by Areti Vassou
On the first day of March we set a 30 Day Blogging Challenge and 100 people joined our group of daily writing. Today, it’s the 30rd day of the challenge. Can you guess how many people reached the finish line?
The Blogging Struggle is Real
In the first week of February I was giving a lecture about SEO, blogging & content marketing, when the topic of blogging struggle raised. In the auditorium there were 90 young bloggers who were patient enough to attend the 4 hours lecture. Among the many questions, one made quite an impact on the gathering. How to keep a blogger motivated to write one new piece of content every single day.
Creativity and discipline are the 2 major must-haves skills. Then comes reality! So the big question is, how can a blogger actually keep up with the demands of everyday blogging?
My suggestion was based on my personal experience as a professional blogger. By setting up a detailed content calendar for a 30 day circle it’s easier to prepare your content creation process. If you break the big circle into smaller circles, and adopt one general theme for each separate week, then it’s 100% doable. For example:
- First day of the month: welcome the new month and gently give a hint of the new topic of the month: Blogging
- Week A: Explain Blogging, types of blogging, history of blogging, platforms of blogging, tools of blogging, famous bloggers, your personal story in blogging
- Week B: How to, Guides, Calendar, Titles, What to avoid, SEO guidance, Social Media & Blogging
- Week D: Presentation of top blogging events, Workshops, Promote your blog, Content Marketing & Blogging, Ethics of Blogging, Growth hacking tips for blogging,
- Last 1 or 2 days of the month: Closure of the month with a personal story with this month’s achievement, or even a presentation of your monthly growth.
As you can see, it feels safe to walk on solid tracks when you are writing with a well formed strategy of interest. Even if circumstances force you to change your topics, still you have a crystal clear area to stretch your creativity.
Blogging Strategy
Having this blogging strategy plan on hand, all students were eager to participate in this 30 Day Blogging Challenge. So, we committed to accept this blogging challenge starting from 1 March and ending on 31 March 2019. Free topics, without any specific theme, but with the obligation to publish the process of the challenge.
100 bloggers were in the starting line, ready to create 30 new pieces of content. Each blogger would publish his/hers 30 posts into their personal or business blog. At the last day of March we would check each other and the “winners” would receive a shout out in our blogs.
What actually happened?
1 March 2019
100 people joined our 30 Day Blogging Challenge
The enthusiasm was electrifying the auditorium. Hundreds of ideas were flying into the room and everyone was encouraging everyone. The funny thing was that no one open an umbrella to hold the raining ideas. All notebooks stay blank. That morning I heard some of the best topics of my life. Of course I opened my notebook and wrote down as many as I could, tagging the name of the creator.
First week
7 March: 22 people drop out
The first 22 bloggers/students drop out at the middle of the first week. In their comments they all wrote that it was extremely stressful to keep up with daily blogging and had no new ideas to use.
- Experience with blogging: above average (2-3 years)
- Age: 20-25
- Gender: Female
Keep in mind, that these 22 bloggers were the top voices in the first day of the challenge. In my notebook, their names were the ones with the best 15-20 ideas in the room.
Rule no 1: Keep notes of your ideas!
Second week
14 March: 35 drop out
Well, that was unexpected. Usually we have so many drop outs at the end of the third week. But, once again, statistics are not unmistakable. On 14 March, only 43 people were still into the Blogging Challenge. Their excuse was valid. Daily blogging is not cut out for new bloggers. You don’t believe me? Then read here why some people shouldn’t blog.
- Experience with blogging: newbies (3-10 months)
- Age: 20-25
- Gender: Female
Rule no 2: Know your limits!
Third week
21 March: 21 drop out
Third week during this kind of challenges are called: disaster weeks. On the same Tuesday of that week, 21 people mysteriously were under the weather for their blogging commitment. But I had the pleasure to admire their trip to Cancun through their Instagram photos.
- Experience with blogging: average (1-2 years)
- Age: 20-25
- Gender: Female + Male
Rule no 3: Be honest!
Fourth Week
28 March: 18 drop out
As expected, 97% drop out the daily blogging challenge. I am so sorry to announce that because two of the people were excellent blogging talents, despite the fact that they were mature newbies.
- Experience with blogging: elementary (1 year)
- Age: 20-25
- Gender: Female
Rule no 4: Stay focus!
Blogging Challenge Last Day
98% drop out the daily blogging challenge!
31 March is the last day of our blogging challenge. Well, only 2 people reached the finish line… Me and the outsider of the group.
- Experience with blogging: advanced (5+ years)
- Age: 40+
- Gender: Female
Rule no 5: Persistence pays off!
The results of our 30 Day Blogging Challenge confirm the rule that only 2% is cut out for a blogger life.
The Growth Results of Daily Blogging
This experiment proved one more time that content is king. Check out our blog’s growth after a month of daily blogging.
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