Set Goals To Be A Winner

All of us desire something each day and once we have it, our wish list renews itself. This is true for anyone irrespective of their age, income or cultural orientation, for example; a need to raise your standard of living, to increase your income, or a dream to loose a few pounds in three months.

However, if these people were asked if they have set any specific goals, they would probably say no. This is because they have not committed these to a paper and have not resolved to achieve them. Start with setting specific short term goals which are realistic, measurable, attainable, relevant, and have timelines attached to them. This is called SMART goal setting, S-specific, M-measurable, A-attainable, R-relevant, and T-timely.

Having set these goals, just start on working them and periodically compare your performance with the targets set. This will give you a clear idea on whether you are lagging behind, are in-sync with the standards, or way ahead of your schedule. This periodic analysis will give you control over re-setting your goals or making changes in the strategies to pursue them.

People often feel that they need someone to motivate them to achieve their goals. But the truth is that only you can motivate your own self. Reward yourself for achieving these milestones which will be your stepping stones to the much bigger goals of your life.

And last but not the least. In order to help yourself achieve these goals, all you need is to take the first step. I read somewhere that any activity followed for continuous 21 days eventually becomes a habit and then it takes no special effort to include it in your routine. But you must do it for 21 days religiously and enthusiastically.

In a nutshell,

* Set SMART goals,
* Go-retro, put them on a paper,
* Keep your spirits high, always and all ways,
* Reward yourself on achieving them, and
* Practice them on a regular basis.

Go set your first goal right now!

Blogging: Showcase Your Business

Art of Blogging

We all need attention. This is all the more important in entrepreneurship. Effective marketing is integral to success in business ventures which helps us reach out to the audience and eventually sell business ideas, concepts, methodologies and so on. In the age of the World Wide Web where everything is conducted online, the best way to achieve this is to have your own web space or a blog. This modern day tool is a great way to let the world know who you are. Blogging can prove to be extremely effective in creating your image as an expert on the subject as well as driving traffic to your business website.

Getting Started

• Don't rush: Many people make the mistake of setting up a blog without first understanding or planning what they want to achieve with it. As a result, they end up not just choosing the wrong blogging tool but also posting vaguely on it. Such an approach does not bring in any results and instead frustrates the blogger.

• Set clear-cut goals: Be very clear in your mind about what you wish to communicate, who is the audience, what is the objective, whether you want to use it to drive people to your business website or make money out of it.

• Investigate or research: There are so many great blogs out there. Subscribe to them and make a note of what you like or dislike about them, how does the blogger organize the content (text or pictures), and how do people react to the posts. If you do not like something, how would you yourself accomplish it? It is always a great idea to even start commenting on the posts and in the process building a relationship with the blogger and other contributors.

• Choose the right blogging tool: Once the objectives have been set and you are confident enough, choose the right tool for your blog. There are thousands out there but only a few will suit your requirements. Platforms such as Blogger, Wordpress, TypePad are all great and popular tools and each has distinct features and advantages over each other. Again, be careful with your choice and select the one that is most consistent with your blogging objectives.

• Posting on your blog: When the blog has been set up, it is now time to start punching in content in the form of text, pictures, and videos. You are the best judge here but it is usually a good idea to post a mix of everything in the right balance. Keep your audience in mind while creating the content and remain focused about their needs.

Principles of Effective Blogging

• Maintain a calendar of thoughts: Business owners need to take care of a lot of things other than marketing. So it is important that you archive your blogging ideas as and when they come to your mind. Creating and maintaining an Editorial Calendar is the best way to achieve this. Keep track of what you have already posted and intend to post in future as well as the schedule and frequency of posting.

• Frequency of Blogging: There are no hard and fast rules on this. However, it is always best to choose a pre-defined day and time and then stick to that. After a point of time, you will notice that the visitors schedule their visits to your blog based on your posting plan.

• Should I monetize my Blog? Again, you are the best authority to decide on this. If you already have a business website that brings you revenue, it is best to use your blog as a medium to promote it. Else, there is no harm in monetizing your blog. After all, people are willing and happy to pay for great advice and writing pieces. The proven ways of monetizing the blog are using subscription plans (let them have a short trial-run first) and using keywords or anchor text to increase your page rankings so that more and more visitors get attracted to your blog.

• Quality of Content: Last but certainly not the least, ensure that the content you post is high in quality and valuable to your audience. Maintain the originality of the ideas, get the posts proof-read from your friends, colleagues, or family members prior to posting, and avoid references to caste, gender, or communities.