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
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Time to learn new stuffs again. Learn… Learn… Learn…
Jayce’s last blog post..Microsoft BlueTrack Technology
I want to build a successful blog with advertising links. Is it better to pay for web hosting so that the name of the blog sounds more professional? I want to put links on there and am concerned perhaps that one can’t make money with a free blogging host…do you know of any blogs that are successful that host on these free sites? Any feedback greatly appreciated.
I missed it but thankfully he doesn’t take out all the posts from his blog
(or I guess you can also buy the ebook from him)
.-= Michael Aulia´s last blog ..7 things to love and hate about Opera Unite =-.
Since I’m not consider myself a N00b, I guess I’m worthy to read and implement the tips
.-= Saad Christopher ´s last blog ..My ebay selling secrets part 3 =-.
Nice advices ….. thanks
.-= Dexter´s last blog ..jquery wordpress plugins – part 1 =-.
Such superb text! No idea how you wrote this text..it’d take me weeks. Well worth it though, I’d suspect. Have you considered selling banners on your website?
Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S Sorry for being off-topic but I had to ask!
I use WordPress. All you have stated are equally good as a blogging platform but BlogEngine is a .NET application which means you will need to find a hosting plan that hosts .NET in order to use BlogEngine. WordPress is the best blog platform for me because it’s easy to install, there are plenty of plug-ins and themes to choose from, both paid and free. And I guess it’s familiarity since I have always used WordPress. The choice is yours but I would suggest you give WordPress a consideration. If you are looking for a hosting plan, do try Bluehost. You can sign up for a hosting account using this link: Bluehost and if you need any help installing and getting your WordPress blog setup properly, I am happy to help.
I often read your blog and always find it very interesting,keep doing your great working.