the genius behind inbound marketing, issued a challenge — blog for 30 days. What? In a row?!? How crazy was that idea! I was lucky if I managed to eek out one blog a week! I certainly wasn’t capable of writing one blog every day — especially given my current blogging state of mind.
I’m not exactly a blogging aficionado. A blog post took 4-5 hours to construct. I struggled with topics, content, sentence structure — you name it. I fidgeted. I snacked. I stressed. I struggled with what to say and how to say it. It was a painful process. Certainly, 30 days of this activity would be sheer torture.
Was I “in”? You bet!
Always up for a challenge, I was curious to discover what 30 days of blogging would do for my small business. At worst, I could pull the plug at any time. Besides creating some astonishing results, the self-discovery was more astonishing.
- Reams of information are stored in my brain. Before the 30-day challenge, I didn’t have much to say…or so I thought. If I didn’t have something worthwhile to share, my lips were sealed. After 30 continual days of writing, I’m amazed at what runs through my brain.
- A blog post takes 90 minutes. Blogging requires less time each day. The mere act of daily writing creates a rhythm that makes blogging more efficient.
- Writing is easier. The regularity of engaging my brain in the craft makes writing more comfortable. I wouldn’t say its stress-free but I fidget less. I “almost” look forward to writing.
- Early morning is my best time. One of my blogging challenges was finding the best time. By late afternoon my brain was littered with the days activities. Midday sounded good…at first. Once email reared its head, all bets were off. Finally, I found my groove at 6 am before the rush of the day while my brain was fresh.
- The results were awesome. Shocker! It really is true. Companies that blog 15X or more per month get 5X more traffic than companies that don’t blog. Nailed it!
I still struggle with headlines and wonder if the post is good enough but, like strengthening a muscle, blogging is easier with time and practice. I’m pretty certain I’ll never be as gifted a writer as Scott Siders of Novowriting but I’m pretty dog-gone happy with my progress.
What will I do for an encore? Given the results of the previous 30 days, I’ll continue my blogging quest Monday – Friday. Care to join me?
