We are hosting a blogging challenge with currently over 120 participants and growing!  Plus, there’s only one simple rule for this challenge :

Blog at least three times per week.

That’s it!  Your posts can be about whatever you want, you can split it up between as many blogs as you own,  and you can blog more often if you want to.  The idea is to improve your blog by creating the number one thing that can help it be more successful than ANY other social media or marketing tactic out there – CONTENT!  You will be creating meaningful content targeted to YOUR specific audience, and discussing the topics that are relevant for the people you want to find your blog.  You can spend these next 23(ish) days making timeless articles that will have people coming back to your blog long after the challenge is over.

So here are a few tips that will help you when you’re trying to build your blog, and post content on a consistent basis.

1.  It’s time to get chummy with your audience.

Whether you just started blogging, or have been at it for years – profiling your target audience can help you  form more meaningful online relationships.  Forming relationships with your readers is the most important part of your online presence, and will impact your success more than numbers will.  Once you’ve decided who you’re talking to, you can understand what solutions you might be able to provide them.

Are they work from home moms?  Or business professionals?  When are they most likely to read your blog?  Is your feed delivery scheduled properly to land in their inbox at the optimum time?  Do you readers use Facebook or Twitter more often? Are you sharing on that platform too?  Consider this and more when re-vamping your blogging strategy!

2.   Be ready when inspiration strikes.

Bring your phone, a notepad, a tablet, a napkin…anything that will allow you to write down post ideas as you get them.  I always have my iPhone with me, so when I’m out and about waiting in line, at the doctor’s office, or even in the middle of the night – I open up my notepad and jot it down.  I have over 260 blog post ideas ready to go when I need them!

3.  Have a plan.

Take those ideas, and form a blogging plan.  Use our free blog post planner, or open up a spreadsheet.  However you do it, it’s much easier to visualize where you blog is headed when you plan it out a few weeks!

4.  Make it visual.

There’s no gray area here.  Every blog post should include at least ONE image.  Pinterest gives us further reason to make these images outstanding!  Make a collage, take a picture, BUY a picture – the more visual, the better.  A few tips for photos:

• Re-size the file before uploading it to your post.  (I like Pixlr.com for editing and re-sizing.)  By default, many images are far too large for the web.  When your post editor re-sizes the image – it only visually re-sizes it, leaving you with a huge file size gunking up your lovely blog.  Images between 500-1000 pixels are perfect!
• Save your images with a search-engine friendly title.  Instead of IMG0056.jpg, use a name that will help people find both the image, and your blog.  Use dashes between words, as they’re read as “spaces” in search engines!  (Ex:  “caribbean-fish-tacos.jpg”)
• Follow the rules.  Never take an image from a blog or website, and especially not a search engine.  There’s a period after that sentence because even with proper attribution, borrowing images can get messy.  Every website has their own policies, so the ideal solution is to take your own pictures, create your own images, or purchase royalty-free images!

5.  Make it sharable.

With one click, users should be able to easily share your content on all social media platforms.  There are dozens of plugins offered for self-hosted WordPress sites, and other platforms usually include a sharing option by default or as a setting you can enable.  This site uses Jetpack, but Sharaholic is a great one too!

Speaking of sharing, here’s a handy little graphic that’s perfectly pin-able!

It’s simple. Enter your blog link in the linky below, then blog at least three times per week during the month of May. More details can be found on The Blog Designer Network, but you can enter your blog name on any linky you find!

Instead of personal blogging prompts that encourage you to write about random personal things…this challenge will encourage you to create a plan for posting the BEST content you’ve really been wanting to share. Share-worthy posts that teach something informational, maybe help your business grow, and help you stand out with content others will REALLY want to read!

For example, here on CGM I’ll be posting about how to make pin-worthy images to put on your blog, some client spotlights, and tips and tricks for this challenge too! Pin this image below, and get started with your NEW blogging plan!

Now is the perfect time to take a workshop (or three!), or even book any custom services. They’re all on sale, and only a few spaces are available for each. The quicker you book, the better the deal! Contact us to get started, or view the workshops page and register!

April 8th-19th:

25% discount on ALL custom design services (blog designs, web designs, logos, you name it!)
25% discount on ANY theme customization (any theme from Studiopress!)
30% discount on all workshops using the code ‘CGM2013′!

