6 Tips For Staying on Track with The Ultimate Blog Challenge

For all of you taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge– we’re almost half way there !! I can’t believe that I’ve actually managed a post a day for the past 12 days.

Here are a few tips & tricks to help you stay on track for the rest of the month with this challenge (or any other blog challenge as a matter of fact)

1/ Follow the rules.  The UBC has a rule of a minimum of 100 words a post for the post to count and I’ve noticed that I’ve actually tracked my word count.  Guess what just these few lines have already hit 100 words.  You’d be surprised how many random thoughts can trigger some fab blog posts and it barely takes a 100 words !

2/ Track the challenge hash (#) tag on Twitter  I’ve saved the hash tag #blogboost on my Twitter account to read up on other members of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Not only do I get to read some great posts, it also helps inspire post ideas of my own.  The lovely ladies of UBC have also created a daily paper you can follow and use to catch up with what other authors have to say.  Make a note of the posts that strike a chord within you – maybe you could add your thoughts and create a new post out of it.  You can also find more #blogboost related tweets here.

3/ Stop Lurking and Leave Comments on other Blogs.  You have to comment on other blogs – don’t be conscious about it – just say what’s on your mind.  The blog author will definitely appreciate it; and even if your comment disagrees with what the author has to share – it encourages interaction between you, the author and the other readers too. Come on – it’s time to de-lurk now ! By leaving relevant and engaging comments (don’t just say ‘great post’); other bloggers may wander over to your blog out of curiosity.

4/ Add Your Post to the Challenge Facebook Group.  The UBC Facebook group is pretty awesome.  I’ve been a member of it for a while but today was the first time I added my post to it – and guess what – within 15 minutes – someone had come to my blog and left a comment for me ! If that wasn’t enough, that person also left me a comment on the FB link that I posted.  Double the interaction; easiest form of traffic ever and a great way to discover new bloggers !

5/ Don’t Be Afraid to Pimp Your Blog Post on FaceBook & Twitter.  That’s right folks – one of the reasons you are taking part in the blog challenge (amongst other things) is so that your blog gets discovered (and there’s no point denying that).  Make sure you Tweet your blog and the posts created for the challenge with the #blogboost and include @UBCBlogBoost in your tweets.  The ladies over at UBC will be more than happy to re-tweet your tweets creating more exposure for your blog. 

Don’t feel shy about posting the the UBC FaceBook group and if your blog is a public blog – then why not share it with your Facebook friends ? You never know which of your friends will re-post and share your blog to their circle of friends.  I’m signed up with NetWorkedBlogs on FB which automatically publishes my new blog posts to my FB page without me having to think about it. 

6/ Schedule Your Posts If You Must (And It’s Not Considered Cheating). I’ve never been a daily blogger so I knew taking part in this challenge would be a bit difficult. Over the past year I’ve taken part in a few memes like #MusicMonday, #WordlessWednesday and I created my own #SexySaturday which means that if I stick to a plan I have 3 posts ready each week during the challenge and I just have to focus on creating 4 other posts. In the meantime, if another blog post, photograph or quote catches my attention – I’m jotting them down in Windows Live Writer drafts and just come back to them as and when I can to complete and create new posts.  You can also use the ideas & suggestions from the UBC daily inspiration emails to create a schedule of posts.  I know that between 24th-31st Jan I’m going to be traveling for an event (clients’ wedding) hence I’m writing up posts that I can auto-publish for those dates (in case I forget or don’t have time etc.)

So there you have it – here are 6 tips to help you stay on track whilst you are participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  It’s helped me get through till Day 12.  I hope you’ve found this useful and if you have any other suggestions, please feel free to share your thoughts (a link or two even so others can benefit from it)

Further Reading :

1. How To Add Your Blog to NetworkedBlogs by Michelle Shaeffr
2. 7 Things To Do After You’ve Written That Blog Post by Melissa Reyes

p.s if you are taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge don’t forget to share your link below !

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