Ultimate Blog Challenge | Solo Mompreneur

Ultimate Blog Challenge Day 11 – Are You Still Going Strong or Running Out of Steam?

We’ll soon be arriving at the halfway mark of this season’s Ultimate Blog Challenge.

If you’re a participant in this event, I wanted to check in with you to see how you’re doing.

This is not my first blogging challenge and I’m more than aware of the highs and lows of making the commitment to craft 31 posts in 31 days.

How are you holding up?

Are you still as excited as Day 1?

Do you have lots and lots of ideas and topics to blog about?

Are you staying on track or falling behind?

Are you feeling energized or overwhelmed?

If, by any chance, you feel as if you’re “pushing” yourself to get a post written or staying up late at night just to “get it done”, that’s not good.

If blogging every day is starting to feel more like a “chore” than an exhilarating challenge, it may be that you need to re-vamp your strategy or tap into some easy, creative ways to get a post on the page!

If you’re struggling along or feeling somewhat bogged down or in a blog fog, here’s what I’d suggest:

Relax – Begin by listening to this short meditation from blog challenge member, Janet Nestor. It works!
Read Part 1 and Part 2 of Michele Scism’s “10 Minute Blog Post System”.
Head on over to Tristan Higbee’s Blogging Bookshelf and read “How to Turn a Lousy Headline into a Great One”.
Learn the best and easiest ways to find and add images to your posts. Michelle Shaeffer will show you how – plus she can show you how to do about a million other things, as well!
For inspiration, motivation, and an occasional kick in the butt, subscribe to Martha Giffen’s Blog. Martha’s a savvy marketer and seasoned blog challenger.
Go and grab a little gift from me! 20 Blog Post Titles for You

Filed Under: Blogging, Improving writing skills, Writing effective headlines Tagged With: Blogging Bookshelf, Janet Nestor, Martha Giffen, Michele Scism, Michelle Shaeffer, Ultimate Blog Challenge

It’s Viral – for Better or for Worse

By Melanie Kissell 5 Comments

There is nothing new about networking as a savvy strategy to grow your business.

This is precisely why people attend meet-ups and join the Chamber of Commerce.

But the fact the practice is becoming so popular on the web is why it’s important you take the leap into social networking online so you can take advantage of this shift.

Because social media venues are easy to use and understand, even for people who are not technically talented, people are joining social networks in super large numbers – a trend that isn’t going away and gaining momentum!

Great.

Nice to know but …

Have you overcome the big challenge of developing a tactical plan of action for using social media effectively?

Took me a while to figure this out so let me see if I can help to shorten your learning curve.

Guiding principles for social media marketing – A tactical plan

It’s transparent – be who you are: No pseudonyms allowed and write in your own words. Don’t be afraid to show a bit of your personal self and let your uniqueness shine through. Being totally genuine will greatly increase your believability and earn you mounds of credibility.

It’s a conversation – join it: Only by joining in conversations can you hope to be influential in the hearts and minds of your prospects, customers, and clients. Your brand is what “they” say it is, NOT what you say it is.

It’s personal – focus on the individual: Participation in social media venues, blogging communities, and other social sites is for the individual, by the individual. Build your brand but don’t author your posts in the name of “Your Company”. Social media is not the place for mass communications.

It’s viral – for better or for worse: One of the most attractive and effective elements of social media for online marketing is the viral effect. Everyone is creating social campaigns hoping they will go “viral”. But this can also work against you – just ask the executive caught bad-mouthing his company on a YouTube video!

Ouch.

Filed Under: Blogging, Brand yourself online, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking Tagged With: Blogging, Social Media, Social Networking, Ultimate Blog Challenge

How I Write A Blog Post (If you’re curious and need a laugh)

By Melanie Kissell 16 Comments

After midnight – the magic begins (and the neighbor’s dog has finally stopped barking)

Don’t know why. Gave up years ago trying to figure it out. I don’t have a creative bone in my body until the clock strikes twelve! Go figure.

(Right now it’s 1:57 AM)

Coffee is my friend.

Title first – always

It’s not like the blogging police are going to knock on my door if I write the post first and the title last! Just can’t help it.

I refuse to write one word until I’m totally pleased with the title. (Being a recovering perfectionist, this could take hours)

I know. They have support groups for this sort of thing.

Outline – never

Note what I mentioned above. Perfectionists should never write outlines for blog posts – could take days to complete.

Yes, I wrote the required outlines for my college thesis and my term papers in high school.

It was painful.

Keywords – probably not

I don’t really pay much attention to keywords. Surprised? Did I just add some shock value to this post?! I’m a writer – not a keyworder. I much prefer to rely heavily on “latent semantic indexing”.

And anyway, it sounds fancier.

Has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think?

Content – whatever my readers want, need, enjoy, and find valuable

Let’s face it. I’m a people pleaser.

Call to action – same one every time

I don’t formally include a call to action in my posts – I just pray for one.

Keeping my fingers crossed, I say a little prayer people will enjoy my posts and come back to read more.

Filed Under: Blogging, Writing effective headlines Tagged With: Blogging, Melanie Kissell, Ultimate Blog Challenge

Promoting Invisible People

By Melanie Kissell 18 Comments

That’s what article writing challenges and blog challenges are designed to do – make you VISIBLE!

Do you ever feel like an invisible person whose talents, passion, and expertise are just floating around out in cyberspace and no one seems to know you even exist?

Would you describe your blog as looking more like a ghost town than a hot vacation spot?

Is your mom and your best friend the only two people supporting your success online? Let’s face it. They love you, but they’re probably not even in your target audience.

So what’s an invisible entrepreneur to do?!

You need “exposure” … and you need it NOW.

There are two events going on starting today that can get you out of hiding and bring you, your brand, and your business into the spotlight.

Don’t dilly-dally.

Sprint on over to check out the Ultimate Blog Challenge and the Article Marketing Success Weekend!