This is my second post in the series for the Problogger 31 Day Challenge with the SITS Girls Community. This challenge gives bloggers 31 activities to do that will improve their blogs based on the e-book by Darren Rowse.
Day one's challenge was to write an Elevator Pitch for my blog.
Day two's challenge was to Write a List Post. I love David Letterman's 10 things lists. A list is a powerful and simple way to organize your thoughts. And people enjoy reading lists posts because they are very easy to read and to jump ahead or skip the sections that hold no interest.
One of my favorite list posts that I wrote was for a TwitterMoms challenge on Ten Tips for Being Fashionable on a Budget. I love fashion and being a Bargainista and after I came up with my 10 categories, I wrote the rest of the post in about 10 minutes, which even surprised me. That post really received a lot of retweets on Twitter. For more information on list posts, visit ProBlogger to read 8 Reasons Why List Posts are Powerful for Bloggers
Day three's challenge was to Promote A Blog Post. No one wants to author a blog that no one reads, so promotion is a must. The easiest blog promotion tools are Facebook and Twitter. I am not a huge Facebook user, but I do have my blog posts automatically posted to Facebook by using Networked Blogs which will post the entry the minute I hit the post submit button.
I may be lukewarm to Facebook, but I am totally in love with Twitter and use it daily to promote my posts and to follow my favorite bloggers. I auto post all my blog entries to Twitter by using Twitter feed. With Twitter Feed, you can schedule when the items are posted. I learned about Twitter Feed during the Disney Social Media Moms Conference in a presentation by Guy Kawasaki called "Twitter is a Blogger's Best Friend". It was one of the best presentations at the conference and taught me a lot about using Twitter for marketing. For more information on promoting a blog post, read this Problogger lesson.
This is Day Four and today's challenge is to Analyze a top blog in your niche. So I had to figure out what is my niche. The closest category I line up with in Frugal Blogging, but I am not really like other Frugal Bloggers. I am not a coupon queen, don't do baby and kiddy stuff and I am not seeking a national audience. So my blog is a little different in that I like blogging about mainly free events and about Detroit. That is why I really liked the "Brand up and be Counted" presentation from the Future Midwest Conference held in Royal Oak, MI. I learned from that presentation that it is important to blog about what you love and care about and to do it from your own point of view.
But I did check out some of the major Frugal Bloggers and the most successful ones have two clear things in common: Great content and a daily schedule of updates. Great content is really the key to having people return day after day. And regular updates will give readers something to look forward to and reason to seek out your blog on a regular basis. To learn more about analyzing a top blog in your niche, read this Problogger lesson.
So that's it for this blog post. Come back on Sunday to check out the following challenges:
Day 5: Email a blog reader
Day 6: 27 must-read tips and tutorials for bloggers
Day 7: Write a link post
Follow the Twitter hashtag #31DBBB if you want to see how the 300+ woman bloggers are doing that are part of this challenge.
Enjoy!
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