Today, September 23, 2011, is Day #1
of the S.H.I.N.E. Online Blogging Challenge
and we will continue for the next 100 days
until December 31, 2011.
There are 14 weeks until the end of the year, so...
If you commit to 1 blog post a week, that's 14 posts.
If you commit to 2 blog posts a week, that's 28 posts.
If you commit to 3 blog posts a week, that's 42 posts.
If you commit to 4 blog posts a week, that's 56 posts.
If you commit to 5 blog posts a week, that's 70 posts.
If you commit to 6 blog posts a week, that's 84 posts.
If you commit to 7 blog posts a week, that's 100 posts.
I'm not saying this to overwhelm you, and I want you to forget it after today. But the reason I brought it up is because there are several ways to approach your goal, and brainstorm your posts.
I highly recommend you give this some thought and do some brainstorming during the first week, because the structure you choose, and the list of potential titles that you come up with, will be a great help as you move forward with this challenge over the next 100 days.
You can brainstorm potential blog posts:
1. By Topic
- What are the main topics that you address?
- What are the main keywords you want to use?
- What are the main problems your readers face?
- What are the main questions you keep getting asked over and over again?
2. By Day of the Week
- You can address different topics on different days using alliteration, such as Marketing Mondays, or simply assign days of the week to specific topics.
- You can piggyback on twitter chats or hashtags (#TopTenTuesday, #WriterWednesday, #FollowFriday, #WriteChat, #SciFiChat, etc.) writing posts that would be of interest to the people who use those hashtags.
- You can post a series on one day, and a general post on another.
3. By Series
- Series can be short or long. They can be a long post that you break into two or three pieces, be the seven keys to a particular outcome, or be a longer, ongoing in-depth exploration of a topic that is important to your readers.
- Series bring readers back to learn more, or go deeper.
- Series can help you establish your expertise in a particular topic.
4. By the Product You'll Have at the End
Series are certainly good for this. When you're done, depending on the length of the series and what you want to achieve with the product you create, you can turn them into:
- a free opt-in offer to grow your email list
- an information product that you sell for $17, $27 or more
- a Kindle or other type of ebook, selling it for $.99 to gain exposure, or up to $9.99 to build a presence on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and earn some money.
Or you can focus on a broader topic if you have a book, ebook or e-course in mind. I'm brainstorming my blogging posts thinking they will eventually be an ebook. Because I'm thinking of them as an ebook, rather than a series, I'm brainstorming 5 to 7 main topics that will be the book's chapters.
So here's what I'm thinking about what I would like to accomplish during this blog challenge.
I'm committing (she said, nervously) to 4 posts, a week.
- 2 Blogging Posts a week, that I would like to turn into a 30 day ebook at the end of the challenge (2 blog posts a week = 28 posts)
- 1 eBook Post a week, including my Top 10 eBook Articles for Authors (which I seem to fit in every other week, rather than weekly.
- 1 Writing or Marketing or 2nd eBook Post a week.
This may be a serious challenge, but remember to experiment and have fun!
I also want to invite some top bloggers and ebook authors to contribute guest posts. As well as play with some different types of posts, such as screen capture videos, top lists, and group contribution posts. One of my biggest desires is to learn the art of brevity--quick tips and fast posts.
In other words, I want to use this time to explore and experiment, as well as to expand my blog.
So...
- How many blog posts per week are you committing to?
- What new types of posts would you like to experiment with?
- Do you want to use one or more of your weekly blog posts for a series?
So, relax, be kind to yourself, do a little brainstorming, and get blogging!
Here's a post I wrote at the beginning of the last challenge about keeping track of how you're doing using a simple calendar.
Blogging Tip: Create a Blog Calendar--Literally!
If you haven't seen the post that introduced the S.H.I.N.E. Online Blog Challenge, and that allowed you to post your weekly commitment and sign up for the special blogging tips and tools and email list, go to...
The 2nd S.H.I.N.E. Online Blogging Challenge Starts on 9-23-11. Come Join Us & Make Your Blog SHINE! in the Last 100 Days of 2011.
(Personal Note: Yeah! My first post of the challenge is up.)
