The New Year is just around the corner, and I have an idea about how you can get your 2023 off to a great start. Set yourself a 31-Day Challenge for January.
With this kind of challenge, you commit to doing something each and every day of the month for the entire month. It doesn’t have to tie into your goals. And it shouldn’t be something that takes more than 15 minutes… a half-hour tops.
The purpose of a challenge like this is to see what it feels like to take daily action… to do something you’re proud of… and possibly to get a great result from your efforts.
You can do anything you want to do. It can be creative, mundane, even silly. Really… the whole point is to commit to do something and then follow through.
It’s even more fun when you share what you’re up to and provide your followers with regular updates. (Need followers? You can post this challenge and your progress in the Digital Copywriter Facebook group.
Now, if you need ideas for what your challenge should be, I have three to share with you.
Write One Poem a Day
Poetry is something that a lot of writers do when they’re younger and then get pulled away from. If you were a poet once upon a time but haven’t penned a verse in a while, you might really enjoy this challenge.
A couple of key things to keep in mind…
- You can write your poem about whatever inspires you in the moment.
- Poems can be short… you could commit to a daily Haiku, for example.
- These don’t need to be works of art… they just need to be done.
Email One Prospect a Day
Prospecting is something a lot of writers struggle with, so imagine how great you’ll feel having sent an email out to a potential client every day of the month. Dollars to doughnuts, you’ll feel a lot more relaxed about sending those kinds of messages in the future.
To make this challenge a success…
- Focus in on a single industry. It will make it easier to find prospects.
- Keep each message short. One hundred to 150 words are all you need.
- Don’t spend too much time on a message, but do take a few minutes to personalize your opening line.
- This doesn’t need to be a hard sell. You can simply introduce yourself, talk about how you help your clients, and ask if a conversation makes sense.
Post Something to LinkedIn Each Day
The more you post to LinkedIn (within reason), the more the LinkedIn algorithm will show your posts to people interested in the topic you write about. Posting every day in the month of January will give you some good traction, and probably bring in quite a few new connections.
A few things to help with this challenge…
- Stay focused on a single topic throughout the month, like content marketing or case studies.
- Share your thoughts, tips, insights, and stories.
- Also share relevant content from other sources but add your own take.
- Bonus points if you respond to all your commenters.
Doing a 31-Day Challenge in January is a great way to get your year off to a strong start with a sense of accomplishment. And it can give you feeling for what you can do when you take consistent, daily action.
What’s New?
The Reality Blog Challenge is coming to an end. There’s just one more thing to do — cast your vote!
It you haven’t had a chance to read each of the three posts written by each of our four contenders, I recommend you take a look at their work and then take a minute (more like 10 seconds) to vote for your favorite.
In alphabetical order (by last name), we have:
- Jennifer Ayling
- EG Orren
- Maia Richardson
- Tory Tredway
From Jennifer Ayling, catch up with…
- A Writing Income from Many Sources
- Why Eating Doughnuts Is Easier Than Writing
- The Way I Look at It…
From EG Orren, make sure you read…
- Regroup, Recharge, and Relaunch
- My Frankenstein Time Management Technique
- Overcoming Forces of Nature
From Maia Richardson, you won’t want to miss…
- What Creates the Magic to Achieve Your Life Goals?
- A Surprisingly Simplified Strategy to Experience Joyful Productivity
- How Do You Overcome Monumental Setbacks in Life?
From Tory Tredway, be sure to check out…
- “If Mama Ain’t Happy, Then Nobody’s Happy.”
- Three Keys to Increasing Your Productivity as a Copywriter
- Four Tips on Overcoming Setbacks in The Writer’s Life
Once you’ve got a good feel for each of the candidates, and you know whose journey you’d like to watch unfold, the next step is to vote. And you can do that right here…
What’s Coming Up?
December 13: Our Monthly Member Update is happening next Tuesday (rescheduled from yesterday). Join me for a discussion of how evaluate the past year and set yourself up more success in the year to come.
December 16: Creating a customer persona for your clients is a great break-in project and one that can help you deliver better content and better results on future projects. In this live webinar, I’ll walk you through the steps of creating a customer persona and give you ideas for how to use it.
3 Things You Might Like…
Learn more about Google’s helpful content update and their product review update in Moz’s Whiteboard Friday. Understanding these updates will help you continue to deliver great results to your clients.
If you want to attract more of “your kind of clients,” this article from Copyblogger can help you see how the story you’re telling plays a role in making that happen.
When it comes to emails that deepen connections and nurture relationships, the details matter. Learn how small changes can make the email exchanges between you and your clients go more smoothly.
That’s all for now. Enjoy your weekend!
