[Team – 30DBC]

Please let everyone know of the progress you have made so far below. How many people have you added to your constant contact account ?

[Marie Palmeri]

I have made a few more blog posts with pictures and videos, made comments on other people’s posts, and sent out a few messages to friends on my Contacts list who may be interested in visiting my website.

[Monica]

Great job Marie! Love the effort you are putting into your project and I’m sure it will be so worth it in the long run! Remember to keep sharing your posts on social media and to always create content that had purpose and your values. It’s better to have less and good quality content rather than a lot of not so great content. We are here to help you always so keep sharing 🙂 Well done.

[Lisa Lysen]

I’m really enjoying your posts, Marie. Your story is so inspiring! Thanks for commenting on my posts, too. I really appreciate it.

[Lisa Lysen]

I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and invited people to follow my blog today! I’ve had a few join my mailing list already though so that’s fun.

[Monica]

It seems uncomfortable in the beginning and our insecurities seem to come up all at once but I promise you, it is so worth it! People will identify with your content or find something they love in there. And if you don’t put yourself out there, how will you know? Well done 🙂

[Brittany Keller]

Made a facebook ad for my blog. Also sent out another email and let some of my friends know. They seem interested, but I don’t know if they’ve subscribed at all and I’m still not getting any comments.

[Monica]

Well done, Brittany! Have you done everything in your power? Have you sent them the links, updated your email list, post your newest posts on Facebook groups? I know it is hard in the beginning but in no time you will have organic traffic to your blog if you put the work in now 🙂

[Arianna Christians]

I made an Instagram and a Pinterest for my blog. I might just be afraid of reaching out to people, but I’m struggling to make a 50+ person email list.

[Monica]

That’s awesome, Arianna! If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to people you know, maybe start smaller with Facebook groups and forums 🙂

[Hiba Dhib]

I am still very uncomfortable, I made an Instagram story and called some friends. But I really don’t know how I will make 50 contacts. I barely have 6 🙁

[Monica]

Hi Hiba! Don’t think small, go to Facebook beauty groups, forums, go to your favourite brands Instagram and post your blog! There are so many things you can do, no one will judge you. What you are doing is very brave 🙂

[Karen Scofield]

I got out of my comfort zone and shared my blog with loved ones.

I learned how to make graphics

I published a couple more articles

I thought about my target audience

I posted my site on my facebook

Here we go…

[Monica]

You go Karen! Wow, what a journey, you are doing such a great job! Well done 🙂

[Yoshitaka Koishikawa]

I made more blog posts and got 10 people to my email list.

I changed my domain name from Yoshitakablog.com to Japanwizard.com which took me extra time to finish daily challenges.

I am behind on my challenges so I hope to keep up the coming weeks.

[Monica]

Love your constant growth, Yoshi! You always come up with such great content and I’m so inspired by watching your blog grow. Well done 🙂

[Cheryl Millington]

Wow, this is a steep learning curve. I really appreciated the lesson on creating graphics. I am learning a lot and look forward to the coming days.

[Monica]

That is awesome progress, Cheryl! I can see your progress week after week. Well done 🙂

[Dana Trummel]

This week has been a busy one. I enjoyed making some blog graphics on Canva. I also started conversing with my fellow 30dayblogchallenge students. I have visited some of your websites and everyone seems to be do really well. I jumped clear out of my comfort zone and shared my idea and website with a friend and my family today. I am still trying to recover from that. I think its 5 o’clock somewhere! Have a great weekend!

[Monica]

What an awesome week Dana! You have been doing a great job and I can’t wait to see your blog growing more and more. Well done 🙂

[Callen Williams]

Things are going well, I don’t feel ready to share to share my blog with my friends and family yet. I am really just nervous about what the outcome might be.

Also, I’ve found myself running into writer’s block with the last two blog post challenges. I’m sure it will get easier with time.

[Monica]

This is a great insight, Callen. I totally understand why you aren’t ready to share with friends and family, but try and do it with someone you are closer to that will be more open to it or share it in Facebook groups and forums! It always brings great traffic to your blog and it is people who really want to read it 🙂

Regarding the writer’s block, it happens to the best of us. But get used to creating by habit and not by inspiration, your creative process will become so much stronger and consistent. Good luck 🙂

[Shelly Stone]

I’m making progress, but not as fast as I would like. I’m going to have to try to do some catching up this weekend. I’m 4 days behind! I’m able to devote my block of time each day, but sometimes it takes longer than my “time budget” allows. It’s so much fun to see my website look more and more professional as I learn new stuff. I’m very, very pleased with the course.

