Along with the ever-expanding universe of online publishing, comes a wealth of predictions and advice for a new year. One can’t deny that people love the idea of starting fresh—and it’s a beautiful thing. You might as well reap the benefits of professional knowledge during a more introspective and philosophical time.

Yet, there is a lot of information to sift through. Let’s step back and look at four key things to keep in mind as you go about setting goals or making resolutions for this year. 

1)    First and foremost, set yourself up for success. Don’t try to do it all. Focus on 1-3 achievable goals for yourself and make sure those goals match your strengths. Then, delegate everything else to those who are best equipped to handle those things.

We’ve all heard of the SMART acronym: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. But let’s focus on the achievable part for just a minute. How often have you set high goals with your team and not seen them to fruition? How often have you accomplished goals you set out to accomplish with your team? How do these outcomes inform your success? Before setting goals, ask yourselves if you can commit to those goals, if you believe in them and how much time you can dedicate to achieving them.

Make time to assess and evaluate progress throughout the year, and allow yourself to adjust your direction as more wisdom reveals itself. Jim Elliot on Folio, points to a process that is accelerated, immersive and dynamic.

2)    Build your goals around the four key, growing drivers in online publishing.

Social. Local. Mobile. Photo.

We are seeing social networks grow exponentially. News sites are becoming more and more of a local resource. Mobile devices are surpassing desktop devices for access to the web. If sites like Pinterest and Instagram are any indication, photos are preferred in content consumption. Each of these drivers is influenced by the other and they are all inextricably linked to the cloud—but they are all still based on quality content.

Make sure that you have the infrastructure to fulfill the needs of these drivers. Utilizing a dynamic SaaS CMS will allow your staff to focus on the content, not the logistics of delivering it.

3) Expect and set high ethical standards. The publishing industry is a different animal than it was even just a year ago, and there are a lot more players involved. It’s no wonder that issues of ethics, privacy and control arise daily. Standards, guidelines and policies are increasingly adapted, enforced, developed and proposed. Take part in the conversation. Join discussion groups on your favorite social networking platforms or professional forums, lead the discussion, create, maintain and defend your own codes for conduct. Practice accountability. Set the bar. Which leads to number four . . .

4) Stellar communication: the basis for all successful publishing.  In some ways, publishing is more human than ever, but the same qualities still carry the day, as we are reminded by PR Daily’s Annual Best and Worst Communicators. What these people conveyed in person, translates to print and digital.

Strong communicators are: authentic, humble, confident, articulate, down-to-earth, energetic, enthusiastic, self-deprecating, credible, able to share engaging stories and examples, convey simple messages and are comfortable in their medium. They deal with issues head on.

If you keep these 4 things in mind for 2013, it may be less a matter of getting on the road to success than paving it.