Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
A lot of experts make blogging look easy. And once you get the ball rolling, it’s actually not all that difficult to maintain. But it will require quite the investment of time in the beginning. So, in what ways can you challenge yourself to invest more time into blogging this month?
Today, I’ll share some ways that kick me into gear to get more out of my websites. At least in the months I can go all-in with content.
Being a freelancer writer with clients to manage takes away a lot of my momentum. But they pay my mortgage, so, clients take priority. Still, I’ve been known to set some amazing personal records when it comes to blog content.
Why Take a Month for a Blogging Challenge?
A challenge is meant to push yourself to accomplish greater things. It’s not a method in which to simply sustain your current level of activity.
I am a fan of challenges in general. A challenge is a great way to test your limits, cultivate inspiration, and discover your potential. It’s all part of self-improvement and boosting a sense of self-confidence.
A month-long challenge for blogging can help you set the pace to continue.
However, this also depends on the type of person you are and whether or not you find blogging something worthwhile. Not everyone is a writer, and it’ll take quite a bit of content to reach certain levels of success.
Especially since Google updated the search algorithm to find “helpful” content.
Then again, you don’t have to focus purely on Google to enjoy blogging. I know quite a few people who focus more on just entertaining their audiences rather than showing up on a search results page.
In any case, you’ll want to keep producing content. And challenging yourself can help you establish your own benchmarks of what you can create.
5 Methods to Challenge Yourself for Blogging this Month
There are all kinds of ways you can challenge yourself on any given day. It all comes down to what you want to work on and what you want to achieve.
Your primary goals for your blog will be the biggest factor in deciding how to challenge yourself. Especially if you’re looking to replace a full-time income.
Here are five things I do to kickstart my progress in blogging…
1. Total Word Count for the Month
How many words did you write last month? Can you write more this month in comparison? These are questions I ask myself at the beginning of each month.
Usually, my goals are to write more words this month than I did last. Though, given the nature of my actual job, that doesn’t always happen. Still, it’s a great way to challenge yourself to be more productive for your blog.
If you use WordPress, you can check the word count of any given post simply by clicking the “i” icon on the top left. Or, you can install plugins like WP Word Count that will break down the information even further.
2. Regularly Publishing Posts
Google and subscribers love routinely published content. Not only does it show that your blog is still active, but fans of your work will appreciate knowing when to expect a new piece of content.
How many articles can you publish this month as opposed to the last?
I usually try to maintain a new post three times per week. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. However, it’ll help me build momentum and usually carries on into the next month.
3. Time Management and Productivity
Being able to manage your time properly is helpful no matter what you’re trying to accomplish. From building a successful blog to simply losing weight, time management is one of the keys to success.
In my spreadsheet, I keep track of every minute I spend working on every project throughout any given day. This helps me create a blogging challenge for the next month by showing where I need to work on improving.
Now, you don’t need to go to such lengths to simply hammer out time management. And there are plenty of browser extensions and apps you can use to track your progress. But setting a challenge to spend more time on your projects helps you achieve those goals.
Also, keep in mind that time management doesn’t mean writing blog posts. You could spend your time fixing up the theme, planning out future content, learning new SEO tactics, and a lot more.
Anything that benefits your blog is time well spent.
4. Learn and Write About Something New to You
Reviews and list articles (listicles) are exceptionally popular in a Google search. In fact, these types of content are among the top five in terms of performance on any blog I manage.
The idea is to learn about something new that fits your blog’s niche and write about your experiences.
In reality, I’ve come across all kinds of fun tools, games, and products because I was curious and wanted to write about them. And because I’ll only blog about things I’ve either used or experienced, I test everything out.
The point here is that you don’t necessarily need to be an expert to create an amazing piece of content. Sometimes even a first look can help and entertain others.
In fact, I quite enjoy making the First Look videos on YouTube.
