Does your blog have a blog mission statement? If not, you need to get on that! A mission statement is a must have for every blog. Now I know it can seem a bit scary, I mean companies have mission statements for crying out loud. But your little ol’ blog? Why does it even need one? And how do you go about creating one?
What is a blog mission statement?
First things first, let’s define a mission statement. According to Entrpreneur.com, a mission statement is:
“A sentence describing a company’s function, markets and competitive advantages; a short written statement of your business goals and philosophies.”
Although the above definition applies to companies, you can apply it to your blog, right? In a sense, your blog is like a company. It’s own entity with goals, a purpose, an audience, and values.
So a blog mission statement is a statement that summarizes what your blog is all about, how it does it, and who will read it.
Make sense? Okay, but why do you need one?
Why you need a blog mission statement
You might be wondering what is the purpose of a mission statement? After all, it’s just a blurb about your blog. What’s so great about that? Here are 2 reasons why you should create a mission statement.
A blog mission statement keeps you on track.
My number 1 reason for creating a blog mission statement is to keep you on track. Blogging is composed of a bunch of different moving parts. First, there are your actual blog posts. Then there’s your blog’s design, your social media, your products, and services.
Having a solid mission statement for your blog allows you to keep all of those things align. Think of it as a roadmap for all of your blogging decisions.
Need to write a blog post? Does your topic support your mission statement? Yes? Great, get writing! No? Head back to the drawing board and figure out how you can tweak the topic to fit or ditch the idea entirely.
Well ever since I created my blog mission statement, those have stopped. Why? Well because it’s not my mission to provide you with business advice. I’m learning as I go, I’m not a business guru. It doesn’t support my mission, so I’ve eliminated it from my editorial calendar.
If a blog post idea doesn’t support your blog’s mission and your goals, don’t write it! Click To TweetSame goes for your blog’s layout. If your blog’s mission doesn’t involve growing your email list, then why include forms? Direct people instead to something that actually supports your goals so you see results.
And let’s not forget about your blog’s design. If your audience is primarily male, using pinks, purples, and girly fonts aren’t going support your mission. People clicking on your site will automatically assume your blog is for women. So no matter how much you love a certain color or font, make sure it aligns with your target audience.
A blog mission statement sums up your blog for your audience.
The second reason why a blog mission statement is super important is that it provides your readers with a summary of what they can expect to find on your blog. If you place your mission statement somewhere on your blog, whether that’s the homepage or even your about page, you’re giving visitors the ability to quickly figure out what your blog is all about. If your mission statement resonates with them, awesome. They’ll stick around. If not, then they can leave without wasting their time.
But beyond that, publicly displaying your mission statement holds you accountable. Your audience will know what to expect, so if you start posting content that doesn’t match up with your blog’s mission, they’ll be a bit confused. Knowing that they are expecting content on a certain topic holds you accountable to create that type of content.
How to create a blog mission statement
Now that you know what a blog mission statement is and why you should create one, how do you go about creating one?
Think about your answers to the following questions:
- What are your goals?
- Who is your target audience?
- What type of content will you create?
In other words, think of the what, who, and how of your blog.
What are you providing your audience?
Who is your audience?
How will you provide your “what?”
Once you have the answers to the above questions, string them together into a statement.
Here’s a handy formula:
Let’s take my blog’s mission statement for example:
My mission is to simplify web design and blogging for bloggers through easy to understand tutorials.
My what is to simplify web design and blogging.
My: who is bloggers.
My how is through easy to understand tutorials.
Now that’s a pretty basic mission statement. It doesn’t include any values or goals. And that’s okay. It doesn’t need to include everything. The goal here is to have a statement that you can refer back to when creating content or updating your blog.
But remember to actually refer back to it! That’s key! When you’re sitting down to write a new blog post, check and see if it satisfies your mission statement. So if I were to write a post on my love for Gilmore Girls, it’d immediately be a no-go as it doesn’t help bloggers simplify web design and blogging through easy to understand tutorials.
When it comes to creating a blog mission statement, it’s important to keep your goals in mind. It’s incredibly easy to create a mission statement for your blog that doesn’t actually help you reach your goals. In fact, it’s really easy to blog and quickly get off track and lose your purpose. We’ve all been there.
