Last Updated on May 3, 2020 by ellduclos

Another year has come and gone, I can’t believe it! If 2019 wasn’t the year your blog took off then I know for a fact it’s going to happen in 2020! Today I am sharing my best tips to help you set blogging goals to help you bring success to your blog in 2020. If you want to make your blog profitable then read on!

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Disclaimer: Affiliate links are used – you can read my full disclosure here.

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9 Blogging Goals to Have in 2020

1. Make sure your blog is set up for success

If you want your blog to be successful in 2020 then you need to set it up for success. If you haven’t started a blog yet and want to, then read this step by step guide.

Setting your blog up for success is perhaps the most important blogging goal to have. So what do I mean by that?

Self-Host your blog

If you aren’t already self-hosting your blog then I definitely recommend doing so. Having your WordPress blog self-hosted as opposed to using free/premium wordpress .com, wix, squarespace, etc helps to make sure you have complete ownership over your blog. It wouldn’t be fun to lose all of your hard work because wix decides to disappear like myspace did.

On top of having ownership over your blog you’ll also have unlimited customization and access to tons of awesome plug-ins. This helps take not only the look of your blog to the next level but, you can also start growing a solid e-mail list!

If you are worried about the transfer of your website I totally understand. I had that panic moment too when I made the switch to self-hosting. You can purchase the “grow big” plan from Siteground and they will help you transfer your website to their self-host servers easier.

I have been using Siteground for almost 3 years and they always help me in every situation. I love their live chat support!

If you do sign up with Siteground I recommend purchasing a year or two because the initial discount at sign up won’t be applied when it’s time to renew. Signing up for a year or two will save you money in the long run.

[You can sign up HERE!]

Have a solid theme that’s on brand

Another way to make sure your blog is set up for success is making sure you have a solid theme that is on brand. Content is king but having a website that doesn’t appeal to the viewer, isn’t organized, and is hard to navigate through can cause a high bounce rate. (Bounce rate is how long someone stays on your site before leaving)

The goal is to keep your audience around and coming back for more. Having an organized theme that’s not overwhelming helps with this.

[Here you can shop some of my favorite themes]

Choose 2-3 colors that you want to use throughout your blog to keep it branded.

Stock Images

I also think it’s important to have a branded look through your images. If you aren’t able to use your own images, I get it we aren’t all photographers, then use gorgeous stock photos.

There’s nothing more tacky than a blog that has scattered, random stock images that just clash. (do you know what I mean?) 

And BY THE WAY – you CAN NOT go onto google or Pinterest and search and image and use it. That’s stealing. EVEN IF YOU GIVE CREDIT TO THE SOURCE. You need to ask permission to use someone else’s image. That’s why I recommend purchasing stock photos so you know you have the right to use them.

Here are some of my favorite places to purchase stock photos:

• Pixi Stock – one of my favorites! If you sign up for her annual plan you also get access to tons of canva templates! (so worth it)
• Hautestock 
• Creative Market 
• Ivory Mix

2. Step out of your comfort zone and make money

Another blogging goal to have in 2020 is stepping outside of your comfort zone. Is there something you can do that you might be intimidated by, but you know that if you give it a try it has the potential to change the way your blog is going?

Maybe that’s networking? OR maybe it’s doing a facebook/instagram live once a week? Perhaps it’s showing up on your instagram stories to make a personal connection with your audience?

AND ACTUALLY, it might even be that you want to pitch to brands for sponsorships but you are afraid your content isn’t good enough…

Trust me, i’ve been there. I have been intimidated by BIG goals more times than not. It’s worth it to step outside of your comfort zone.

I have 2 helpful articles related to making money blogging. This one goes over all the different ways you can make money blogging this year, and this one goes over how to create a money mindset.

Step outside of your comfort zone and make money blogging this year.

3. Update your old content

I always suggest this because it makes a huge difference, ESPECIALLY for SEO purposes. I’ll be the first to admit, my old content isn’t all that jazz. However, you can go back to old content and update it. I wrote an in-depth post on this topic!

