In January 2015, I launched a training project called Blog Your Brand, exclusively for select Indie Business Network members. It was by application only, and one of the requirements was that you had to publish a new blog once a week or you would be removed from the group. Yes, that's how serious I am about what blogging can do for your business, and I did not want to have any dead weight in our group. I'm announcing a new Blog Your Brand Group in this post, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, here is some background on Blog Your Brand.
Blog Your Brand: The Beginning
I launched the private Blog Your Brand group because I saw so many of my members struggling to understand the value of blogging *before* they actually started to blog. It does not work that way. You cannot sit around for years waiting for proof that blogging is worth your while. The only way to find out is to roll up your sleeves and do it. No half stepping. No fence-sitting. You either blog or you don't blog, and that's that. So, I decided to use the group to administer some tough love. And it worked.
In January, we opened for 90 days, and during those three months, dozens of members were introduced in a personal way to the benefits of blogging. Many of them also developed a solid blogging platform for the first time. As I closed down the 90-day group, I noticed that most everyone did a great job, but one member in particular, Stacia Guzzo of Handcrafted Honey Bee, took things to a whole new level.
Stacia began sharing her progress in our Secret Facebook Group. One of the things she shared was her plan to blog for 30 days straight, beginning June 9, 2015. I immediately called her and asked her if she would co-lead an effort to help other members experience success with their blogs. Stacia jumped at the chance, and on June 14, the Blog Your Brand 30-Day Challenge was born.
Blog Your Brand Training Expands
Stacia encouraged me to offer a complimentary year of membership in the Indie Business Network as a prize to everyone who completed the challenge according to certain rules we created. I expected 10 or so members to participate.
Imagine my surprise when 44 members signed up. I knew we were onto something special.
By June 27, the halfway point, dozens of members were hanging strong, publishing blog posts every single day. It seems they were beginning to understand what I have known and lived by for years — that as an entrepreneur, you must embrace your role as a publisher.
As we continued past the halfway mark, many people began reporting back amazing results, including: increased sales, increased site traffic, more newsletter subscriptions, increased customer engagement, and most importantly, increased confidence in their ability to lead their businesses into the future.
Yesterday was the last day of the Blog Your Brand 30-Day Challenge, and 29 Indie Business Network members were left standing to publish a blog post on Day 30. I am so proud of each of them.
My team and I are now going through the process of sorting the posts so we can announce the winners of the IBN memberships next week.
Even members who did not post every single day of the 30 days are reporting that they now have a better understanding of the blogging experience, and of the importance of their blogs to the long-term sustainability and success of their businesses. Everyone is a winner as a result.
Announcing the New Blog Your Brand!
The energy has been so magnetic and the results so stunning that I could not just let the Blog Your Brand 30-Day Challenge be the end of the blogging training I offered. Since I have been a blogger for over a decade (here is my first blog post at this blog, dated May 7, 2007 — impressive, yes?), I feel constrained to help entrepreneurs sharpen their blogging chops on a grander scale. To do this, I am excited today to announce that Blog Your Brand Training is now open to any entrepreneur who wants to improve at using a blog to grow their business.
The Purpose of the New Blog Your Brand Training
The new Blog Your Brand is designed to:
1. Train you to use your blog to increase your sales
2. Train you to use your blog to establish yourself as an expert in your field
3. Train you to use your blog to expand your sphere of influence
4. Train you to use your blog to grow your confidence as the leader of your business.
If you're interested in that kind of thing, I invite you to join me in the new group by clicking here. Click “Join Group” in the upper right corner of that page, and you will be welcomed!
I cannot wait to meet and connect with you, along with other people who are ready to open up a whole new world of entrepreneurial opportunity using one of the most powerful tools on the Internet: a blog.
Question
Have you ever blogged for 30 straight days? Or even for 5 or 7 straight days? What was the experience like? What did you learn? What's holding you back from developing your own blog? I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments below, or share on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
