Tomorrow is the big day! February 1st is the start of a new month and a blank slate for your blog. Enter: the 28-Day Blog Challenge.
The idea:
We all make blogging resolutions, to-do lists and wish lists. But how many of us actually commit to putting some of those goals into action? For 28 days, we’re going to spend time reworking, refreshing and rethinking our blogs, social media spaces, community and more.
The changes can be big — go self hosted! create a new header! make some new Twitter lists! — or small — comment on a new blog! update your about page! check your blog for bad links! — and the beauty of the challenge is that you decide what to do.
Every time you make a change, head to the official #28DBC Challenge hub and let everyone know what you did, with a comment, a photo or a video. That’s also the place to go to ask questions, find new blogs and celebrate the great work that we’re all doing.
But if you need a few ideas, how about these prompts?
28 Suggestions:
Blogging
- Add/update categories (BONUS: Add/update menus and navigation bars)
- Update and enhance your About page (BONUS: take new headshot and add to sidebar)
- Update and enhance your Contact page
- Add to/update your subscription options (BONUS: Add email feature)
- Update and enhance your sharing options (BONUS: Make sure that your Twitter name is pre-populated in any sharing tools you have)
- Find your five most popular posts and edit for grammar, broken links, add new information/photos (BONUS: Do this for your 10 most popular posts)
- Update your menus/navigation bar
Social Media
- Update profile photo/avatar (BONUS: Do this on all platforms)
- Update header (BONUS: Do this on all platforms)
- Review and refresh bios, including URLS (BONUS: Do this on all platforms)
- Review and refresh follows/friends
- Create/edit lists (BONUS: Do this on all platforms)
- Edit your sharing settings so that your Twitter and other handles are pre-populated (BONUS: consider adding a relevant hashtag)
- Add/edit your Gravatar
Communication
- Add/update your email signature to include blog URL and other platform links
- Add a canned response (or more than one!) to address common questions you get
- Create/edit your Google Reader folders for better organization
- Create/edit your media kit (BONUS: Create/edit your cover letter)
- Set up an email filter so all relevant emails go to a new inbox/group
- Set up a new form or spreadsheet to take questions/feedback on your website
- Design and print new business cards with your current information
Community
- Comment on five blog posts (from separate websites!)
- Write a post that includes links to five other posts that you found interestesting
- Offer five #FF (Follow Friday) suggestions on Twitter
- Link to five of your favorite Facebook pages on FB
- Find five local blogs
- Find three relevant hashtags for your blog/interests and add them to your Tweetdeck or other social media listening station
- Select your favorite blog and email the owner — tell him/her why you like it, what you admire most and offer some unsolicited POSITIVE comments
If you need more ideas, you can also check out the Blogging Homework series I did, which has lots of to-dos.
Have questions? Need suggestions on how you can take part in the Challenge? Let me know — here or on the Challenge page.
About Katy
So excited for this to start!
Me too! I can’t wait! It’s the kick in te butt I need
Super pumped to start this; my blog needs some serious spring cleaning and revamping!
I’m really looking forward to this – small steps each day instead of getting overwhelmed with lots to do! Thanks for hosting!
Never would have thought of all these little challenges on my own; thanks so much for facilitating this, Katy. I can’t wait to get started, and to watch my blog transform into something much more complete, and much more exciting.
P.S. 28DBC shout-out on my blog today: http://armypantsandflipflops.com/2013/01/31/leave-me-alone-ghosts/. Hoping to get some suggestions from my readers for ways they’d like to see my blog improve or change.
So excited to get started! Thanks for putting this challenge out there!
Where is the “Challenge Hub” where we can brag about our changes? Is it the Challenge Loop site?
Axel,
Yes — the Challenge Loop page for our challenge is the place to go and leave your comments, so they count as entries. But I would absolutely brag about the changes on your own site as well!
I put a cute puppy on my blog, you come back over the top with a super-cute baby. Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it, I’m heading over to Craigslist to find a super-duper-cute baby koala bear. Top that!
This is exactly what my blog needs right now: a rejuvenating facelift (it needs it just as much as my Aunt Doris does.) Can’t wait! Count me in!
Thank you for these great ideas (and for hosting the challenge!). Its just what I have been needing to move forward with my blog.
