Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of the blogging world, to weekly blogging challenges for 2019! I hope that you enjoy your stay (and improve your blogs).
These weekly blogging challenges are designed to get you thinking about your blog in new ways. They help you to remember those little things that we don’t do enough and that are easy to forget.
And trust me, we all run into these challenges. Including me. It happens to all of us. But, those of us who are most willing to address these issues will also be those who are most likely to crush it with their blogs.
Yes, sweat the small stuff.
Weekly blogging challenges
Here is an archive of the weekly challenges to date. Read through these challenges and accept those that make sense for your blog. Hint: They might all make sense.
Challenge #1: Design a Welcome email sequence
Quick, answer this question: When are your email subscribers most likely to care about what you’re doing, open your emails and click on your links? The answer is right after they sign up for your email list.
What to do: If you don’t have a welcome email sequence, design one today. Like, right now. Finish reading this challenge and start. If you already have one, make sure that you’re including the most critical components that your welcome email sequence needs. If you use ConvertKit, welcome email sequences are a cinch.
Challenge #2: Approve “spam” comments
This is an easy one: Simply go into your blog’s spam folder (a lot of WordPress bloggers use Akismet) and run through those comments to pick out any comment that it mistakenly labeled as spam. This happens on my blog’s routinely, and every once in a while, it’s good practice to take a gander through your spam folder.
Your legitimate blog readers will appreciate that extra effort, and it’s easy to do.
What to do: Simply take a look at your spam folder and mark any legitimate comments as “Not Spam”. Easy peasy.
Challenge #3: Use headings properly
Add h2 tags into your posts where ever appropriate. Remember that h2 tags help to break up your content and also assist Google in ranking your site for appropriate keywords. The better your content is organized and structured, the easier it’ll be to rank. But remember, your content should only have a single h1 tag, and that’ll be your post’s title.
What to do: Go back into your latest few posts and add h2 tags. Strive to include an h2 (or h3) heading every three or four paragraphs, but make sure that they are natural and make sense within the content. Don’t simply add headings for no reason. Make them meaningful.
Challenge #4: Your content goals
What is your unifying content goal? That goal – whatever it is, will help you determine how to spend your time and energy to get the most out of your site. If your content strategy isn’t designed around a single unifying purpose, then it won’t be all that effective at capturing new readers and turning them into consistent followers.
What to do: Answer some basic questions about your blog. Who reads your blog? And, are you writing specifically for that audience? The more defined your audience is, the easier it will be to write for that audience. Some people call this an “avatar”. Others prefer the phrase “buyer persona”.
Be specific. Get down into the weeds.
For example, people who read a personal finance blog might include:
- Debt-free or close to debt-free and in their 40s
- Are earning high incomes, but afraid to pull the plug
- Want to escape the corporate grind but need help putting the finishing touches on their savings plan
Whatever it is for you, be specific and identify those traits. Then, begin a content strategy that focuses on those traits and hits your audience directly where it matters the most.
