Guess who’s participating in an Ultimate Blog Challenge?!!

[Updated Friday, April 6.]

Funny thing about Ultimate Blog Challenges – there seem to be quite a few of them. I could say something snarky about the meaning of “ultimate” – but it’s a cool word, so who can blame multiple people for using it as the moniker for their blog challenges?

The one we signed up for is created and hosted by Michele Scism, a business strategist best known as “The Results Lady,” and Michelle Shaeffer, a work-at-home mom who loves to share the tips and strategies she’s learned to help other home based business owners.

This all came about because I was inspired by my friend Michelle Hawkins. She wrote yesterday on her Wirequeen blog: “Today’s theme for the Ultimate Blog Challenge is ‘Rainbows.’ When I got the email I thought, ‘What the heck?’ Smile. So I closed the email and let the idea percolate.” This is how I first realized there are many UBCs. (No, I didn’t really read through all the Google results – just signed up for the first one. Another reason to rank well with your SEO!) Unfortunately, I only signed up yesterday, so I cannot find the prior days’ themes anywhere, but based on the posts, the theme clearly was something other than rainbows. 🙂 [I stand corrected. There was Michelle Hawkins on this UBC’s Facebook page this morning! I guess people just wrote around the rainbows on Wednesday. That’s a nice thing about this challenge – the hosts provide writing prompts, but you’re free to write on any topic.]

The rules for this UBC are to post 30 times in April – not necessarily 30 days in a row, because you can do two posts in a day, as long as your total by April 30th is 30 posts. There’s an unspecific rule that says, “Each post must have text (so don’t just grab a video–you have to add your own pithy thoughts).” They do not indicate how much text qualifies as “having text.” All posts must be PG (not a problem for us), and each participant is encouraged to use their social networks to promote their posts and also those of other participants.

We’re already doing a fairly kickass job with our blog (if I do say so), so why would we go and sign up for something like the UBC? Here are a few reasons:

• We like to put our money where our mouths are. If we’d encourage you to do it, we feel we should act on our own advice. We encourage you to find a UBC and get going!
• While we don’t really need motivation to blog, we’re taking this for the kick in the pants it is to do something we’ve never done – post 30 days in a row, so we’re altering the rules for ourselves just a bit. We actually have to begin with yesterday’s post, since a frightful cold has left us 2 days behind already. And we will hit adhere to the UBC rules as well with 30 April posts – so look for a couple days of double-up in the future.
• We never pass up an opportunity for greater exposure! Each participant is featured on the UBC site, and all posts are shared with the UBC Facebook group. You should see the variety!
• We’re thinking about creating our own version of a UBC for Authors, so we thought we’d try one out first to see how we want to set ours up.
• There are lots of tips and advice for anyone still a little wobbly about getting their blog off the ground.
• Again, we don’t necessarily face challenges for topics, but when you sign up to take the UBC, you receive a daily e-mail with an idea for that day’s blog post.

Today’s UBC theme:

Today for inspiration, go browse an interesting online retailer and see what pops into your head.  Here are some to try if you aren’t sure where to start:

• www.amazon.com
• www.thinkgeek.com
• www.etsy.com
• www.hyenacart.com
• www.indiebound.org
• www.soul-flower.com

Bonus theme, contributed by a participant:

Share a story or a list of social media pet peeves. I know we’ve all got some. I personally hate when people use social media for personal arguments or feuds. No need to air out in social networks.

Guess I’ll write a separate post on today’s theme to help kick in my 30 posts by the end of April!

In the meantime, what are you waiting for? Find a UBC that works for you, sign up, and get posting! Then come tell us about your experience here.

Laura

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