MINNIRELLA MAGAZINE
I Completed the 30 Day Blog Challenge and this is What Happened
I Completed the 30 Day Blog Challenge and this is What Happened
Does it make much difference posting new blog posts daily? If so, how does it benefit your blog? Well this month I took on the challenge to post at least one new blog post daily on the blog and the results have been overwhelming! I’m not going to lie, it has been tough at times, but it has also been a highly rewarding experience. This is what happened...
As you will know, I am already a full-time blogger anyway, but posting a new blog post every single day isn’t something I’ve done for a while. Although I usually post a couple of times a week, posting a new blog daily is a completely different challenge. As part of my 12 challenges for this year, I set myself the target to post everyday for an entire month. Now that this month is up, I’ve learned so much and it’s been a great experience!
At the time of writing this post and throughout the month of April 2020, when I completed the challenge, we’ve all been self-isolating due to the Coronavirus lockdown. This is one of the reasons why I chose April as the month when I’d attempt my 30 day blog challenge. With everybody at home all day, more people are looking for content to consume and that has already lead to the number of visitors to my blog increasing by about 25% until now. I’ve definitely noticed an increase in readers over the last couple of months, but this month my traffic has really soared and I owe it to the fact that I’ve been continuously publishing new content on my blog daily. Prior to completing this blogging challenge, I had heard that more content equals more visitors, so I wanted to put this to the test. Provided that you’re producing blog posts of a decent length (300 words or more) and the content you’re putting out there is quality content, you are sure to see an increase in page views by posting more frequently. This was certainly the case for me. Within the first couple of days after I started posting new articles daily, I noticed a spike in traffic and this increase in blog traffic has continued to rise over the last month.
Whenever I’ve set up new blogs, I’ve always taken the time to publish new articles on a daily basis in order to build up my content in the beginning. Once I’ve built up a decent amount of content on my website and feel as though my blog appears well established, I then begin to maintain a more manageable posting schedule. I set up Online Personal Stylist back in 2014 and so it’s been a while since I’ve posted new content everyday, apart from when I’ve undertaken Blogmas or Dressember challenges. It’s easy to think that once you become a full-time blogger, you can dedicate all of your time to create new blog posts on a regular basis, but this is not always the case. Ask any professional blogger and they will tell you the same. Although content creation is primarily our main role, many bloggers who work full-time on their blogs have so many other tasks to complete that it’s difficult to publish new blog posts more than a couple of times a week. Speaking from personal experience, I know that a lot of my days are actually taken up with managing social media, meetings and calls with clients, tending to emails and working on brand collaborations. As I wrote recently in this post about what motivates me to keep writing, I relish the days and blocks of time when I can just sit and write. It’s right what professional writers and authors state: you have to allocate time for writing and guard those time slots very carefully! I know this to be true and that’s why, no matter how difficult or exhausting it was going to be, I planned to make April the month when I made writing my main focus!
I have been really excited about completing this challenge. Admittedly, there were times when the challenge was really exhausting. Despite being in quarantine and self-isolating, my work has not stopped. Of course, I feel really happy and am so grateful about that! But in case you’re wondering how I’ve managed to fit in time to create new content daily, let it be known that these were normal working circumstances for me. So naturally, I’ve been balancing posting more frequently along with everything else that goes on at Online Personal Stylist as well. I found the experience really fun and enjoyable for the first two weeks. Due to the excitement of seeing my blog traffic increase, I didn’t feel tired and fitting in time to produce extra content came easy. The third week was the toughest. By this point, I was having second thoughts about my intended articles and there were one or two occasions when I didn’t succeed to post on the blog on certain days and therefore I knew I had to then publish two blog posts the following day to compensate. However, the amazing feedback I’ve been receiving, as well as my overwhelming increase in blog traffic kept me going. This challenge has been hard work at times, but amazing all the same and I am so happy that I’ve now completed it in full!
I’ve heard in the past that 21 days make a habit and I actually feel that I am now at that point. Although I feel that a break would be nice, just so that I can catch up on some of my other tasks, I really don’t want to break the habit! This challenge has taught me that any new habit is achievable if you stick with it long enough. Towards the end of the month, posting new content daily just felt like part of my standard routine and not like anything that I had to do additionally. Every blog and blogger is different, so I can’t guarantee that you’ll experience the same results, but I can say that I’ve definitely noticed an increase in blog page views! That’s another reason why I don’t want to get out of the habit by posting less frequently! After all that time and dedication, I don’t want to see my traffic decline! My plan going forward, I think, is to post as often as I can – maybe daily or every other day, and see how this affects my website traffic and engagement.
