Hello, beautiful people from across the lands. As Project 104 is coming to an end I know I will most likely not repeat a similar challenge. For those who may not be familiar with Project 104, I originally committed to 2 blog post a week when I first started my blog. Two blog posts a week times 52 weeks is a total of 104 posts. During my journey of blogging, I did not stay consistent with this commitment. I thought to challenge myself to meet the 104 posts before my 1st anniversary of blogging. This post will make 50 out of 104 with only 4 days to complete. I do not think I thought this challenge all the way through before open up my big mouth. Let’s get into these pros and cons.
Pros
Batching content is Life
Batching content is king. I was not aware of this technique until I started forcing myself to push out so much content at once. I now realize having material available in bulk at a time saves me so much time. Applying this technique could have been pivotal if I was aware at the beginning of my blogging journey. I currently use Asana to organize my content in batches. I am still learning how to perfect my style of batching but it is for sure a lifesaver!
Growing A Following
Project 104 has increased my following. Being more consistent and frequently posting on social media has created positive feedback. My Instagram went from 341 to 385 within the two months of consistently posting and sharing. My website views have been the highest in August since the start of my blog. Seeing these small results have given me insight into the importance of consistent posting.
Pushing Me Out of My Comfort Zone
Creating 5 to 10 post weekly has pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. I’ve had to do more research, get creative on topics to discuss, be strategic in creating engagement, and learning new ways to market on various social media platforms. I have become a student watching others in similar fields like a hawk. Watching countless YouTube videos to discover the most recent and successful ways to share content and eventually monetize. It has been a bumpy but exciting ride.
Cons
Overload and Burn Out
One of the things I notice when pushing so much content at once was that it didn’t allow time for the blog post to be fully taken in. I was sharing 5 sometimes up to 7 blog post in one day. Insane I know, and extreme overload. I’ve been becoming burned out and mentally exhausted. Typing a blog post is one thing. But then there is editing, linking within in a post (SEO woes), creating imagery and caption to go along with it. Doing that for 5 to 7 blog post each was very overwhelming. Right now I am just teaming me and I do not have the luxury of assigning a task to folk. One day I will get there but right now during this challenge, I am not quite.
Marketing Not Strategic
Having a marketing strategy in place is right next to batch content. I did not have a strategy for all this content coming out at once. Post were not consistently scheduled. I would just post after edits were done and moved on to the next. I still need to double down on my target audience. As my following is growing I want to make sure I am creating things that are relatable and spot on.
Overall my experience with Project 104 has been an insightful one with ups and downs. 2020 shall be the year of consistency and strategic planning.
Until next dream, believe and achieve.
