Are you a new blogger looking for help? Have you been blogging for a while now, but are thinking of giving up? Do you lack the discipline and motivation to blog consistently? The 30 day blogging challenge may be just what you need. Read on as I share my views.
THIS IS NOT A PAID REVIEW. IT IS MY HONEST OPINION ABOUT THE 30 DAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE
Honestly speaking, I was a bit skeptical (like I am with everything else that is FREE) when I started Sarah Arrow’s 30 day blogging challenge. I was mentally prepared for a catch –free first week till you’re hooked and then pay up for more. But there wasn’t any! And, as I got in deeper, I actually began to learn so much while also enjoying myself and making new friends.
In this 30 day blogging challenge, Sarah Arrow will teach you valuable lessons on how to improve your blogging. On the very first day, Sarah provides 31 great blogging prompts to help you get started. Remember to keep this list handy – I kept returning to it for inspiration. This challenge covers almost everything you need to know to succeed in the blogging world – right from creating good content, right up promoting your content.
First, proof of how it helped my blog lies in this chart obtained using google analytics data
First, proof of how it helped my blog lies in this chart obtained using google analytics data
(P.S: The big spike you see is my post on 11 must-know uses of turmeric powder which is still my most popular post and got hundreds of views overnight!! )
Some of the important things that you will learn through this challenge include
- Planning your posts – the length of posts, outlining, writing great headlines
- How to deal with blogger’s block
- Content curation and riffing
- The importance of content quality and grammar
- Where to look for great images
- How to create great infographics
- How to promote your posts by use of social networking, commenting etc.
- Various plugins useful to bloggers
As soon as you sign up for the challenge you will receive, as promised, an email from Sarah every morning. Each day’s email covers a new topic with inspiration for your post for the day. There are several instances when I didn’t really post according to the day’s topic because I either had something planned already or the topic did not fit in my niche. Fortunately enough, Sarah allows such behavior!!
The best part of this challenge is the Facebook community where you are encouraged to share your work. It is a great place to share your work, get feedback, help and encouragement and even make great friends. You will also learn a lot by reading the posts of fellow members. Sarah, Kevin and the community there are very friendly, supportive and helpful. I made a lot of wonderful friends at this community and all of them are for keeps.
I cannot help but mention the weekly badges that are posted by Kevin Arrow, celebrating your success and motivating you to push forward. I must admit that I found them a bit silly at first (sorry Kevin & Sarah)! But upon posting my day 7 post at the end of the first week (and thereafter every week) I was excitedly waiting for my badge to show up! I was surprised at the boost even something as simple as that can provide!
In addition Sarah will occasionally send you some useful (and definitely not spammy) bonus emails that contain very valuable information and some free stuff. Throughout the challenge she also recommends several apps and plugins that are of great use to a blogger. Many of these have to be paid for. But, Sarah is considerate enough to share free alternatives as well, which is great for paupers like me!! The paid options are great for those who would wish to buy them for their additional features.
Yes, Sarah does promote her products throughout the challenge. However, I had no issues with that because she does not promote aggressively. It is not mandatory that you purchase anything and not purchasing it does not affect the dearth of information that you will gain from the 30 day blogging challenge. And Sarah does not hold it against you either!!
Sounds wonderful right? But, wait! Is this challenge really for you? Before you make your decision about taking the 30 day blogging challenge, consider these few points:
- You have to be willing to work hard – Posting every day for 30 days is not at all easy. But, it is possible if you are willing to put in some hard work. In addition, you can always count on Sarah and the facebook community.
- You must be willing to learn and change – If you are not willing to change based on what you have learned, there’s no point taking this challenge.
- You need to have the motivation and discipline to stick to it – I must confess that I fell off the wagon quite often, but I picked myself back up and carried on and fortunately enough, Sarah is quite understanding and encouraging in this respect as well.
- You have to be interactive – Interacting with others builds relationships and helps you learn more. If you just publish your post and don’t bother to interact with your audience/readers you will loose out.
- Don’t expect it to be a quick way of getting traffic to your blog – The challenge will of course help you become a better blogger and this may eventually get you more traffic. But you will not find any magic formula here to get traffic to your site. You will have to work your way to that.
I must also mention that this challenge is designed more for business bloggers and Sarah will be constantly talking about blogging for business. However, it can be easily applied to any kind of blog.
There are only a few good things in life that are free. For a blogger, the 30 day blogging challenge is one of them. I enjoyed doing the challenge and have learned so much from it. I am looking forward to moving into the graduates group – the reward for successfully completing the challenge! I would definitely recommend this challenge if you need help with your blogging. Try it and see for yourself. It is totally FREE, so you have nothing to lose. You can join in here and thank me in the comments later!
If you do decide to take the challenge, remember to learn as much as you can. Stay focused, stay strong and don’t hesitate to ask for help. Interact on the Facebook page, where you can ask all the questions you want and actually get answers. Most of all, have fun!
Great Stephanie. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Found it very informative and useful. I could never have believed that I had it in me to blog so consistently if it weren't for the challenge. All the best 🙂
I just started – day 1! Have blogged for a while but haven't grown – time to get serious!