Today’s installment of the Notion for Blogging series is one I’m particularly excited about: using Notion for blog goals tracking. You’ve got ambitious goals: increasing traffic, growing your email list, or submitting more guest post pitches. These are just three examples of dozens of goals you might want to accomplish this year.
If you’re anything like me, you might spend 20 minutes staring at your Google Analytics dashboard, scratching your head and wondering what numbers you should be tracking. Identifying a small set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and adding those to your Notion blog goals tracker can save you a ton of time during those end-of-month reviews.
This is something I’ve recently implemented in my own Notion for blogging setup, and it’s worked wonders for my productivity and motivation. So without further ado, let’s dive in to why you should use Notion to track your blog goals and progress. (Especially if you’re already using Notion to plan and create blog content.)
Why should you track blogging goals and progress in Notion?
If you’re already using Notion to manage your content plan, it makes sense to track your goals and progress in the same place. Even if you’re new to Notion, creating a goal tracker is a great way to see all your blog, social media, email, podcast, and YouTube goals in the same place. Here are a few more reasons why you should track blog goals in Notion.
View your goals alongside your content
If, like me, you use Notion to create all your blog and social media content, having your goals to hand is a great way to motivate yourself again when burnout and procrastination hit.
At the beginning of the month, when the promise of a fresh new start seems like enough to keep the momentum going, setting ambitious goals is easy. But sticking to those goals in the middle of the month when you’ve got a million and one other things going on is what makes all the difference.
That’s why storing your goals in the same place you create your content is essential. Having easy access to your goals reminds you why you’re creating this content, who it benefits and how, and what you need to do to stay on track.
Automate your goal setting and tracking efforts
When your content framework is housed in a dozen different apps, it’s easy to waste time setting and reviewing goals. (Or lose track of them entirely.) Trust me on this one — I speak from experience.
Notion templates are honestly a lifesaver for so many elements of content marketing, planning, and creation. With one click, you can create a new blog post with all your blog tasks already typed out in neat little checklists for you.
Same goes for your blog goals. Create a new page from a template and you’ve got your most important metrics just waiting to be plugged in. This shaves a little bit of time off your monthly reviews. And since templates can do the same for other areas of your content plan, those little bits of saved time add up!
How to set up a Notion blog goals and progress tracker
This Notion blogging setup will be a little different to some of the others we’ve explored. Goal tracking is highly individual, so your goal tracker should be personalized to your needs and preferences. As you read the following walkthrough, keep in mind these are just guidelines. Feel free to experiment with your own setup until you find something that works for you!
Step 1: Create a new page
Depending on how you work best, you can choose to create a full-page database OR format your goals on a blank page using elements like checklists and headings. I’ll leave this step up to you. Setting up a goal tracker on a blank page (or not in a database) allows for a little more creativity.
For reference, I’ve chosen a full-page database goal tracker for the Notion for Blogging Premium Template Pack:
Each template includes traffic, revenue, and engagement goals specific to that platform:
I like the database format because you can create new filtered views based on your needs. For example, you could create a view for this month’s goals and filter it by the relevant dates. This saves you from moving things around in Notion’s sidebar or hunting for the right page.
Other options: You can set up a full-page database for your actual goal pages, then you can embed that database into another page where you can add images, inspirational quotes, or whatever you need to stay motivated. OR you can create an in-line database on a blank page so you can add other elements around it. (Full-page databases themselves don’t allow you to do this.)
Here’s how to embed a full-page database in other pages in Notion:
- Navigate to the page where you want to embed your goals database.
- Click into the body of the page and type “/” on your keyboard to open Notion commands.
- Type “linked”, then choose “Create linked database”.
- Select your goal tracking database.
- Add filtered views as relevant. (See step 4.)
Step 2: Start formatting
Once you’ve decided on a setup, start formatting. If you’re using a database setup, you won’t need many properties:
- Goal (Name, a property that populates automatically whenever you create a new database) — Blog goals Q1, Facebook goals January 2021, etc.
- Timeframe (Date or Text) — Q1, January 2021, etc.
- Status (Select or Text) — You might want to indicate whether some, all, or none of your goals were met for that period.
If you’re not using a database, I recommend saving your layout as a template so you can replicate it easily.
Step 3: Add your goals
I recommend adding goals that you track every month: number of views, conversions, organic traffic, etc. Add key performance indicators (KPIs) that are most important for your blog and brand.
