Before you think that I’m telling you to set content creation goals and stick to them, let me say that this isn’t what I’m writing about. I’m not going to give you any goal setting tips. There are many writers out there discussing this topic and you probably know some of them already. Do you try to follow their advice? Do you like setting goals (even if you fail to accomplish them afterwards)? If you do, then this article may give you some ideas. And if you don’t, it’s never too late to start; perhaps this post will make you want to try it.
So, let’s assume that you have some (or several) goals.They may be personal, professional, artistic… it doesn’t matter much. Nor does it matter if you’re on your way to reach them or not. What I propose is that you think about your goals and see them as sources of inspiration to create new content for your blog or site.
Suggestions on how to take inspiration from your goals
1. Many people find it difficult to pick a niche to write about. Even when they are told to think about topics they’re familiar with and/or they particularly care for, they still have a hard time deciding what to choose. If that’s your case, think about your goals.
>> Have you decided to lose weight? I guess you spend quite some time researching diets, exercises, medical advice and the such. Couldn’t you turn your knowledge and personal experience into content? Yes, you probably could. For instance: if you can draw, why don’t you create a comic strip on a character who wants to lose weight? What if said character was an overweight superhero (as opposed to the typically muscle-bound ones)?
2. If you have ever reached a goal, first of all, congratulations! Now, use it to help your site’s visitors. Break your success story down into several small steps and teach your readers how to get there.
>> This is what thousands of books and blogs are about. The authors achieved some important things in life and then decided to tell their readers how to do the same. This content creation model can be replicated ad infinitum because it relies on an individual’s authority. If she has first-hand experience in an area, she deserves the audience’s respect.
3. This one works better for people who produce fresh content on a continuous basis. Pick an ongoing goal of yours — one that you know your audience would be interested in — and create several pieces of content to help your visitors follow your progress.
>> Say you’re a teacher who blogs about education and you decided to try a different pedagogic method in your classes. In case you still haven’t, tell your readers about your plans and what you want to achieve, i. e., which improvements you expect from your students and how you’re going to evaluate them (only by their grades? Or by other means?). This can be the beginning of an article series. You may publish new posts whenever you have some news about your experiments or you may set an update schedule (Bi-monthly updates? Revisions every six weeks? Quarterly summaries?). Alternatively, you can create a separated page on your blog and keep all things related to your goal there.
4. What if you fail to reach a goal? Well, you can always turn your failure into something more productive. Don’t be afraid to share your less positive experiences with your visitors. They will relate to your feelings; what no one can relate to is a perfect being.
>> Have you ever created a video that you expected to become a YouTube hit, only to find out later that no one cared for it? Now it may be time to poke some fun at yourself: make a humorous video that teaches how to be ignored by viewers. Show how pretentious you were — don’t be ashamed — , describe that big plan that looked too good to go wrong and display the poor view count that made you get back to your senses. You may either end it all with a (mock?) moral lesson or just announce that you haven’t dropped your YouTube domination plans.
The publication of this post will help me achieve part of a goal that I discussed in my previous post: recycling my own promises to create new content. 
If you want to see me reach the full goal, subscribe to Abaminds and read the next articles.
Posted on July 31st, 2008 by Karen Zara
Filed under: Ideas and Inspiration | No Comments »
