Benefits of the Content Igniter’s Challenge and How I Plan to Move Forward

I am writing.
Writing

I am delighted that I decided to participate in The Content Igniter’s Blogging Challenge. Everything about this challenge has helped me to move forward with posts on my blog. I’m writing, and I am posting. Hooray!

**The number one benefit for me is that I started to post. I continued to post. And I will continue to post.**

The Benefits that I Received from this challenge are as follows:

  •  I am a writer, but I am now also a blogger. 

I have wanted to blog for a very long time. It is over ten years. I started a website in 2004 and planned to blog along with it. I started a site. Life changed. The site work ended. I became discouraged. The blog never happened. I continued to talk about wanting to blog all of these years. I have been writing, but not posting. I have moved past the fear factor of posting what I have written. For me, that is enormous! I am blogging. Hooray!

  • I learned some different post writing styles, and I also think about my objective when I am writing.

I have learned that there are so many different styles of writing posts, and I now value the many different types of content. I  was comfortable with each of the styles that I encountered and became more confident posting day by day. It was a great benefit writing the posts that became the lead magnet.

  • I met my deadlines and did not procrastinate. I worked with a daily plan to fit my life, or I would not have been able to complete it. 

If I want to meet the daily challenge, I need to push myself to do the difficult technical and writing tasks even when I struggled. Perseverance paid off. Procrastination is an enemy.

  • I have received comments and interactions. I have made valuable connections. 

I have some new online friends, and some have subscribed. It is possible that there are a couple of them who will trade guest posts with me. It is great to meet, connect, and exchange ideas and interact with others.

  • Resource Page 

I understand the value of plotting out the blog/site so that it works better with SEO and how I can make it an asset for my readers to find helpful information, as well as, navigate more easily around my site.

How am I going to use these lessons in the days, weeks, and months ahead?

I am determined now to make a success of my blog and my website as well as write the books, tutorials, posts and patterns that I am planning. I intend to make the next 20 or 25 years fruitful and to share what I have learned. I will be very grateful if I can do all of this. I have big plans.  I am scheduling my activities so that I can accomplish what I want for myself. My dream is now becoming my reality. I started.

Presently I am writing every day. I write morning pages and either work on my book or a blog post. I have written a schedule.

I have created a daily planner since I had certain tasks to do with a deadline. To accomplish that and meet my deadline I need to think ahead, plan, organize, schedule my daily activities in order of priority and accomplish what I set out to do.

I have planned what I want to accomplish during the day, next week and by the end of the year. At the end of the year, I will re-evaluate and reschedule as needed. I like to work with a plan and a deadline. I have spent some time to write it down. When I write it down, I act, and it becomes reality.

A simplified plan and timeline follow:

Daily-

  • To write morning pages and my book or a blog post six days a week.
  • To work on some daily needlework at least in the early morning or late in the day, while relaxing. (This I always have done)
  • To write a minimum of 5 needlework definitions into my dictionaries daily.

Next week-

  • To set up my bookkeeping
  • To purchase EQ7 software to create quilt patterns and to know my way around in the software by the end of the month.
  • To create a page on the website called “Sew what did I find on the internet this week?”
  • To incorporate an Amazon affiliate button on my website for book and product reviews.

Weekly-

  • To send a newsletter out with excerpts of my posts and other needlework news.
  • To find at least one “Sew What Did I Discover on the Internet this Week” needle arts related news piece to add to my website. This page is yet to be created next week on the site.

Monthly-

  • To write at least one tutorial on my site.
  • To keep writing every day and posting on the blog/website.
  • To write book and product reviews as applicable.

In three months-

  • To have some small quilt patterns like runners and mug rugs available on Etsy and Ravelry

In six months-

  • To add some vest patterns to Etsy and Ravelry.

In 9 months-

  • To have my first quilt pattern for sale on Etsy and Ravelry.

At the end of the year-

  • To continue to write daily, posting or on my book(s).
  • To have my first book completed: the title is yet to be determined but ‘Needlework for the Soul’-Stories of how needlework is healing for the soul and how needlework benefits you mentally, physically and emotionally.

I shall add to my resource page as I create varying styles of content as we learned to do or add useful resources that I find to this page.

I benefitted by seeing how Mike Allison has given of his own time to produce the 15 Day Blogging Challenge, to read, interact and to share what he knows. To teach in a unique way and give back to the world. I was going to write the dictionaries on my site as a paid area, but I think I will continue to work on them to give back to needleworkers to provide these resources for others. I am very grateful for the guidance, interaction and the teaching that I received. It was a huge benefit to me, and I would recommend this to anyone wanting to provide quality blogging content.

I write. I am now blogging.  I say, “thank you.” 

Author: Karen Monteith

Karen is a writer, needle artist, nature lover and gardener who loves to share such information and to encourage the needle arts.

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