[Monica]

You are making great progress Shelly! I understand that it can be hard to keep up with the fast pace but just do things on your own time and you will succeed 🙂

[Robert Hull]

I’ve shared my site with 5 friends so far, but none have had time to look at it yet.

[Monica]

Hi Robert! I think I gave you this tip already but why not try to share it in Facebook groups? Your blog is so interesting and a lot of people could use your reviews and information, especially now that so many people are doing spring cleans around their yards and houses. Put yourself out there 🙂

[Kiara Smith]

If I’m being honest, it has been difficult to keep up with the course. Between working from home, homeschooling, cooking, and cleaning; I am exhausted by the time I sit down to do the course. I have been trying to play around with different times and have not found the one that works best for me yet. I definitely enjoy reading the other blogs and learning more about either the blogger themselves or the topics they are interested in. I am focused on:

finding the right time to write

adding more family and friends to my contact list

encouraging and uplifting other bloggers in the course

[Monica]

I can’t even imagine how busy your daily schedule is Kiara! I truly understand and only you can figure out what works best. Maybe waking up a little before the kids and writing a bit? I know how exhausting it can be but your blog is such a great source of family activities, a lot of people would love to check it out. Try and write whenever you can and share it on your social networks. You will be surprised by the results 🙂

[Cynthia Weaselbear]

My current progress is really surprising me but I have a long long way to go. I am getting a great response from people in general sharing my posts and am getting quite a few subscribers and facebook page followers but I still really feel like I have so much development to do. I am working to refine my vision slightly so that it has a bit more structure and helps my readers to follow along better. I also feel like I really need to get better at Word Press. I just don’t understand sometimes why things happen with that system so I will keep pressing on. 🙂 I have really enjoyed this challenge and the daily tasks that are given to work through. I’m a little behind right now from sending everyone on my email list individual invites to subscribe to my blog but I’ll get caught up. Thank you everyone, you have been spectacular.

[Monica]

You are doing an awesome job, Cynthia! Love how proactive you are, constantly questioning everything and making your own decisions. I know WordPress can be intimidating but the more you use it, the better you get at it 🙂

[AMANDA ZOYA]

Trudging along. Getting contacts is my big fat challenge. Thinking of creative ways to do that.

Did you see my 5th blog post here?

https://amandazoya.com/covid-19-lessons/

[Monica]

This is such a great insight to the pandemic, Amanda! Great job 🙂

Regarding the contacts, why not try Facebook groups?

[Julie Christiansen]

Well, this week I had some highs and some lows. I was frustrated because I was having trouble with the graphics. Today I did a contest announcement on Canva that fit quite well and was pleased. I also had trouble figuring out how to create an e-mail list in constant contacts but today I did it!. On Tuesday, I really started to think my blog idea was stupid. And what did I see? The Post of the Week was one of mine! You cannot imagine what that did to my confidence. Thank you! I will carry this blog through to the end.

[Monica]

Yeey for overcoming our struggles, Julie! This message filled my heart 🙂 Your post deserved being Post of the Week! You write beautiful content. Trust yourself and keep up with the good work 😀

[Isabelle Colantonio]

I have written few more posts with nice (I hope) pictures to illsutrate the topic.

I didn’t send emails to friends mainly because I don’t have their email addresses, more through Facebook or messenger.

I’m also a bit behind the classes, I have to catch on that during this current week.

Actually, I’m trying to crochet at the same time as creating the blog, and still working at my full-time job as well, even if it’s more like a part-time job because of Covid-19.

Anyway, I’m happy with what I did this last week, and ready to go further on the blog this coming week.

[Monica]

We all have different paces, Isabelle, it’s totally normal to fall a bit behind, just try to catch up whenever you can 🙂 the images you post are super helpful to understand the process, I really like your blog 🙂

[Binky Theodore]

I’m so excited about the progress I made this week! I’m now deep into the WordPress for Beginners Course which has been a huge help to me. I can see the dots connecting now. I’m getting more proficient at adding images, links and buttons; I created my About Me page; and I introduced by blog to my tier one supporters (family and closest friends). I’m receiving comments through my blog and learning how to approve and reply to them in a way that encouranges my readers to keep reading! I’m having a blast!