Now for May? Which of my 12 challenges should I take on for the next month? Can you guess? Don’t forget to stay up to date with my daily life and work over on Instagram.
As you will know, I am already a full-time blogger anyway, but posting a new blog post every single day isn’t something I’ve done for a while. Although I usually post a couple of times a week, posting a new blog daily is a completely different challenge. As part of my 12 challenges for this year, I set myself the target to post everyday for an entire month. Now that this month is up, I’ve learned so much and it’s been a great experience!
More Content = More Blog Traffic
At the time of writing this post and throughout the month of April 2020, when I completed the challenge, we’ve all been self-isolating due to the Coronavirus lockdown. This is one of the reasons why I chose April as the month when I’d attempt my 30 day blog challenge. With everybody at home all day, more people are looking for content to consume and that has already lead to the number of visitors to my blog increasing by about 25% until now. I’ve definitely noticed an increase in readers over the last couple of months, but this month my traffic has really soared and I owe it to the fact that I’ve been continuously publishing new content on my blog daily. Prior to completing this blogging challenge, I had heard that more content equals more visitors, so I wanted to put this to the test. Provided that you’re producing blog posts of a decent length (300 words or more) and the content you’re putting out there is quality content, you are sure to see an increase in page views by posting more frequently. This was certainly the case for me. Within the first couple of days after I started posting new articles daily, I noticed a spike in traffic and this increase in blog traffic has continued to rise over the last month.
Why Many Full-time Bloggers Don’t Publish Daily Blog Posts
Whenever I’ve set up new blogs, I’ve always taken the time to publish new articles on a daily basis in order to build up my content in the beginning. Once I’ve built up a decent amount of content on my website and feel as though my blog appears well established, I then begin to maintain a more manageable posting schedule. I set up Online Personal Stylist back in 2014 and so it’s been a while since I’ve posted new content everyday, apart from when I’ve undertaken Blogmas or Dressember challenges. It’s easy to think that once you become a full-time blogger, you can dedicate all of your time to create new blog posts on a regular basis, but this is not always the case. Ask any professional blogger and they will tell you the same. Although content creation is primarily our main role, many bloggers who work full-time on their blogs have so many other tasks to complete that it’s difficult to publish new blog posts more than a couple of times a week. Speaking from personal experience, I know that a lot of my days are actually taken up with managing social media, meetings and calls with clients, tending to emails and working on brand collaborations. As I wrote recently in this post about what motivates me to keep writing, I relish the days and blocks of time when I can just sit and write. It’s right what professional writers and authors state: you have to allocate time for writing and guard those time slots very carefully! I know this to be true and that’s why, no matter how difficult or exhausting it was going to be, I planned to make April the month when I made writing my main focus!
How I Managed to Publish a New Blog Post Everyday for an Entire Month
I have been really excited about completing this challenge. Admittedly, there were times when the challenge was really exhausting. Despite being in quarantine and self-isolating, my work has not stopped. Of course, I feel really happy and am so grateful about that! But in case you’re wondering how I’ve managed to fit in time to create new content daily, let it be known that these were normal working circumstances for me. So naturally, I’ve been balancing posting more frequently along with everything else that goes on at Online Personal Stylist as well. I found the experience really fun and enjoyable for the first two weeks. Due to the excitement of seeing my blog traffic increase, I didn’t feel tired and fitting in time to produce extra content came easy. The third week was the toughest. By this point, I was having second thoughts about my intended articles and there were one or two occasions when I didn’t succeed to post on the blog on certain days and therefore I knew I had to then publish two blog posts the following day to compensate. However, the amazing feedback I’ve been receiving, as well as my overwhelming increase in blog traffic kept me going. This challenge has been hard work at times, but amazing all the same and I am so happy that I’ve now completed it in full!
What Now?
I’ve heard in the past that 21 days make a habit and I actually feel that I am now at that point. Although I feel that a break would be nice, just so that I can catch up on some of my other tasks, I really don’t want to break the habit! This challenge has taught me that any new habit is achievable if you stick with it long enough. Towards the end of the month, posting new content daily just felt like part of my standard routine and not like anything that I had to do additionally. Every blog and blogger is different, so I can’t guarantee that you’ll experience the same results, but I can say that I’ve definitely noticed an increase in blog page views! That’s another reason why I don’t want to get out of the habit by posting less frequently! After all that time and dedication, I don’t want to see my traffic decline! My plan going forward, I think, is to post as often as I can – maybe daily or every other day, and see how this affects my website traffic and engagement.
Now for May? Which of my 12 challenges should I take on for the next month? Can you guess? Don’t forget to stay up to date with my daily life and work over on Instagram.