Setting Realistic Goals
I think one of the essentials to your online success is to set realistic goals for yourself and as you approach and meet them, you should move your goal so that you have something else to aim for.
Adsense is something I have spent quite a bit of time working with and when I started back into my online work I was making maybe a bit under a dollar a day with adsense. That amounted to a bit under $30 each month. So, I set a goal for myself, the first goal was to double that plus a bit. I wanted to make sure I had $2 a day from my sites.
As that $2 a day mark approached, I decided to move the goal to $3.30 so that I would be making $100 a month (and reach the payment threshold each month.) As that milestone was met I started moving it higher, this time I picked $5 a day as an average to target. Right now I’m within a few cents of that target and preparing to raise my target to $10 a day. I have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to need to do to make it happen too.
So, why didn’t I just start with saying I wanted $100 a day from adsense. I can’t say that isn’t a long term goal for me, but I knew I needed something that was closer to mark my path along the way. See, the way I’m meeting these goals is by putting in a lot of work at building content on the sites I have and expanding the inbound links to the site. I’m publishing articles at the sites and off site, I’m putting in many many hours. After all those hours I’m just about to make $5 a day. IF I had told myself that my goal is $100 a day I would be disappointed that I’m not there yet after a couple months work. (I restarted in earnest in early October.)
It’s very good to give yourself realistic, easy stepping stones along the way to keep yourself encouraged and pushing forward. The biggest thing I would warn you about is not to become complacent once you get to your mid-range goals. Make sure you have something higher to reach for.
Should you celebrate making a goal?
Absolutely, but keep the celebration in the same perspective as the goal. If it was just a milestone along the way that you’ve met, then keep focused on what you still need to do. If it was your long term goal, then celebrate well and then get in the mindset of how you can even grow THAT. For instance, if I met my $100 a day mark I’ll start sketching out what I need to do next. Do I make my next goal $1000 a day? If so, what am I going to do to get there?
Make your goals realistic, celebrate milestones and keep moving the goalposts!
Oh, one more thought… I know stuff doesn’t make people happy, but things can make great rewards for making your goals. Have you ever heard of the DuPont Registry? – Luxury Cars, Homes and boats for sale. This site could be good fodder for some of your long term goals. Set some realistic mileposts along the way though.
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