3 Reasons You Need a Compelling Purpose for Your Blog

This is a post by our regular contributor Frank McKinley. Today he shares with us how to blog with a  purpose.

Are you a blogger who’d like to be famous?

Would you settle for being popular? Or maybe just the favorite one in your niche?

Then you need a compelling mission for your blog.

What makes a mission statement compelling?

There are three things you need to make your mission compelling.

First, let’s define the word compelling. Here’s what Collins English Dictionary says:

1. arousing or denoting strong interest, especially admiring interest
   2. (of an argument, evidence, etc) convincing 

Now let’s break it down.

I’ll use my own blog’s mission to illustrate the 3 points. Here it is:

Engage readers. Sell your ideas. Build your tribe.

First, it’s short.

It’s three sentences. But each one could be joined together into one sentence separated by commas. And since it’s only 3 ideas, it’s easy to remember.

I’ve seen some mission statements that are paragraphs long. Can you imagine fitting 500 words into the masthead on your blog?

Second, it’s clear.

My mission is a timeline for writers.

• You start by engaging readers. You do that by getting their attention and making a connection.
• You grow by packaging your work into products and services – and selling it.
• You establish yourself by building an audience along the way who will follow you, share your work, and buy what you have to offer.

It’s also a guide to direct my efforts wherever I go.

Third, it’s inviting.

Would you like to engage readers, sell your ideas, and build your tribe?

If you do, you’ll make a fantastic living as a writer, blogger, or author.

What does your mission invite people to do? What dream does it encourage? What future does it promise?

Answer all those questions and you’ll have a compelling mission.

Why You Don’t Have a Compelling Mission Statement

Maybe this is the first time you’ve thought about your mission statement. Or maybe you have one but it’s not as strong as it could be.

What’s holding you back?

Here are a few things.

1. You’re afraid to limit yourself. Choosing one topic closes every other door if you want to be famous. Most celebrities are known for one big thing. Maybe it’s one role or one book. Or one movie. Or maybe it’s their approach to their work. But trust me, it’s one thing and its compelling.
2. You spread yourself too thin by trying to do everything. You’re a lot better off sticking with one topic than you are dipping your toe into a dozen. The surprising thing is you’ll find you can dive really deep into one topic. There’s a lot more than you can see on the surface. And if the topic is one enough people care about, they’ll follow you as you explore the depths.
3. You’ve got no game plan to guide you. This is the most debilitating thing. If you want to accomplish anything, you’ve got to know what it is you want to accomplish. And if nothing else, it’s a lot easier to take a trip when you have a destination in mind.

Now let’s look at the wins you’ll score when you have a compelling mission.

You’ll have a roadmap.

Marathons are popular right now.

There are plenty of resources that will help you get ready to run the race. You’ll have a chart that will tell you how far you need to run every day. You’ll get a picture of how much endurance you’ll need to finish the race in a reasonable amount of time. And you can even find a few friends who will cheer you on as you train, and maybe even run with you every day.

It’s the same with writing a book, building a blog, or building an audience.

• Decide exactly what you want.
• Learn what you need to do to get it.
• Take action every day that will move you forward.

Your dreams come true when you take action toward them. That’s why your roadmap is so critically important. What can you do this year, this month, and this week to move you toward where you want to be?

Your success journey is a marathon. It may be filled with sprints, but you’re in this for the long haul if you want to be successful. Your well-defined, compelling mission will move you to shovel all the coal you need to keep your success engine running and on track.

You’ll have one central message to share everywhere.

This is the key to building a strong following.

You don’t want to be one kind of blogger to Jeff Goins’ audience and another to Michael Hyatt’s. When you do a podcast tour, you’ll promote the same message again and again and build momentum. You can’t do that when you tell a different story to everyone.

And here’s another bonus. You won’t wear yourself out with a ton of preparation for those 50,000 different personas you’re selling to the world.

Stick to your mission and word will spread. You’ll become a go-to guide in your niche. And you’ll be able to sell your books, your products, and your coaching.

And your blog will get lots of traffic!

You can fast track your growth by starting a Facebook group.

If your message is one that appeals to a lot of people, why not bring them together?

Over 2 billion people are on Facebook as I write this. Some of the groups I belong to have over 15,000 members.

What makes groups effective?

1. Gather around a compelling purpose. In my groups, we gather to share our work and help each other build our audiences. That’s what a lot of writers want to do, so joining forces to make it happen has an exponential effect.
2. Give your group members something to do. What fun is it to gather if nothing is going on? We love having things to do, especially if they help make a better tomorrow.
3. As the leader, show up regularly and interact with your members. You don’t have to spend a ton of time doing this. My groups have threads each day. I’ll join in at least some of them and start conversations with some of the members. I’ve made some great friends this way.

You can do this in as little as 15-20 minutes a day.

If you have a cause people can get excited about, you can literally start a movement.

Now It’s Your Turn

Have a strong mission statement? Share it here in the comments. Link to your blog so we can see it and be inspired, and connect with you.

If you don’t have one yet, follow the steps in this post and get it done this week. When you’re finished, put your mission statement in the comments. Have questions? Ask them here. Let’s get your blogging success journey started!