Here are some ways to update old content:

• Break your content up with headings
• Go back and add important keywords strategically
• Update old images
• Create new (improved) pin graphics
• Include an opt-in (freebie) content upgrade
• Interlink to new posts that are related
• Add affiliate links
• Link to products you sell
• Proof read and fix any errors

4. Challenge yourself to be consistent

I think the toughest part for most bloggers is staying consistent. Make it a blogging goal to stay consistent throughout the year. A great way to stay consistent is by time management. I put together a helpful post for bloggers who need help managing their time.

5. Get organized

This is one of my many blogging goals for 2020. I used to be so organized and then I started working from home and it all went down the drain. It’s time to get organized again.

• Create schedules and stick to them
• Organize your files and e-mails
• Create a content schedule and hold yourself accountable
• Clean and organize your work space

6. Make sure your blog is protected legally

This is something I see many bloggers fail to do. If you are collecting emails or using ads on your blog you MUST have a privacy policy. If you are using affiliate links and doing sponsored posts you MUST have a disclosure policy. 

For the longest time I used free policies that I generated randomly online. Then I came in contact with an awesome blogger who is also a lawyer. She brought to my attention that my free policies didn’t protect me enough. You can read that interview here. 

Now I use her legal blogging templates and I know that I have all the right information in my policies. I suggest you do the same!

[Purchase Her Legal Blogging Templates Here]

7. Perfect your content marketing strategy

I can’t stress this enough, having a content marketing strategy is ESSENTIAL to having a successful blog. As much as I wish I could just publish a new blog post and watch the views pour in, that’s just not how it works.

So what is a content marketing strategy? It’s pretty much a strategy you have in place for getting eyes on your blog after you publish a blog post.

My favorite way to grow my blog traffic is through Pinterest marketing. It’s (in my opinion) the quickest way to get hundreds of blog views. If you are able to master Pinterest marketing and get 100,000 monthly blog views you could make over $1,000 a month with JUST Mediavine ads. How awesome would that be?! Passive income is what we like! 

You can also set your pinning on auto pilot with Tailwind and it takes maybe an hour or two to schedule pins each week. SO WORTH INVESTING IN!

If you haven’t taken the time to figure out Pinterest marketing, you NEED to make it a blogging goal in 2020 to do so.

Pinterest with Ell is a super affordable e-course that I put together to teach you how I get thousands of blog views to both my blogs each day. It lays everything out for you so you don’t have to waste any time trying to figure out how to make it work on your own.

[Purchase Pinterest with Ell Here]

Another way to market your blog is by making sure you are using good SEO strategies in your blog posts. SEO is a slow burner but it pays off in the long run.

I also highly recommend creating a facebook group for your audience to connect with you on a more personal level. I have my own facebook group for my audience called Boss Girl Bloggers and it is a huge reason as to why I am able to do blogging full time.

Not convinced on starting a Facebook group? Then read this.

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Wanna know how much I make blogging and how? Read my income report!

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8. Grow your social media presence

As much as we may have a love/hate relationship with social media, it can be a huge stepping stone when it comes to growing our blog traffic. If you aren’t making use of all social medias, now is the time! I love being active on all platforms (having a schedule in place helps make it possible)

I wrote an in-depth post on how to grow an engaging social media presence that might be worth reading.

Instagram is a pain but brands tend to still value it. I personally LOVE Twitter and find it to be the easiest platform to grow on. I can get 200 blog views from one tweet.

I always say use all the free tools that are given to you!

9. Grow your email list

Besides social media, you also want to have the blogging goal to create and grow your e-mail list! If you don’t have an e-mail list builder yet, then I recommend starting one in 2020. It’s a great way to make sure you can reach out to your readers if social media were to go away.

You can also build awesome personal connections with your subscribers through e-mail. I personally use Mailerlite and find it to be super simple! It’s free for up to 1,000 subscribers.