[Monica]

This is such great progress, Binky! Woah, you are really mastering this whole blogging thing! Well done 🙂

[Stephanie Wilding]

I have been able to get a post within each category now and not just the gardening. The email list is growing and so are the social followers, which is helping me push to keep posting regularly.

[Monica]

Awesome progress, Stephanie! You are doing such a great job 😀

[Julie Mayfield]

Alrighty, I’m in love with canva. At first I thought it would stink unless I paid, but no free version also great. I’m so new to social media but it’sbeen a great way to find community for my niche. And now I have great pics to share.

Also, I’ve been motivated to capture blog posts that have been floating around in my head, so it’s been a good week.

And whatever gives me trouble on wordpress, it’s so easy to find answers. I now have a static home page! Woot woot!

And an accountability partner.

[Monica]

This is such amazing progress, Julie! Your blog is one of a kind, I love it!

[Rachel Snead]

I have not yet added people to my constant contact list, but plan to when the time is right! I am excited about more page viewers, but my bounce rate is lower than normal.

[Monica]

Why not go to natural beauty forums or facebook groups and share your post with strangers with the same interests? 🙂 Would definitely interest a lot of people!

[Cathryn Unverricht]

1. I have been talking about my blog and sharing it with people. I came up with some new blog topic ideas. Enjoyed figuring out how to make graphics and created quite a few for my blog.

2. I did almost no blogging, and I am very far behind on my blog posts. I am good at coming up with topics, but not so good at putting them into words and advice.

3. I am going to do some research on other blogs within my niche to help come up with inspiration for further blog topics and advice.

[Monica]

Hi Cathryn! This is great progress nevertheless! You are still investing in yourself and trying! I understand it can be hard to find inspiration to write sometimes. Going to similar blogs is a great idea, you can always adapt the themes to your blog and maybe it will be easier to write 🙂

[Bonnie Taylor Wachowicz]

Week 2 Progress

Graphics are a struggle for me. I’m better with words. But I did the Canva challenge and will continue to work on that. My whole site design is a little lacking.

Home page is a challenge. I created a new Home page but have not worked out how to get it to display that page instead of the one that was created with the 30DBC template. Both are showing up, which is confusing to visitors.

Thanks to the Technical Team for all the help! My email address is now set up and ready for me to use. I also have a contact form on the Contact page, using the WP Forms Lite plug in. Now people can contact me and my email address is not visible on the site.

Added featured images to every post. No graphics from Canva yet, but working on ideas for that.

Completed the lessons for the last week. Published three more posts.

Shared the blog with a trusted friend yesterday…waiting for her reaction now.

Have two subscribers, identified a handful of people to contact about it. I am out of touch with people, so I think my list building tactics will need to be more focused on people I don’t know yet.

Have been in touch with accountability partners.

Next week’s plan is to follow the lessons, keep writing posts, keep improving the blog graphics and functionality. And maybe start sharing it. Maybe.

[Monica]

Hey Bonnie! You are so insightful to your journey, love how you approached every single aspect of your blog!

Honestly, I really liked the graphic you shared with us! I understand it looks overwhelming at first, but as soon as you get the handle of it, it gets much easier! You are doing great and your blog looks awesome. Well done 🙂

[Casey Williams]

This week, we focused on adding more content to our blog. We learned more about Canva and how to formulate well written blog posts. We are proud of what we have accomplished so far.

This week, we struggled with gaining the confidence that we need to share our blog with family and friends. Being vulnerable has been hard for us.

We are going to continue to put time aside to work on our blog, as well as start showing family and friends our blog. We also really need to generate a privacy policy, terms and conditions, as well as a disclaimer for our blog.

[Monica]

Hi Casey! I can’t imagine how intimidating it must feel to share this blog with your family and friends. I can assure they will be so inspired and supportive, though. You are both doing an awesome job 🙂

[Nancy Burnett]

I am working on setting up my social media pages. I also have invited some friends to subscribe, comment on my site. I working daily on my site even if it is small steps. Watching all the training videos some more than once I am stepping out and come what may Here I Am!

