Why you Need a Mission Statement for you Blog & How to get it done Today

I’m sure I am not the first one to tell you that you need a blog mission statement but you may need to hear it again. If you are anything like me, I heard it all the time and kept putting it off to the side. I’m telling you now, (as someone who finally took the time to do it) it is so important to have a blog mission statement because it drives your brand providing direction and purpose. It becomes a map that alerts you if you are veering off course and it provides boundaries to keep your brand unified and strong.

As a lifestyle blogger, I felt like I didn’t need a mission statement because the term “lifestyle blog” meant I could blog about whatever I wanted whenever I wanted -right? Well, actually wrong and that is a post for another time, but a lifestyle blog without direction is floundering and will struggle moving forward. just because you are a lifestyle blogger doesn’t mean you don’t need to define your focus and brand.

Today is the best day to get things done (unless it is not and then just pin this post for a good day) so take some time to sit down, write, reflect, and define!

CREATING A MISSION STATEMENT

Before you start, keep these things in mind:

– It doesn’t have to be perfect.

– You don’t need to display it everywhere (it is mostly for you.)

STEP 1: WRITE IT OUT

Grab a pen and a pad of paper and start writing a list of everything you currently blog about. I mean everything – all those blog exchanges and awards, posts about your cat, Instagram dumps, and everything else. Next make the list longer by adding everything you are passionate about and love.

There is no wrong answer here and you don’t need to limit yourself! Write down all the silly, serious, random things. This is your free time. You may have silly things like “pepperoni pizza” and “homemade lasagna” on this list and they may end up being duds OR they could inspire a series on Homemade Italian Cooking.

STEP 2: CROSS IT OFF

Now we are taking a pen to that long list (and I sure hope it was long because that means you were really thinking!) Cross of everything you either a) don’t want to blog about or b) don’t love or feel passionate about. You may have been blogging about things that other bloggers blogged about but you didn’t love doing. You may also have series you loved but are over it now (remember when I did Week’s End posts? Those got crossed off on my list.) On the other side of things, you may love knitting but feel like you wouldn’t love blogging about it. That is okay! Cross it off!

STEP 3: COMBINE THINGS

I hope your list got a lot shorter with that cross off and hopefully it revealed to you some of the things you are passionate about and could blog about! Look at your list again and start trying to combine things.

For example, “Share seasonal make-up routines,” “outfit posts,” and ” style tips” can all be combined into “Style & Beauty” (gasp, am I making categories by doing this?!!? Yes, my friend, you kinda are!) Don’t feel like you need to continue breaking everything down into it’s final category because we are not doing that now – we are making a mission statement! I just want to help you combine where you can.

STEP 4: FIND CONSISTENCY

Look at your list and see what is left. Do you have any categories or descriptions that just don’t make sense? Or fit with the others? They do not all need to be the same but if you have one that just feels far off, either cross it off or figure out how it can feel like part of your brand. For example if you listed all those Italian Foods and combined them under Italian Food but everything else you talk about is being healthy & active and it just feels weird to have that Italian passion, you can either cross it off or you can work it into the rest of your blog by providing natural & healthy Italian Food recipes. This is up to you! Either option will work as long as you are happy with the choice.

I used to have a million categories and no mission statement but it made my brand so unfocussed. I did this exercise and crossed off so much extra that I had been blogging about that wasn’t building my brand or moving forward. As a lifestyle blog I still had so many topics I wanted to cover but I wanted them to fit under one feel and direction.

STEP 5: FIND THAT OVER ALL FEEL & DIRECTION

Seeing what you wrote down as you did the first four steps hopefully helped you see the direction you want to go with your blog. Take the time now to ask yourself some questions as you look at that list:

– Who is the audience I am trying to reach/ serve?

– What do the things left on this list say about me?

– How do I want people to feel when they are on my blog?

– What do I want them to do when they are on my blog?

– What do I want to communicate through the over all feel of my blog?

Try to create a couple sentences (or one run on sentence) that sums it all up.

I did this exercise and I wrote down that I am passionate about community, living abundantly, and living a creative lifestyle. To me that fits it all that I talk about. Not just the categories but the way I talk about each topic and each post. I want to encourage myself and others to be creative in their homes, in their clothing, and in their blogs (and just in anything they can create.) I want to encourage abundant life because Christ came to give us that – so cultivating thankfulness, taking care of our minds, hearts,and bodies, adventuring, and getting to know the Lord deeper fall under that. Community of course is all the people in my life – in the blog work and in my real world. I want my blog to be a safe place where people belong.

That’s it!! If you did all five steps you now have a mission statement for your blog! (YAY!) Like I said, this is more for you than anyone else. You don’t need to post it everywhere and make sure other people memorize you mission statement. You can if you want, but this is more to be a guideline for you and everything you ever post about, the bios you write, and the posts you make on social media.

Do you have a mission statement for your blog? How did you come up with it? Do you think they are important? How do you find direction for your blog? I would love to hear from you on your journey!! For more Blog Tips, click here!

Photo by: Stellar Propeller Studios

xoxo,elizabeth

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Comments

Kylie Paulsen says

November 18, 2015 at 8:46 pm

I am so thankful I came across this post. I would love to start a blog but have always shy’d away from it because I just don’t feel like I have anything to talk about. I saw this and and decided to try it out. I am now extremely excited to get a blog of my own started and have a mission statement completed. I love that their is a focus to what I want to do before even starting! Thank you so much for these helpful tips!

- Oak & Oats says
  
  December 10, 2015 at 4:15 pm
  
  Kylie!
  
  Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I think you should totally start a blog and I think you will find out you have way more to say! I am so glad you tried this out and found a place to start! Please let me know where you blog so I can follow you and cheer you on!!!
  
Elizabeth Ogle says

December 10, 2015 at 8:12 am

This is so very helpful! And what I love about your tips is we can look around your blog and see how clearly they have worked because you have a great brand and it’s all such a perfect reflection of you – warm, creative and so helpful! Thanks for this. I mean really. You make me feel less alone. 🙂

- Oak & Oats says
  
  December 10, 2015 at 4:19 pm
  
  Elizabeth! Thanks so much for the sweet words! I am so glad you feel less alone – this is a community! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments!! XOXO
  
Ellie Crossley says

January 20, 2016 at 6:47 am

I have been reading through your blog tips and they have really helped! I have just recently started my blog and…it was kind of all over the place. I now have a steady stream of thought and am a lot more focussed on my brand. Thankyou xx

- Oak & Oats says
  
  January 20, 2016 at 9:49 am
  
  I am so excited that these tips are helpful for you! Yes, I started all over the place and keep refining to best reflect the mission of my blog! Good luck – you are doing great!
  
Natasha Kingsbury says

March 24, 2016 at 1:00 pm

These are great tips Elizabeth! I am making my lists tonight and seeing where it takes me. Thank you so much for sharing this post with me on Facebook!

- Oak & Oats says
  
  March 24, 2016 at 1:41 pm
  
  Yay!! I am so glad! No problem! It too me awhile (obviously) to narrow everything down!!! I’m excited to see what you iron down!
  
Christen says

May 24, 2016 at 2:52 pm

This is fantastic! I had started on something like this, just less guided, but this is exactly what I was trying to do, and I think this going to really help me define everything better!

- Oak & Oats says
  
  May 24, 2016 at 3:06 pm
  
  I’m so glad that you found this helpful!!! You’ve got this!!!