2015 Goals Review: Why Vanity Numbers Are Not Important This Year

Every year bloggers and business owners like to write down what goals they want to accomplish in the new year. But often this list contains a ton of goals that are measurable but in the grand scheme of things do not equal dollars in the bank.

Vanity numbers are not important in running a successful business or blog

These include growing social media followings. This year I have decided that I will not focus on how many Facebook fans I can obtain but rather how active I can make the community. I have decided to step back from using social media platforms as a way to self promote and a way to connect and engage with readers. I started by implementing a new plan with my social media accounts near the end of 2014. I focused on sharing high-quality content published by others. I stepped back from writing on my site [mostly to give it a fresh redesign] and wanted to engage with my current audience. I found that on Facebook, the network I focused on primarily during December saw a little growth in regards to the number of fans, but the engagement and reach are on a steady incline. I know that if I can grow the engagement then when the time comes to mix with my content again my readers will be thrilled to click through and read it.
I also found that by only focusing on one social network at a time makes it much easier to grow and connect there without feeling burned out. And let’s face it as small business owners burnout can come on too strong at times and being able to move past it can be difficult.

Creating High-Quality Content is Essential

I have created goals for how much content I want to publish on the blog along with methods to implement this that, hopefully, will not land me in the same boat and too exhausted to care. I have decided that I would like to focus on providing quality content on the blog 4-5 times a week. I know this a large number of posts and can seem impossible, but I have come up with methods to help make this happen a lot easier than I did in the past. This plan is mostly due to the Content Brew course that I took last year.

I have created a rolling idea bank that I use when brainstorming. You can read more about why brainstorming is essential here, and download a free worksheet by subscribing to the newsletter (if you are already a subscriber just let me know and I will send you a copy).

A Successful Blog or Business Starts With You

Another goal that I have this year is bettering myself. I want to find time to write every day. I struggled with this in the past and knew that it is a vital in creating high-quality content. I have created a spreadsheet that helps me track my writing times. At the end of every day, I am able to check my RescueTime report and track how much time I spent writing. This method of daily writing doesn’t mean that I will publish everything that I write, but finding time to write out the drafts will help to keep the creative juices flowing and the content coming to you.

I also found that it was difficult to find time to read. I currently have 40 books saved to Amazon reading wish list and am always adding more faster than I can read them. An important part of being successful is mimicking the success of others. Reading books written by industry leaders is very inspiring to me, and I often learn so much.

So there you have it four goals that will equal great success in 2015. Engage my audience, provide tons of high-quality content, find time to write daily, and find time to read daily. I have set concrete goals with these four and am tracking them with Evernote to help break them down and track the little successes to keep me motivated and focused on the big picture. While I have specific revenue amount I would like to reach in 2015, I don’t feel as if focusing on vanity numbers will help to achieve it.

Would you say that vanity numbers are not important? I would love to chat about more in the comments.