It has been great watching you all grow through this journey. I know I am.

[Melissa.dunnington]

I find I’m constantly rewording my posts. I’m never fully satisfied with what I write. I fell behind a bit due to depression and anxiety. When it hits me, I can’t seem to do anything. I’m trying to stay focused and catching up.

[Monica]

Hi Melissa! I’m so sorry to hear you haven’t felt good lately. I hope you are taking care of yourself and being patient with yourself, you truly deserve it 🙂 You have put a lot of time and effort into your blog and it has totally changed my views and thoughts about marijuana. It is a well structured and well written blog but, it will never be perfect in your own eyes. We are always our hardest critics. Try to stop fixing it. As long as you move forward, you will progress and develop your work in ways you never imagined. And the best part is, you will be able to go back and admire how far you’ve come and how you do things differently and everything will be so worth it. Trust the process and keep on moving forward 🙂 We are here for you!

[Heather.locke]

So far I have set up social media accounts, added some content to it. Shared my excitement to my blog on my personal facebook page with a link to my website. I have created an email to send to new subscribers with links to a couple different blogs and am working on creating another email to send out and change each week with new posts to get my subscribers interested. I am looking at affiliate marketing. My only drawback is that I don’t really have 50 contacts and I definitely don’t have any emails. I struggle with this part, but I am inviting friends and family to my facebook page and that page has a subscribe button as well as a link directly to my webpage. I have posts lined up ready to add pictures and getting ready to finish and post and I am continually making notes on more posts that I plan to write and publish.

[Monica]

Wow, Heather! You seem to have such a structured and well thought of plan! If the contacts are the only thing you are struggling with, don’t worry! There are so many ways to create contacts, doesn’t have to be only people you know! Why not share your blog on Facebook groups or forums that are related to teaching or motherhood? I’m sure so many people would be so interested in learning about your experiences.

[Heather.locke]

Thank you. I was thinking about that based on one of the training videos (I think that’s where it was) about doing this. I am going to reach out to them today and share it along with my lead generator I am creating for teachers. I have to figure out what I can offer for free to get interest in my site for the moms. I just want to get more people on my page, I was just able to get amazon as an affiliate and put the disclosure on my page. I am just about to start adding content about resources and a lot of those come from amazon. Thank you

[Kate.elliott]

Hey all.

I am a little behind due to trying to wrap my head around the design side of my blog site. However hoping to play catch up today. I decided that instead of writing the list of 50 people that I would simply just ask my facebook friends who would be interested in reading or following. I then created a new group and invited those who showed interest. My group already has 76 members! I am not sure if all of them have read any of the blogs but I have had some nice feedback.and it is nice to know that 76 people believe in me haha.

[Monica]

That is awesome, Kate! Love that you adapted the challenge to your own path. No need to stress about contacts, especially in a time when social media is so effective. Great job at gathering your not so little community 🙂

[Anonymous]

I used Facebook to reach out to people because I din’t have their emails. I was so surprised about the support I got to blog! It feels great to be working up an audience! I still need to work on those blog posts. I am not to far behind, but I am slowly learning how to receive inspiration for posts.

[Monica]

That’s a great technique, Ashley! Facebook groups are amazing to share blogs and make new contacts. Well done 🙂

[Scott.charleboix]

One of the main things I’m struggling with in WordPress is that the layout I want and what WordPress allows me to do aren’t matching up. I’m sure it’s because I’m not familiar with all of it’s functions yet. It’s going to take some time to get used to the program and find out how I can improve my layouts (i.e. laying out graphics and images together). Right now I can’t marry the two together. I’m going to get creative one day and slam everything into a page just to see what happens.

[Monica]

Hey Scott! You are doing amazing progress in just two weeks, your blog posts are awesome and so informative! If WordPress is the biggest struggle for you, I highly recommend you check out our WordPress for Beginners course! You can find it the “Learn” tab on the menu 🙂

[Mackenzie.frey]

I have had a lot of progress. I am planning on sharing my blog with my friends and family. I have been working a lot on graphics and page design. Everything is going great and I am feeling very confident in my work!

[Monica]

That is awesome, Mackenzie! I’m so glad you feel ready to share your project with your family and friends, I feel like it might be the hardest thing to do in the beginning. Well done 🙂

[Dana.burrows]

I shared with about 20 people. I don’t feel that my blog looks sorted enough. I’m still fighting with the tech and want to have sub categories but haven’t figured it out yet.

