Have a Mission Statement for People to Read
by Steve RemingtonJuly 10, 2007
Get organized! When you start a business you need a mission statement. You need to know your mission in order to generate steps to achieve that mission. But what about something as small as a blog? I think bloggers should create a mission statement for their blog. When you finally make that decision to sit down and start a new blog you should spend some time to determine what your goals are for it. What is my topic? How far can I stray from my topic and get away with it? Who is my target audience? Where do I want my blog to be in 6 months? 1 year? 3 years?
These are all things you should write down and think about. It is something that should take careful consideration. I think a lot of times blogs don’t succeed because there was no mission; there simply was no vision as to where you wanted the blog to go. If you start a business with no clear vision as to where you want to be ideally then you will have a hard time moving forward.
But not only is a mission statement good for you as the blogger, but it can be good for your readers. Your readers can find comfort in knowing where you are heading, what some of your goals are, and it can be another great source people can read to learn more about who you are. Like I mentioned before, having a good updated bio page is important on a blog. It teaches others your credibility as to where you have been and what you have accomplished up to this current date. But the mission statement teaches people more about you. It teaches your readers where you want to go, and what goals you have set for the near and distant future. It can really help define who you are as a person and answers many questions. So your bio is history and your mission statement is future.
I plan to take my own advice and share with others the mission we have here at Skinny Moose Media. Do you have a mission statement? If so, can you say it has helped you and/or your readers or potential clients?
{Learn more about mission statements; Some downfalls regarding mission statements}
Another good post. Many businesses fail, in regards to their mission (and vision) statments, because they don’t really think them out. Before you have a Mission, you need a Vision. Your Vision is where you are going and your mission is how you will get there. I.E. A company that I’m intimately familiar with has the following:
Vision: Is to build lifetime customers that recommend us to their family and friends (this is where they are going – the ultimate goal)
Mission: Is to treat every customer like family (this is how they achieve their Vision)
I’ve never liked canned mission statements that don’t say anything. I do, however, like the idea of creating a mission statement that points the direction in which you hope your blog (or company, or life) will go. Having a mission statement like that will, as you said, serve as a benchmark and help you make sure you’re going in the right direction.
Having a mission statement just to have one is probably not really worth the time. A mission statement should be passionate and sincere.