Setting Goals for Food Blogging with Michelle Palin

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A failure to plan is a plan to fail and the really successful people in this world have that figured out. As a blogger, you’re the boss so creating a plan is paramount for your success! Michelle Palin is today’s guest on the Chopped Podcast and she’s talking about planning and then setting goals for food blogging, and then finding ways to achieve those goals!

A photo of Michelle Palin, the next guest on the Chopped Podcast.

About Michelle

Michelle Palin is the creative guru behind the blog, My Gluten Free Kitchen (see link below). Michelle explains that MGFK was not her first go at blogging. She started a couple of blogs before this one. She refers to them as hobby blogs.

In 2010 Michelle was diagnosed with celiac disease. Because baking was her passion, Michelle decided to find a way to make all the delicious things she loved to bake gluten free. So, she decided to share those recipes with others and started her blog as a result.

Now her blog is her main business and she enjoys the success she’s worked so hard to achieve!

The Pre 2012 Food Blogger

Michelle explains something that I had never heard before: She started blogging at the very end of Google Reader. And once Google Reader went away, it had a big impact on blogging. The number of people who came to your blog to hear your stories changed.

It changed the way people followed a blog. You would read every single blog post. However, now the majority of traffic from food bloggers is first time visitors.

Michelle describes how that changed the way she went about food blogging. However, for people who had been in blogging for longer, it’s been a big mental shift!

Setting Goals for Food Blogging

Michelle realized that when she created specific goals for her blog she was more likely to keep them. Before, she had set somewhat general goals and as a result she wasn’t as inspired by them.

Then, Michelle stumbled on something rather profound. When she created goals for her blog and established rewards around her goals, and included her family in the rewards, they were even more supportive of her work. So, for example, if she set a goal and the reward was to take the family on a trip to Disney, they would be behind her 100% of the way!

Of course, it takes work to create the perfect goals. And Michelle has some very specific steps for goal setting for food blogging.

Setting SAME Goals!

Michelle describes her goal-setting strategies as: SAME. That means her goals are Specific, Attainable, Measurable, and Exciting. Without these four elements in check, it’s harder to achieve your goals!

  • Specific — General goals were not as effective, but being specific really helped Michelle a lot
  • Attainable — If a goal is too ambitious, it would be difficult to feel possible. It had to have a little bit of reach, but not too much.
  • Measurable — The best goals have a way to track them to see your progress.
  • Exciting — The goal needs to be exciting, including the reward you get as a result of achieving the goal.

With her SAME Goals as a process, Michelle encourages you to create goals for your food blog as well!

Shownotes

For more information on today’s show, Setting Goals for Food Blogging with Michelle Palin, see the links below:

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Posted in Food Blogging, Podcast