[Monica]

Hi Dana! I’m so glad you shared even though you don’t feel like it is what you wanted it to be. This is the best part of the process! Learning and applying all the new things you collect to your blog. It doesn’t happen overnight 🙂

[Saebyl.mcdoulett]

I’ve done so much this week!

• Wrote my first interview post
• Sent out my first newsletter
• Updated my home page to be prettier
• Updated my about page
• Updated all my graphics to look more professional
• I have 4 more interviews in the works

I can tell my blog looks way more professional than it did even last week! I’ve currently got 30 subscribers, mostly friends and family. They’ve all been extremely supportive. I even got a few surprise subscribers!

[Monica]

So much progress, Saebyl! You are so committed to the challenge and it really shows, your blog looks awesome, your posts are very informative and well-structured! Well done 🙂

[Cheryl.quigley]

I am a bit behind but still pushing forward. I managed to make my home page a little better, still needs more work. I have sent out a email to family and friends and have gotten some feed back. Need to follow up on that and post on FB.

I have been growing my list of blog drafts to make it easier to write blogs when I have time. I am amazed at the resources for this once I started looking. They are everywhere. Sometimes I forget to write them down and it takes forever to remember them! That part is frustrating.

Need to get better at adding pics and graphics. This is definitely a challenge for me.

[Monica]

I’m so glad you are making the effort, Cheryl! Well done for keeping coming back and trying hard 🙂 you are doing a great job 🙂

[Luis.ramos]

I think my progress is fine. But average. Trying to write with my own voice without writing about me or my experience. My writing sounds to technical.

[Monica]

I disagree, Luis! Your writing is indeed a bit technical but it has to. After all, you are writing about dyslexia and it is a scientific matter. I think you have been writing really balanced pieces in which you approach both science and your own experiences. If people didn’t want to know your experiences, they wouldn’t come to your blog. So trust yourself and your process and keep up with the good work 🙂

[Katrina]

Hello! I am on Day 14 of this challenge. I feel a little discouraged because life got in the way and I am further behind than I would like to be. However, I am going to keep on working through and power through to finish this through!

I am enjoying writing about homeschooling and would love some feedback on at least some of my posts but no one seems to be interested. But that is okay too!

I am skipping the contact part for now and coming back to it so I can get a list of people who might be interested before sharing my blog.

[Daysi]

Hi Katrina, your blog isn’t live it says the page is coming soon. I’ll be happy to read some of your posts and give you feedback.

Let me knnow, take care!

[Monica]

Hi Katrina! I totally understand if you feel discouraged and overwhelmed. Life gets in the way and that’s just how it is. Be patient with yourself and do things in your own pace, you can do it 🙂

[Daysi]

Hi Guys,

I feel ok about my progress and know that I need to work on images for my blog. I would also like to finalize the static pages or navigation buttons, then I will feel like the site is really coming together. So far so good and will focus on the images improvement, I know the content will flow in time. Best of luck to everyone!!!

[Monica]

Hi Daysi! Congrats on getting this far 🙂 You are doing an amazing job! Spending some time on Canva exploring will definitely help you with your images 🙂

[Chris]

Hi bloggers! I’m making some progress, slowly but surely. It’s taking me a couple of days to do each day of the challenge, so I should be done by Thanksgiving. Quality takes time. Fortunately, I have a lot of time. I think I’ll hold off on the contacts for a while until I can improve the appearance and make the whole thing look better. I did have a friend clue me in on what I could do, concerning the content, that will appeal to a wider audience. See ya’ soon.

[Monica]

Hi Chris! Thank you for your feedback on your progress, it is truly insightful and so many other bloggers have the same pace as you. I know it takes a while to get used to the amount of work and overload of information but it will be so worth it. And even if you finish it only by Thanksgiving, that is better than a lot of other who tried and never finished it 🙂 You are doing an amazing job!

[Vijaya]

when I started writing the blog, my thought process was very slow. I use to struggle for finding appropriate heading/s and photos.

Now, I am little comfortable with technology and my thought process has also improved.

[Monica]

Hi Vijaya! I’m so happy you reached week 3 of the challenge, good on you 🙂 You are doing an amazing job!