Here’s what that might look like:
Of course, not all goals involve traffic or analytics. Feel free to add other goals, like:
- Landing x guest posts this month
- Sending x cold pitches
- Learning more about an area of content marketing, like SEO or copywriting
Step 4: Add filters
If you’re using a database and only want to see a specific set of goals, create new filtered views. Here’s how!
- In the upper left-hand corner of your goal tracking database, click “Add a view”
- Choose your view type (Table, Board, Timeline, Calendar, List, Gallery) and give it a title.
- In the upper right-hand corner of your database, click the three dots and then click “Filter” > “Add a filter” > “Add a filter”
- Choose the property and parameters you’d like to filter by.
Step 5: Create a framework to hold yourself accountable
Whatever setup you’re using, make sure that your goals don’t get lost in Notion and sit there, gathering dust. Within your goal tracker, add reflection questions to review your progress at the end of the month or quarter. (We’ll cover some example questions shortly!)
Ideas for your Notion blog goals tracker
So now that you’ve got a basic goal tracker, it’s time to make it ultra-personalized! Here are a few more ideas to maximize the effectiveness of your Notion blog goals tracker.
Create templates with common goals
If you’ve been blogging for awhile, you’ve probably figured out some key performance indicators (KPIs) that you track each month or quarter. Include whatever metrics you review regularly in your goal template.
Here’s the full list of templates I’ve created for goal tracker included with the premium Notion blog templates:
Whether you choose to use a database or create new pages for each period, I recommend saving your layout as a template to automate as much as you can.
Link to your goal pages in your blog dashboard
In my Notion blog templates, I’ve created hub-style pages for the most popular social media and content marketing platforms bloggers use:
- YouTube
- Podcast
On each of these pages, I’ve linked to the relevant goal pages, making it easy to navigate to them from within those pages:
If you’re creating a full-fledged setup for your blog in Notion, I recommend doing the same.
Include reflection questions
It’s one thing to compare numbers, but it’s another thing entirely to dig deep and ask yourself the hard questions. I recommend planning two goal-setting sessions: one at the start of the month or quarter and one at the end.
The first goal-setting session allows you to set clear intentions on what must happen for you to meet these goals. Here are a few reflection questions you might want to include in your Notion goal setting template:
- What must happen to meet these goals?
- Are there any challenges I’m already aware of that may hinder my progress?
- What can I control?
- What can’t I control?
At the end of the month or quarter, you can review your numbers and assess whether your met your goals, fell short in some areas, or missed the mark completely. Here are a few questions you might like to ask yourself at the end of your goal period:
- What went right this month/quarter?
- What went wrong this month/quarter?
- Which blogs/social media accounts/YouTube channels/podcasts did I admire this month/quarter?
- How can I adapt their tactics to engage my own audience?
- Did I receive any valuable comments from my followers?
- How can I apply what I learned this month/quarter to make the next month/quarter more successful?
Tracking blog goals in Notion: wrapping up
If you’re using Notion to set up a command center for your blog and brand, tracking your blog goals in Notion is a great way to keep yourself on task. If you’re using the browser version of Notion, you might want to keep your goal tracker tab open while you’re creating content to motivate yourself. (Or, if you’re using Notion Enhancer, you can open new tabs right within the Notion app.)
Hopefully you’ve gleaned some good ideas for your own Notion blog goals tracker from this post. But remember, everyone’s goals and process are different. What works for my needs might not work for yours. And that’s okay! Notion is fully customizable — feel free to experiment until you find something that sticks.
If you’ve stumbled on this post and you’re interested in learning more about using Notion for blogging, check out my other tutorials:
I’ll admit, a robust Notion blog dashboard that covers every element of your blog and brand will take some time to set up. Wishing someone could just do it for you? No need to wish — I’ve already taken care of it!
Get your blog and brand ultra-organized with Notion blog templates
Packed with 75+ pages templates built for busy bloggers, by a busy blogger. Includes a content creation hub, pages for popular social media and content marketing platforms, finance trackers, SEO databases, a brand kit, and so much more.
If you used this guide to create your own Notion blog goals tracker, please consider supporting a fellow blogger with a double-shot mocha.
However you choose to support this blog, know I appreciate you and I’m grateful you’re here! Thank you!
Got questions about setting up your goal tracker? Want to share some ideas? Drop them comments like they’re hot, my friend! I love chatting with fellow Notion nerds.
Until next time, happy Notioning!
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