As always, my social media/blogging/general life guru, you are amazing. These are all great tips, and definitely some FABULOUS reminders about things I need to update and add (just realized that the Twitter handle on my blog’s contact page was still my old one!! Eeep!).
You’re really raising the bar for bloggers, Katy, and I can’t wait to see what kind of awesome things come out of this challenge.
Great suggestions & I’m looking forward to kicking things off tomorrow!
I just signed up and can’t wait to start tomorrow!
Thank you so much for this much needed motivation!!
Wow, what a fabulous idea! I need to do so many of these things, and this is the perfect outlet for motivational support to just DO IT. Thanks so much for posting this Katy!
This is a great idea, and challenge. Thanks for posting!
Thank you for organzing this, Katy! I think it’s something every blogger needs. Can’t wait to make improvements to my blog and meet lots of new people.
Awesome! I am in and just happen to be making some changes as we speak (well, Ryan Sullivan is making them for me!).
The baby is adorable and I love the name..my daughter is Audrey too!
Wonderful, fantabulous reminders!
This sounds like a wonderful challenge. Need a structured method of improving my blog!
Thanks for sharing
Love this idea! I always look for ways to improve my blog, so I think this is great!
So excited for this!!!
My husband actually found this challenge for me!
I really need all the help that I can get, so thank you for challenging me! xoxo
And I just reached my first challenge…..make sure that I use the correct URL when leaving comments! lol
I’m all over this!!! I’ve been needing to do this for quite some time. Thanks for the kick in the behind I needed!
I was told about this challenge from Rachel at Busy Mama Fitness!
xoxo
Roxie-Girl
I’m excited for this challenge to start. I actually started on my own a couple of days ago, so it just makes since to complete this challenge with you guys. Can anyone tell me the best way to create your own header?
Hey, Renae — welcome!
You may want to also post the question on the Challenge Loop, since I’m sure others are wondering as well.
http://www.challengeloop.com/challenge/28-day-blog
Is your question about the best program to use to design something (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver), or a technical tutorial on actually enabling it in your theme/blog?
This is just the kick in the pants I needed. Excited! Audrey is too cute!
I’ve been planning to revamp my blog BIG TIME anyway, so this will totally help keep me accountable! Thanks for starting it!
Thanks for providing the kick in the butt I needed to finally make some of the changes I keep putting off on my blog. I’m really excited about the next 28 days!
Your site looks awesome, by the way! Not sure when you made the changes, but I love them.
Genius idea, Katy! I’m in
So glad I found your site before tomorrow! I want to join!
I definitely need this extra push to update a few things… signing up!
What a great idea! I’m always updating mine because I’m a fairly new blogger, but I’m in
Thanks for all the suggestions. I’m going to work out a plan for what I really want to achieve and how to get there over the next 28 days. It probably would have been best to do that ahead of time, but I didn’t.
Just signed up! Can’t wait to update my blog with some great ideas!
What a great idea! Thanks so much for the idea! I’m intimidated to follow through, that’s for sure. It can’t hurt to try!!
LOVE this idea, Katy! We are super new bloggers (just started this month) but are loving it and these are certainly ideas we can put into motion. Hope you’re having a great Friday!
This is a great way for me to stay on track with the momentum I started at the end of the year or beginning of January….don’t really remember but I have made some changes. This may be my kick in the butt to finish my to do list!
What a great challenge! I am so excited to participate!
What a great idea! Thank you! I’m sure there are broken links in old articles that I should clean up.
What a great idea! I LOVE the 28 suggestions. I am working really hard to improve my blog and *fingers crossed* increase my readership. You are wonderful. Thank you for this!
This is perfect timing for me, as I just started my blog & am still learning. Perfect-Thanks!
This is perfect timing for me, as I just started my blog & am still learning.
I actually was doing this last night- fixed one of my pages with my menus to add links. Added a button, updated my about me page.
I’m so excited to make some of your suggested changes! I’m a couple of days late starting, but I see tons of changes that I can make based on your list up there!
PS – your site is looking great – the new look is fresh and I love it!
Sign me up!
Hey – so I am WAY behind on this challenge but really want to join in! Is it once a day or can I do a few at once? I have so much to accomplish! Let me know – I hope I can still join for real
Jump on in! The idea is just to spend some time during the month *thinking* about your site and making small changes, so you can start at any time. Lots of people are doing multiple items on one day (and, say, taking the weekend off).