So, I’m one week into “The 99 Challenge” right now. And as I stated in post #1, I know I will have blog challenges.
Blog Challenges? You’re Not Alone.
I mentioned that I do not have these blog posts pre-written. But I also mentioned that I have a business to run, meetings to have, kids to chauffeur around, a home to maintain, etc. etc. etc. I have challenges just like you and I understand them.
With that said, there have been a few nights at my desk (after my wife and kids go to bed) finishing these posts because that is the goal that I have. Sometimes we have to have a bit of pain to figure out a new solution.
You see, I have done this before. The last time I grew my online business strictly by blogging was more than 3 years ago. I did it with another website that I sold in 2013. I also did not do it 99 days in a row, I did it for 24 weeks in a row (once per week), and that is a bit different. But just like then, there are challenges, and here are just a few that I’m been facing over the last 7 days. (Later on we will be discussing building your business by BUYING traffic. Much quicker, but I wanted to show you that it can be done this way as well).
Blog Challenge #1 | Business Shift
While I do prefer to do my posts first thing in the morning (with my cup of coffee and complete silence in the house), I’m also making a productivity shift in how I conduct my daily routine. Not sure if it’s a New Year’s thing or if I’m just losing my mind by trying to implement EVERYTHING this week.
I don’t know if you have ever seen a productivity pyramid, but here is an example. I got this one from Eban Pagan . If you get a chance to check out his work… it’s fantastic.
Your pyramid is split into sections. The top section is the goal (or in this case the money). That is the first thing that I need to do everyday to get paid. Complete a project that I can get paid for.
The next section down would include marketing my own business, making some follow up calls, calling old clients and offering to do an audit of their online business, scheduling speaking events, etc. These items can lead me to getting paid, but this won’t happen right away. But they are still high dollar value items.
The 3rd section down is more administrative tasks like checking emails, tracking and recording my receipts, checking out that new software I want to look at, etc. These are still imperative to running a successful business, but they are low dollar value. They are not going to be making me any money as much as they are costing me some time.
The bottom section are things that take away from the other 3 areas. Reading the news, texting with a buddy, FACEBOOK, etc. These are tasks that in NO WAY are going to make me money. They have a Zero or Negative Value.
One thing I’ve found in this shift is that IT’S AMAZING. I did not even check my email this morning until I finished a $500 project. I finished the project, sent out the invoice and then I checked my email. I got paid first thing in the morning. I can’t think of a better way to start my day. Then I’m extremely motivated. I want to get paid again.
I looked at my accounts receivable and it went up! The higher it gets, the happier I am. With that said, I’m fortunate in that I have very few accounts that have never been paid. So when that number is high… I’m happy!
I know that I can do the mindless office work at the end of the day. Those are tasks that should not take away from me building my business (and the bottom line).
So a shift in mindset was something that I did not see coming, but I’m extremely happy about it and welcome any more that come along.
Blog Challenge #2 | Lack of Time
Because of my productivity shift, I found out that I was more interested in the top of the triangle than anything else. Of course everyone should be, however you would be surprised how often you get sidetracked when not HYPER focused on that particular task that makes you money.
But because I’m spending all my time on the top of the triangle, I found out that I was putting off other tasks that HAVE to be performed. Quotes, consultation follow-ups, setting up meetings. These are crucial to my business and need to be done. So at the end of the day I was performing these tasks and not focusing on this goal of 99 posts in 99 days.
Therefore one of my biggest blog challenges is that it’s now 11:00pm and I’m in my home office typing this out. But I knew this was not going to be easy and I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to start a new habit with this. And besides… I know I’m not the first person to ever run out of hours in the day.
Blog Challenge #3 | Subject Shifts
I had a number of topics set up to write about each day. I’ve found that does not exactly work for me. When I got to a particular day, I did not necessarily feel like writing about the subject that I had down for that day. And if I’m going to do this, I think I should try to enjoy it. So I moved that task down the list and hopefully will be “In the mood” to try it again in the future.
One thing I can see a problem with is that you can’t plan out (too far ahead of time). If you’re blogging about your particular industry, things are going to change, there may be a new product release, or there’s going to be breaking news that you may want to discuss. Especially in an industry like Online Marketing where there is an industry shakeup every time someone at Google sneezes.
So go with what feels good. Make it easy on yourself and let it flow out of you onto the page. Just MAKE SURE that you’re offering value to your readers in everything you put down.
So you see that there are blogging challenges that I also face (you’re not alone) and one of the ideas with this challenge is to show you this. To show you that these challenges can be overcome and you can create a new habit of blogging on a regular basis (you don’t have to do it every day like I am right now) and building your business. I will show some of my statistics over the next week since I started this challenge. They are slow to come, but over time, you will see the payoff (it’s coming).
See you tomorrow…. Keep building your business!