One of my new year’s resolutions for 2021 is to blog more, so I decided to run another blogging challenge. The last challenge was 21 days, and that felt way too long, so I decided to change the challenge to 14 days this time. The purpose of the challenge is to get into a habit of writing blog posts regularly. While it’s unlikely I will write daily after the challenge, I expect to write weekly throughout the year.
If you are participating in the challenge, here are a few tips that have helped me in previous challenges. I hope they will help you with this round.
1. Plan your posts
I’m a planner, so I spent about 30 minutes over the weekend, planning out my posts for the challenge. That way, when it’s time to write the post, I don’t have to stop and think about a subject. My planning was pretty simple; I listed the date, title, website, and notes for each post. You can view my planning sheet, and copy it if it helps you.
2. Block out some time for the blogging challenge
I find that I am more likely to make time to do something on my calendar. So I went through and blocked out the time on both my digital and paper planners. Not only that, but I also added “Blog” to my to-do list every day of the challenge.
Please note that while my calendar shows that I have an hour blocked off, you probably won’t need that much time. I have to post the daily updates in the Facebook group, so I blocked off more time than I’ll need to write each post. I suggest blocking off about 30 minutes for each post.
3. Keep it brief
This is a blogging challenge, and your posts don’t have to be novel-length! Aim for a few paragraphs per post.
4. Use a writing helper
I recently discovered Grammarly. It’s an AI-powered “helper” that gives suggestions for improving your writing. For example, if I start writing with a passive voice, Grammarly will give me suggestions for changing it to an active voice. It will also provide suggestions for improving clarity, help keep you from repeating the same words, and even tell you the “tone” of what you write (this paragraph is confident, joyful, and optimistic), They have extensions for Chrome, Microsoft Word, and more.
5. Write more if you are inspired (or have extra time)
There are no rules for the challenge other than “post for 14 days in a row.” If you find yourself particularly inspired or just have some extra time, you can write more than one post. Just use the “schedule” feature for your blog to have that extra post publish at a later date.
6. Sign up for the guide and group
If you didn’t already sign up for the free guide, you could still do so now. It includes a page with 21 post ideas, so if you get hopelessly stuck on coming up with an idea for a post, it could help you with some direction. I also suggest joining the 14-Day Blogging Challenge Facebook group, where I will be posting daily reminders, additional tips, and more. Plus, you can post links to each of your blog posts, to get feedback (if you want it) and more followers for your blog.