It’s finally here.
Day 30 of the 30 day blogging challenge.
And I can say with all confidence that I have indeed published one post everyday for the last 30 days on this blog.
Wow.
I can’t believe I actually did it.
I managed to discipline myself to put finger to keyboard and type stuff out.
Since today is the last day of the 30 day blogging challenge – I thought that I’d write about the lessons I’ve learned and the challenges I’ve overcome to get to the end of this challenge successfully. Perhaps this may inspire you to take up a 30 day blogging challenge of your own.
Finding stuff to write about is not that challenging
When I first started on this challenge, I thought that I would struggle to find something to write about everyday. Turns out that it wasn’t the case. What I did find was that some days I had to prioritise content in terms of what I felt was more important at the time. In other words, there was simply too much to write about.
Like you, I follow the news regularly. I also follow social media regularly (as I’m sure you do as well). From the news I get a general idea of what’s happening in the world and it gives me some background to my content. But it is the social media feeds that really inspire my angle and help me determine what is most important and most current to my core readership (small business owners/self-employed individuals/freelancers/side-hustlers).
I’m a member of a few financial and business support groups on Facebook (you might have come across my blog in some of them) and I do my best to participate in discussions, share information and listen to what other people are concerned about. That engagement inspires much of the content I write about.
Drawing comics is challenging
This one is a funny one. I’m the Comic Accountant because I draw comics about accounting. But drawing isn’t easy. It takes me anywhere between 1 to 2 hours (sometimes 3) to produce a decent looking one-panel comic, complete with color finishing in GIMP. But since I have branded myself as the Comic Accountant, I HAVE to draw in every post.
Writing is easy. It comes naturally to me. Also if I muck up my writing, I can always hit delete and rewrite parts I don’t like. Drawing isn’t like that – If I get the proportions wrong or the perspectives all weird, it’s back to the drawing board for me (quite literally).
Sometimes I cheat and I reuse old drawings, give them a touch up and a bit of colour and put them on a new post. Regular blog fans might notice that I have done this with some of the drawings on the more recent posts. Sometimes I just crop out bits of larger drawings that I’ve done and try to pass them off as new ones (very cheeky). This helps me save some time, especially now that I’ve got more clients signing up to my services, I can’t spend as much time drawing as I could before.
But that being said, I promise all my blog fans that I will put out at least one original drawing every week. And some weeks, I might even do more. I am the Comic Accountant after all – I need to live up to my name!
Publish and Share, Publish and Share
Doing the 30 day blogging challenge meant that I had to publish everyday for 30 days. So that is exactly what I did. I published, and then I shared the posts through my social media page and groups. I do my best to abide by all the rules of the groups I post in, but sometimes I may have misread the rules. More often than not, the admins of the groups are polite enough to point out any rules I may have inadvertently broken and I will happily comply. Sometimes I get kicked out without so much as an explanation – but that’s ok too. Because by the end of the day, what matters is that the posts have been shared and more people get to benefit from it.
Sometimes I do hesitate and wonder if people are going to like what I post, or if they will react negatively, or if I will get attacked by trolls. I’m pleased to say that I haven’t received any negativity (yet). But even if I did, it wouldn’t hamper my drive to get out there, publish and share. Ultimately, as a blogger, that is what you need to do if you want more people to benefit from your content.
All the time. Everyday.
I had set myself a target to publish everyday for the next 30 days and nothing, short of Divine Intervention, is going to stop me from publishing.
So what’s next?
Well, publishing everyday as a solo blogger with no media team is not sustainable. Towards the end of these 30 days I started to feel the pressure from having to blog everyday, especially since I’ve been having client meetings everyday for the past two week since I started advertising my services. So I’ve come up with some plans for what comes next:
I will publish three times a week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
This will give me some time to focus on accounting work in the days between.
I plan to put out some videos.
Accounting fans – you will get to see (and hear) more of me. Not everyone likes to read stuff as much as I do and I need to start looking at other forms of media to share knowledge out there. I will try to put out one video a week (or fortnight depending on how much work it takes to make one video). With a less onerous blogging schedule, I can find time to do this in between my publishing.
I will start offering business coaching/continuity planning/cash flow budgeting services
I should have my registration with the Regional Business Partners sorted out by next week. And then, Dr. Sam the business coach is in business! You will find that my coaching style is funny, approachable and down to earth. I want you to talk about your business, your issues and what your fears are. I will do my best to coach you, guide you and give you the confidence you need to push forwards!
I will be doing some academic research and publishing.
I have a PhD in Finance, remember? Which means that I want to get some academic publishing done. More so that people will take me more seriously, as opposed to just being a funny accountant who draws comics. Plus it means with academic publishing, I can potentially score a sweet side-gig teaching in Universities. Woot!
I will start writing/drawing a (comic) book guide for small businesses
This is my Ultimate goal – my big audacious dream that I want to have done by the end of this year. A comic book guide for small businesses (and side- hustlers) would be an awesome way to share my knowledge out there and present it in a fun, easy and simple way that many people can enjoy. It will be a challenging journey, but I do believe that I have the skills, knowledge and discipline to see it through.
I will spend even more time on learning how to market and monetise my blog
Accounting services are just one part of it. I intend to spend more time learning how to market my blog and eventually make it profitable! Once I can figure that out, I can share it with all of you, my awesome readers!