31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge!

I recently completed the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge run by Darren Rowse, the problogger (@problogger). I took away a lot of ideas that I will use to improve this blog and other blogs that I will create in the future.

What I thought of the challenge
A lot of what was said in the daily challenges are great reminder. I know what I ought to do at the back of my mind but to actually put them into action requires reminding for my part. For example when I created my blog, it was an experiment. It’s coming to two years now and I still keep some blogging bad habits and the challenges helped me remind myself that I should do things differently to grow my blog. Another example, It didn’t occur to me to think of an elevator pitch until I started the challenge. I was concentrating more on the content rather than telling others about my blog.

Reading the exchanges of comments during the daily challenges also gave me a chance to learn from other bloggers and realize that I am not the only one in the blogsphere facing the problems growing my blog. There are others out there too asking the same questions and facing similar challenges.

For those of you who missed the challenge, here is a summary of what was covered in the 31 days.

For your information, this challenge is not for beginners in blogging. It is more beneficial for bloggers who already have a blog and have been blogging for awhile.

Day #1: 31 Day Challenge – Create an Elevator Pitch
Day #2: 31 Day Challenge – Write a List Post
Day #3: 31 Day Challenge – Promote a Blog Post
Day #4: 31 Day Challenge – Analyze a Successful Blog
Day #5: 31 Day Challenge – Email a Blog Reader
Day #6: 31 Day Challenge – Learn from These 10 Expert Bloggers
Day #7: 31 Day Challenge – Link Link Link
Day #8: 31 Day Challenge – Interlink Some Old Posts
Day #9: 31 Day Challenge – Promote Your Blog with Forums
Day #10: 31 Day Challenge – Set up ‘Alerts’ for Your Blog
Day #11: 31 Day Challenge – Come up with 10 Post Ideas
Day #12: 31 Day Challenge – Editorial Calendars
Day #13: 31 Day Challenge – Visit a Mall (yes, you heard me right)
Day #14: 31 Day Challenge – Update a Key Page or Post
Day #15: 31 Day Challenge – Find a Blog Buddy
Day #16: 31DBBB – Solve a Problem
Day #17: 31DBBB – First Time Reader Audit
Day #18: 31DBBB – Create a Sneeze Page for Your Blog
Day #19: 31 Day Challenge – Write an Opinion Post
Day #20: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog – Leave Comments on Other Blogs
Day #21: 31 Days to Build a Better Blog – Breathe Life into an Old Post
Day #22: 31DBBB – Make a Reader Famous!
Day #23: 31DBBB – Write a Call to Action
Day #24: 31DBBB – Read a Magazine and Improve Your Blog
Day #25: 31DBBB – Ask Your Readers a Question
Day #26: 31DBBB – Improve Someone Else’s Blog
Day #27: 31DBBB – Hunt for Dead Links
Day #28: 31DBBB – Write a Review Post
Day #29: 31DBBB – Develop a Plan to Build Your Readership
Day #30: 31DBBB – Analyze the Stats on Your Blog
Day #31: 31DBBB – Plan Your Next Steps

Link to 31DBBB: www.problogger.net