5. Create and Beat Personal Records
When it comes to keeping productive, creating and beating personal records is exceptionally useful as a blogging challenge for the month. It’s one of those things that keep me striving for more throughout any given year, actually.
At the beginning of my writing career, I set a challenge for myself to write one more word today than I did yesterday. What started off as a simple goal of 1,000 words turned into reaching 10,000 over time.
How many words did you write last month? Can you challenge yourself to publish just one more word? What is your best month for creating content?
Sure, there will eventually come a day when you cap out on what you can produce. At that point, you just create a new challenge for some other aspect to keep you successful.
For instance, because of what I do for clients today, I don’t get as much writing in as I used to. I am more of a planner, researcher, and editor. So, my challenges have shifted towards time management.
At this point, I am trying to beat personal records for the number of minutes I put in throughout the month.
BONUS: Always Keep Learning
The best thing you can do for your future blogging career is to continuously keep learning. As everything is constantly in motion, you’ll never know everything about every topic concerning your niche or SEO.
From product reviews to what strategies SEO experts publish, always continue to learn more. You could go so far as to sign up for blogging courses and consider it part of your time management goals.
Not to mention how knowledge helps strengthen confidence. And confidence can open a lot of doors both online and in your personal life.
Does a Month-long Challenge Really Matter for Blogging?
As I’ve said before, I know a lot of people who blog about their daily lives and have a very specific audience who reads their content. But for the most part, these people have no interest in “making it big” or acquiring a huge audience from Google.
However, there are plenty of others who relish the idea of replacing a full-time income simply by writing every day on their own website.
No matter how you slice it up, a challenge is greatly beneficial whether you’re blogging for a month or tracking your words for the year. It will help you gain focus, get into a routine, and may inspire you to write more often.
Just keep in mind that you can’t publish a post for the sake of publishing a post. You still have to work on producing quality content.
Have a Purpose for Each Post
Each post needs to have a purpose if you want Google to rank it in search. It needs to be helpful, insightful, or entertaining. You also need to make sure you’re staying on topic.
It’s easy to get sidetracked depending on what you’re writing about.
Don’t forget, Google also prioritizes niche content. Not only do your posts need a purpose, but they have to be related to your site’s primary topic.
For instance, you’ll never see me blog about weight loss on WriterSanctuary.
Focus On Your Target Audience
Sure, you need to have good SEO practices to rank well. But focusing on your target audience is where a lot of that comes from today. Google itself pushes the idea of people writing for people, not bots.
Part of this process is knowing what you’re readers want next and doing your best to deliver.
Use tools like Analytics, Search Console, or Jetpack’s visitor tracking to see what articles perform the best. These tools will help you engage your specific readers.
Remember to Challenge Yourself When Blogging for the Month
Challenges are meant to push your boundaries, not maintain your current level of comfort. If you wrote 20,000 words last month, set up a challenge to write 30,000.
It’s all about going above and beyond what you perceive as being your limits. That’s because a lot of bloggers actually hold themselves back by believing they can’t do more than they can.
Though, don’t be too hard on yourself if your challenges are far beyond what you can accomplish.
Sometimes people will bite off far more than they can chew and then give up. If this happens to you, view it more as a learning tool of what not to do next time.
Remember, Google is Watching!
Regardless of the challenge you create this month for blogging, keep in mind that Google is always watching. If you’re not producing quality content or helpful articles, you’re not going to have the best results.
The other side of the coin is that if you stick with a routine schedule, publish great pieces, and understand search intent for your topics, your site will eventually flourish.
How Do You Challenge Yourself for Blogging This Month?
This is part of the reason why I still use my writing spreadsheets every year. They first started as a way to track the money I made from Textbroker. Now, they are a pivotal part of my success.
Because I keep track of all this daily data, I can easily create a myriad of challenges for myself each month.
You don’t have to go to such extremes, though. Just knowing how many articles you published last month can help you set a blogging challenge.
In the end, it all comes down to how serious you are to build a successful blog.
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