DAY SEVENTEEN | A SECRET BLOGMAS 2025

“A goal is a dream with a deadline!”

Napoleon Hill

Welcome to A Secret Blogmas 2025!

Today is Day Seventeen and this seventeenth post is all about the beneficial impact there is if you – as a content creator – determine a goal or numerous goals (depending on what is more appropriate) from the very offset of creating content. I’ll talk about my own goals in content creation, as well as look at ways for you to achieve your goals and reasons why they’re so important. Keep reading to find out why and how making goals can impact the success and popularity of your content and/or your platform…

In content creation, a goal is a specific, measurable outcome you want to achieve through the content you produce and share online.

It answers the question:

“Why am I creating this content, and what do I want it to accomplish?”

Goals guide your strategy — they shape what you make, where you share it, and how you measure success.

1. Direction — Knowing What You’re Working Toward

Goals act like a compass. They help you figure out:

• What kind of content to make
• Who you’re making it for
• Where to post it
• How to measure if it’s working

Without goals, your content may lack consistency or focus — which can confuse your audience and stall your growth.

2. Motivation and Consistency

Creating content online can be exhausting. Goals give you a reason to keep going, especially when growth is slow.

When you can track progress (like growing from 500 to 800 followers), you feel rewarded and motivated to continue.

3. Measurable Progress

Goals let you track results instead of guessing what’s working.
You can see if:

• A certain posting schedule increases engagement
• A specific topic resonates more
• A new platform performs better

This data-driven insight helps you improve faster and make smarter choices.

4. Efficiency — Avoiding Wasted Effort

With goals, you stop creating just for the sake of posting.
You create with intent, which saves time and energy because every piece of content has a job — to attract, engage, sell, educate, or inspire.

5. Alignment With Bigger Opportunities

Whether you want to:

• Build a personal brand
• Get sponsorships
• Sell products
• Grow a community

Your goals ensure that your content actually supports those ambitions instead of just existing on its own.

6. Professionalism and Credibility

Brands, collaborators, and even audiences can tell when a creator has a clear purpose. Goals help you act like a strategic creator, not just a hobbyist — which makes people take your work more seriously.

Goal	Description	Common Metrics
1. Build brand awareness	Make more people know who you are or what your brand stands for.	Follower count, reach, impressions, mentions
2. Grow an audience/community	Attract and retain engaged followers or subscribers.	New followers/subscribers, engagement rate, community activity
3. Increase engagement	Get more people to interact with your content.	Likes, comments, shares, saves, watch time
4. Drive website or product traffic	Use content to move people to another platform (blog, store, etc.).	Click-through rate (CTR), referral traffic, landing page visits
5. Generate leads or sales	Convert viewers into customers or clients.	Conversions, sales, sign-ups, ROI
6. Establish authority or credibility	Be seen as an expert in your niche or industry.	Mentions, backlinks, collaborations, speaking opportunities
7. Educate or inform	Teach or share valuable knowledge to help your audience learn something.	Course completions, content shares, positive feedback
8. Inspire or entertain	Create emotional or enjoyable content that resonates with people.	Shares, repeat viewers, comments expressing connection
9. Monetize content	Earn income directly from your work.	Ad revenue, brand deals, affiliate income, memberships
10. Build a personal brand	Develop a unique voice, style, and presence that sets you apart.	Brand recognition, partnerships, reputation growth

Goal	Why It Matters	Example
Define your niche and audience	You need to know who you’re creating for and what value you bring.	“Choose a content focus (e.g., fitness for busy parents) and define 1–2 audience personas.”
Establish your content platforms	Starting small helps you build a routine and learn each platform.	“Focus on 1–2 platforms (e.g., TikTok + Instagram) to start building presence.”
Create a posting schedule and stick to it	Consistency builds trust and trains the algorithm.	“Post 3 times per week for 8 weeks.”
Develop a recognizable brand style	Your visuals, tone, and message should feel cohesive.	“Pick 2–3 colours, fonts, and a tone of voice to use consistently.”

Goal	Why It Matters	Example
Increase engagement rate	Learning what your audience responds to helps refine your content.	“Boost average engagement rate from 2% → 5% by asking more questions or using polls.”
Build your first loyal audience	A small, engaged group matters more than big vanity numbers.	“Reach 500 followers/subscribers with at least 10 regular commenters.”
Learn from analytics	Data helps you create smarter, not harder.	“Review insights weekly to identify top-performing posts.”

Goal	Why It Matters	Example
Collaborate with another creator	Networking introduces you to new audiences.	“Do one collab video or guest post by month 6.”
Start an email list or community space	Builds direct relationships beyond algorithms.	“Collect 100 email subscribers or Discord members.”
Test early monetization	Learn how income fits into your content strategy.	“Earn first £100 via affiliate links, small sponsorship, or digital product.”

1. Helping Others / Providing Support & Validation
   She aims to share her lived experience to help people feel less alone, to help those going through similar mental health challenges, and to give them tools and insight.
• Evidence: Many posts give advice, share personal stories of relapse, crisis, recovery.
• She explicitly refers to content which “helped them in some way” from reader messages being motivating.

 

2. Reducing Stigma & Increasing Understanding
   Educating loved ones, professionals, and the broader public about mental health, especially serious conditions (e.g. personality disorders, abuse survivors) and how recovery isn’t linear.
• She writes to give insight into what it’s like being under care, what relapse looks like.
• In “The Biggest Changes …”, she said part of her initial motivation was to help people around her (family, friends) better understand what she was going through.