When it comes to email marketing there are a few important things to remember:

Less is more

No need to send an email everyday, your subscribers will unsubscribe pretty quickly. I like to recommend a weekly newsletter. You can send this newsletter once a week or once a month. It can be a round up of links to blog posts you wrote throughout the week/month. You can also include any big changes to your website, any special product launches and/or discount codes. Get creative and make it interactive. Ask your subscribers questions.

Continuing with the less is more, it’s better to have an engaged email list than a large list of unengaged subscribers who never open emails. I like to purge out my email list every month or two. If they haven’t opened my emails, I assume they aren’t interested.

& If you want to grow your email, create a freebie!

Think about what you can offer your audience in exchange for them subscribing to your blog. Offering a freebie to your subscribers as a way to say thank you for subscribing helps grow your email list quicker.

You can offer a free:

• guide
• tips
• discount
• ebook
• course
• templates
• stock images

Get creative!

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Create your 2020 blog vision

Now that you have an idea of what kind of blogging goals to set in 2020, it’s time to take those goals and create your blog vision!

Step One: Write out your big goals

Take all of your big blogging goals and write them out. The key is to write them out using “I will” I find it more motivating.

Here’s some of mine for example:

• I will double my blogging income
• I will gain 10,000 instagram followers
• I will create a new e-course
• I will update and offer new blog and Pinterest services

Step Two: Break down those big blogging goals

Now that you have your BIG 2020 blogging goals it’s time to break them down into actionable goals.

Example: 

• I will double my blogging income by offering more services, creating new products to sell, pitching to more brands for sponsorships
• I will gain 10,000 instagram followers by becoming more active, engaging more, showing up daily on my Instagram stories, testing out IG ads. 
• I will create a new e-course and the first step is creating the outline.

It’s a great way to put action behind your big goals and know which direction you need to take to make it happen.

Step Three: Write out your fears

Sometimes when you are going after big goals it’s easy to become intimidated by those goals. You start to fear the worst and maybe you are actually afraid to go after what you want.

Write out your fears that are related to your goals. 

For example:

• I fear that people will judge me if I show up on Instagram stories everyday
• I fear that no one will want to purchase my new e-course
• I fear that no one will want to work with me
• I fear that no one will read my blog

Step Four: Rewrite your fears

Now it’s time to rewrite those fears in a positive tone because guess what, there is NOTHING to be afraid of. 2020 is the year of being FEARLESS when attacking our goals.

Example:

• I do not fear judgement. I am going to be me and if someone doesn’t like me, then they aren’t my target audience anyway.
• I do not fear that no one will want to buy my e-course because it will be filled with valuable information that everyone will love.
• I do not fear that no one would want to work with me because I am relatable, approachable, and knowledgable.
• I do not fear that no one will read my blog because my blog is filled with valuable content everyone will enjoy.

Your mind is powerful and it believes every word you say. 

Step Five: Brainstorm money making ideas

I love having brainstorming sessions when creating my blog vision. I do this by finding a quiet space to sit and just think of ideas. I first start by brainstorming money making ideas;

• What brands do I want to work with in 2020?
• What products can I offer?
• What affiliate programs can I join? 
• What services can I offer?

Write down all the ideas that pop into your head.

Step Six: Brainstorm content ideas

Just like money making ideas, I like to brainstorm content ideas too. I will write every blog post idea that comes to mind in a set amount of time. I then take those ideas and map them out in my planner. I go over my content schedule more in this post.

Step Seven: Write out exactly where you want to be by the end of 2020

Where do you see yourself at the end of 2020? Where do you hope to be with your blog? If you can think it, you can do it. It’s always fun to challenge yourself throughout the year. By the end of the year you want to read your previous year’s blog vision to see how far you’ve come.

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I hope you found these motivating and helpful! I would love to hear what your 2020 blogging goals are in the comments!