April 22nd-30th:

10% discount on ALL custom design services!
10% discount on ANY theme customization!
15% discount on ALL workshops!using the code ‘CGM2013′!

Giveaway!

Winners will be chosen at random on April 30th, and posted on May 1st!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, with that out of the way, I wanted to share a dirty little secret I’ve been harboring for many years, and it helps me in nearly every creative endeavor I pursue.

From early on, the idea of “being creative” came with certain traits. If you could draw a family portrait with Crayons, you were creative. If you sat in the corner melting crayons onto the furnace, you weren’t. (Whatever.)

Point being, this black and white Theory of Creativity is ingrained in us. As a result, we have people who say things like “I don’t have a creative bone in my body” or “If I had to draw my way out of Hell to save my soul, I couldn’t do it.”  Well, no one has ever said that last one to me personally, but I can imagine that’s how my friends feel when I force them to play Pictionary.

Anyway.

It’s time we change the way people think about themselves creatively. No single person is the same kind of creative as another. There are tests and quizzes and scores and labels that identify who we are, but rather than dictating how we think…these things can give us insight into choosing how we think.

So, I’m going to share my TOP secret tool I use to get creative, think outside, inside, around, and through the “box”…and I’ve been using it for years.  It can help even the most seemingly calculating, left-brained person unleash the creative tidal wave brewing deep within.

This tool is called SCAMPER, and it’s a mnemonic device for applying new ideas to things that already exist.  It’s something I learned in college, but has been a staple in my business model ever since.

• Substitute.
• Combine.
• Adapt.
• Modify.
• Put to another use.
• Eliminate.
• Reverse.

So, appropriately, let’s “SCAMPER” blogging and see how we can improve something we already do!

Substitute.

• What can you substitute to change your products, services, or writing?  What can you swap?  Exchange?  How can you apply this to your website?  What can you substitute to make your site different from someone else’s?

Example:  Substitute the written word for video blogging!  Take cues from video mavens like Marie Forleo, and switch things up to intice readers!  Then, you can SCAMPER “video blogging” and further create a unique edge for your blog.

Combine.

• What can you combine to make your service different?  How can you merge things together to make your site different?

Example:  Combine the power of Pinterest with your blog, and create pin-worthy images for every post.  Using WordPress?  Try the Pinterest Image Pinner From Collective Bias

Adapt.

• How can you adapt your site or service to serve another purpose?  What can be adapted to mesh with your blog?

Example:  Adapt your blog so that it’s easily integrated with Facebook, and use your Facebook posts to promote your content.  Allow Facebook commenting on your blog posts, and focus your social sharing options on easily targeting Facebook users.

Modify.

• How can you modify something you’re already doing?  Or how might you Magnify it?

Example:  Magnify your blogging reach by modifying how often you post.  Do you post once per week? Per month?  You can also modify what you write about, and truly decide what you are the most influential, experienced, and interested in.

Put to another use.

• What parts of your product or service could be used elsewhere?  How could your blog be put to a different, or better use?

Example:  Use your blog/website as a crowd-funding business to raise money for a meaningful non-profit organization you’re passionate about, or even become the venue in which people can do this for their own projects.  (For example, Kiva.org is a popular crowd-funding website.)

Eliminate.

• What can you remove from your blog to make it better and more user-friendly?  How can you simplify?   What can you stop doing?  What can you do LESS of in order to improve your online presence?

Example:  Remove unsuccessful or bulky ads that do not produce adequate results in order to improve the look, and even load time, of your website.  Simplify your blog or website design by reducing the amount of unnecessary colors that don’t coordinate with your brand, too many differing fonts, or bulky graphics and images that detract from your primary purpose.

Reverse.

• What if you did  the opposite of what you’re currently doing, or re-ordered your usual schedule?  How can you re-organized or reverse your processes?

Example:  Rather than focusing your site on sponsored giveaway posts that receive little interaction (comments) and only serve the purpose of paying sponsors, completely reverse your purpose and begin blogging about something you feel particularly passionate about.  Use that passion to generate a loyal following, and possibly a thriving business!

Each tactic can be used for any number of things, and not all of them will be viable (or even make sense!)  But this tactic can help you explore ideas in ways you never thought possible!