 

3. Personal Healing / Therapeutic Outlet
   Blogging is part of her self-care, a way to process what she has lived through, to understand herself better, and to have a safe space.
• She says writing is a therapeutic release.
• Early blog was a space to keep loved ones updated and for her own record, to track recovery.

 

4. Growth in Reach / Audience
   She wants to have her content reach more people — making sure her message gets through to those who need it. This also opens up “opportunities” (collaborations, events, projects).
• She tracks and cares about “numbers” because each number is a person who could benefit from her content.
• She celebrates milestones like “2.5 million readers” showing that growing readership is a goal.

 

5. Creating Impact / Using Influence
   Beyond just writing, she seems interested in using her platform to do more: campaigns, workshops, training, maybe books. Leveraging her voice to influence change or policy (or at least awareness).
• Example: Shake My Hand media campaign for survivors of abuse.
• She’s written books (“Everything Disordered”, “You’re NOT Disordered”) aimed at helping others in practical ways.
• She delivers speeches at conferences (e.g. National EMTA Conference) which are “recovery defining moments”.

 

6. Maintaining Authenticity & Voice
   To tell truthfully what mental health, recovery, relapse, abuse etc are like — not sugarcoating. To remain herself, responsible for content, not being overly filtered by others.
• In “The Biggest Changes …”, she talks about learning to design the site herself, making sure the blog reflects her values.
• She mentions balancing feedback, negative comments, but keeping topics she feels comfortable with and being honest.

 

7. Sustainability / Self Care in What She Does
   Because of how intense some topics are (relapse, abuse, crisis), one goal is to balance her content creation, so it doesn’t harm her mental health. Setting boundaries, choosing when to write about something heavy, learning to say “no”.
• From the Q&A: she says she is still learning time management and balancing content creation demands.
• In the Shake My Hand campaign, she considers how to do the campaign without being overwhelmed, thinking about triggers, whether she can cope with the emotional load.

 

8. Professional / Organizational Opportunities
   As the blog has grown, she seems to have the goal of using it in more formal or structured ways: collaborations, writing for organisations, training others, possibly influencing service provision.
• Her blog works with charities, organisations.
• She has published books and seems to be using the expertise she’s built.

Setting SMART goals helps you move from vague ambitions like “I want to grow my audience” to clear, actionable targets like “I’ll grow my Instagram followers by 25% in 3 months by posting 3 Reels per week.”

SMART stands for:
S = Specific | M = Measurable | A = Achievable | R = Relevant | T = Time-bound

Step 1: Start with Your Big Vision

Before applying SMART, first identify your broader purpose as a creator.
Ask yourself:

• What am I trying to build long-term? (A business? A community? A personal brand?)
• What type of impact do I want to have on my audience?

👉 Example: “I want to help people manage anxiety through my mental health blog.”

That’s your direction — now you’ll turn it into SMART goals.

Step 2: Make It SPECIFIC

Define exactly what you want to achieve — be clear on the “what, why, and how.”

✅ Ask yourself:

• What specific outcome am I aiming for?
• Why is it important?
• Which platform, content type, or audience does it involve?

💬 Example:
❌ “I want more followers.”
✅ “I want to grow my Instagram followers by posting short educational videos about coping with anxiety.”

Step 3: Make It MEASURABLE

Decide how you’ll track progress — use numbers, milestones, or analytics.

✅ Ask yourself:

• How will I know if I’m successful?
• What metrics or data can I measure?

💬 Example:
“I’ll measure success by tracking follower count and engagement rate (likes, comments, shares). My goal is to increase followers from 500 to 750.”

Step 4: Make It ACHIEVABLE

Be ambitious, but realistic based on your time, tools, and current stage.

✅ Ask yourself:

• Is this goal realistic for me right now?
• Do I have the skills, time, or resources to achieve it?

💬 Example:
If you’re new to YouTube, aiming for 100,000 subscribers in 3 months isn’t achievable — but 500 subscribers might be.

Step 5: Make It RELEVANT

Ensure your goal aligns with your bigger purpose or brand direction.

✅ Ask yourself:

• Does this goal move me closer to my long-term vision?
• Is it relevant to my content niche and audience?

💬 Example:
If your mission is mental health awareness, focus on content that educates and supports — not random viral trends that don’t fit your values.

Step 6: Make It TIME-BOUND

Set a deadline so your goal feels real and trackable.

✅ Ask yourself:

• When do I want to achieve this?
• Can I break it into smaller timeframes (weekly/monthly milestones)?

💬 Example:
“I want to publish two new blog posts per month for the next 3 months.”

Step 7: Write It All Together

Combine everything into one clear statement.

💬 SMART Goal Example for a Content Creator:

“Over the next 3 months, I will grow my Instagram following from 500 to 750 by posting three Reels per week about coping techniques for anxiety and engaging with followers in the comments daily.”

✅ Why it works:

• Specific: Grow Instagram following with anxiety-related Reels.
• Measurable: From 500 → 750 followers.
• Achievable: 250 new followers in 3 months is realistic.
• Relevant: Fits the creator’s niche (mental health).
• Time-bound: Deadline in 3 months.

Step 8: Review and Adjust

SMART goals aren’t “set and forget.”
Review your progress every few weeks:

• What’s working?
• What’s not?
• What needs tweaking (schedule, platform, content type)?

Adapt as you learn — your goals should evolve as your audience and skills grow.