Taking My Mission Beyond the Blog

Today is Day 4 of 31 Days to a Better Blog. Today's task is to write a mission statement for your blog, a task that some of my blogging buddies have told me is quite daunting. And I get it. "Mission statement" sounds so big and scary. But it doesn't have to be. 

To start, ask yourself two simple questions: Why do I blog? and What do I want my readers to get out reading my posts? Your responses will quickly lead you to your mission statement. 

I blog because I want to express myself as a writer and because I want to empower other women with my words. I want my readers to leave my blog feeling a connection to me but also feeling inspired to go after their dreams and do what needs to be done to live their best lives. 

And if you're wondering if you need a mission statement for your blog, yes you do. This post from November explains why. In that post I shared a rough draft of my blog's mission statement and it hasn't really changed over the past two months. 

My blog's mission statement: 

The Writeous Babe Project is a blog about writing and women's empowerment. My blog is designed to help creative and goal-oriented women -- especially those who write and blog -- achieve their artistic ambitions and live their best lives. The Writeous Babe Project is also a feminist lifestyles blog, which means I address topics such as fitness, fashion, family, and faith, but from a feminist perspective.

For me, however, women's empowerment is more than a blogging niche; I consider it my life's work and my purpose for being on this planet. So I'm constantly thinking about how I can take my mission beyond the blog. 

Lately, I finally feel as if I'm doing just that and it's all thanks to See Jane Write. The sense of community we've been building lately has made me giddy with joy. Case in point, I spent yesterday evening with seven other women of the group having dinner and drinks at The Wine Loft, a popular wine bar here in Birmingham. The meetup was an impromptu one that came about Wednesday evening over Twitter. We spent three hours chatting about fitness, bad wedding experiences, movies, music, and so much more, and, of course, about writing and blogging.  At one point in the evening we all pulled out the notebooks (both paper and electronic) that we use to jot down ideas, which made for a great photo. 

Photo by Tanya Sylvan

So after you write a mission statement for your blog consider if there is a way you can reach out to your readers offline as well. I still believe that blogging is about people, not pageviews.