
March 3rd, 2009 11:53 pm
Can my mission just be sell something I have lost of or make money to make more money and do what I like!!!!!
wapa
March 3rd, 2009 11:54 pm
Sorry it was meant to say ” sell something that I have lots of - properties for example -
Subhadeep Gayen
April 8th, 2009 4:02 pm
well my version is :
Why do i blog?
1) I wan’t to HELP others by sharing the BEST resources and BEST of my knowledge on webdesign, webdevelopment and general tips and tricks and make my LIVING on it.
2) Who does’nt want to be recognised? Even if i myself don’t gets recognised, i want the blog to be RECOGNISED as a VALUEABLE source of information…
3) Last but not the least, i want to be SUCCESSFUL
Stella
April 11th, 2009 6:23 am
Why does my blog exist?
My blog exists to dispense wedding advice plus lifestyle & wedding eye candy.
Why do I blog?
I blog to gain credibility & authority in my field.
I want to build my profile and be known.
I blog to make a living. This one I have to work on.
Comments will be closed off on this post 90 days after it was published. Apologies to those this impacts but it's a regrettable and temporary measure to combat a growing comment spam problem. See our most recent posts where you can comment here.