Welcome to the February 2022 10k Traffic Challenge!
We are so glad you are here and we can’t wait to get this challenge kicked off.
There have been some major changes this month, so please read this page in its entirety so you can take advantage of the complete challenge. This will also ensure that the 10k Challenge is the best possible experience for you and everyone else involved.
How the 10k Challenge works:
Starting Tuesday, February 8th at 6 am PST/9 am EST, you will receive a daily email (same time each day) with a link to a new lesson and task to work on each day.
Each day there will be a separate page on Itsalovelylife.com just like this one, but with a new lesson and assignment(s). The lesson for the day will share tips and techniques that the most successful bloggers use to drive traffic (visitors) to their blogs.
Each day, there is a community-based task designed to encourage blogger friendships, implement the training for that day, and actually drive traffic to your blog! The community-based tasks will happen in our Facebook Group (hopefully you’ve already joined there so you can participate.
If you follow along and put this training to work for your blog, you WILL see a lot of positive results. Ready to get into Day 1 of the 10k Challenge? Let’s go!
Day 1 Lesson
Setting Up Your Social Profiles
Having a social presence is VERY important if you are interested in becoming a successful blogger. The more you can build your social accounts, the more traffic you will be able to drive to your blog. Also, if you build a significant social media following, you can get paid to share solely on your social media accounts.
We like to think of social profiles as magnets for your blog. Your ideal readers for your blog are spending their time on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and maybe even on TikTok or other platforms. You need to have an established presence where they are at, and ultimately they will be interested in visiting your blog when you share posts that appeal to them.
We recommend setting up at least the following platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. You can add more platforms as you go. You can choose if you want to be active all the time on all of these or if your ideal reader spends more time on some than others, and redirect your attention likewise. But to start you need to have a presence on all the most commonly used platforms.
Before you can work on building your social media accounts, you need to make sure they are set up properly. Here is some information to get your social accounts set up the right way.
Setting up a Facebook Page: It can be a little confusing to set up a Facebook page, so here are the instructions:
Make sure you are logged into your personal Facebook account, then CLICK THIS LINK.
Most bloggers then select Business or Brand, then type in Blogger for the category.
You’ll have to come up with a name for your page too. Most bloggers will use their blog name or a variation of that.
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not create a new Facebook login. Only create a page from your current Facebook account. Your Facebook friends will not see that you created this page unless you choose to share it with them. (hopefully, you will)
Setting up Twitter: Many of you have not used Twitter, but you definitely should have a Twitter account for your blog. This is pretty much mandatory for bloggers. Not only is it a great source of traffic, but if you work with brands on sponsored campaigns, they will require you to share your blog posts on Twitter.
If you already have a personal Twitter profile, you may use this for your blog. It is definitely recommended to add your blog information to your bio.
If you are setting up a new Twitter account, it is a fairly straightforward process. HERE ARE THE STEPS directly from Twitter.
Setting up Pinterest: Pinterest is a great source of traffic for bloggers. For some bloggers, it will turn out to be your most important traffic source. This is especially true for Food, Travel, Fashion, DIY, and Craft bloggers.
Most people already have a personal Pinterest account established. You can either use your existing Pinterest account for your blog, or you can establish a new one.
If you choose to use your existing account for your blog, just make sure to change your profile to align with your blog.
We recommend you setup your account as a Business Account because you will then have access to some advanced stats. If your existing account is personal, it is easy to convert to a business account. SEE THIS TUTORIAL from Pinterest.
You can also add a business profile to your personal account if you want to keep your personal and business activities separate but have one login. Instructions for that are on the same page from Pinterest.
Setting up Instagram: Instagram is very important for bloggers. It is a great place to build a community and also build a relationship with many people that are interested in your particular niche.
Most people already have an Instagram account. At this point, you need to decide if you wish to use your existing profile for your blog, or if you would like to start an entirely new account. The choice is yours!
Just consider whether you can use your existing account as a jump start, or if you would like to keep them completely separate.
We recommend being very niche specific with your Instagram account for your blog, so plan accordingly.
After you set up your social media accounts, you need to make sure they are complete. There is nothing worse than seeing a social profile that is missing a profile picture or a bio.
Take note of the following:
Bio: Each network has its own standards for this. Write something that is catchy and descriptive and adapt it to each platform. It can be something similar to what you already have on your blog, or it can be a little different. It’s great to show some personality here.
Read some other bio’s on that particular social media network and use the ones you like for inspiration for yours. Remember: It is never okay to copy, but it is okay to use a style for inspiration.
Profile Picture: Each social network has its own size requirement. Upload a photo of yourself that represents you the way that you wish to be portrayed. It is great to show some personality here too. We recommend having a photo here and not your blog logo.
Cover Photo: The size of this is different for each social network, but this is the large image at the top of your profile. It is normally only seen when someone goes directly to your page to view your profile.
Link to your Blog: Whatever you do, don’t forget to add this in your bio!
Day 1 – Assignments
Step 1: Set up the following social media profiles for your blog
- Facebook Page
- Pinterest account
- Twitter account
- Instagram account
Reference the information in the previous section for information and tips on getting these set up properly.
You can always work on finishing your profiles over the next few days, but when they are established, comment “DONE” in this Day 1 Assignment thread.
When you have these accounts established, move on to Step 2 in the next section.
Step 2 This is a tradition for the 10k Traffic Challenge. In this step, we will be creating a social directory of all the participants of the 10k Traffic Challenge.
We are doing things differently this month, so PLEASE KEEP READING (even if you have participated in previous challenges)
Here is how it works: There are two links at the bottom.
Form Link: Click the form link to input your Name, email address, blog address, Facebook Page link, Pinterest profile link, Twitter profile Link, Instagram profile link, and up to 3 niche tags.
What is a niche tag and why are we adding this?
A niche tag is a word or short phrase describing the niche of your blog. For example, these would be good niche tags for ItsALovelyLife.com: Lifestyle, Family Travel, Blogging Tips
There are endless niches and tags that could be used, so we are not going to list them all, however, here are some popular ones: Lifestyle, Travel, Family, Mom, Homeschooling, Fashion, Beauty, DIY, Crafting, Sports, Minimalism, Reviews, Religion, Money-saving, Investing, Couponing, Automotive, Food, and much more.
Once you have finished entering your information, it will appear in a spreadsheet.
Spreadsheet Link: Click the spreadsheet link to see your information and the links of the other participants in the challenge.
Your Step 2 Assignment: Use this spreadsheet to find other group members that are in your niche(s). You are NOT REQUIRED to follow everyone on the spreadsheet. In fact, for this month, we suggest that you just follow those that are in your niche(s).
Today’s assignment is to find other bloggers closely associated to your niche(s) and follow their social accounts.
But, your assignment doesn’t stop there!
As bloggers, one of your major keys to success will be to find and develop relationships with other bloggers in your niche.
So, how do you build these relationships?
-You follow their social media accounts.
-You naturally interact with them on their social accounts. This means liking, sharing, and commenting on their posts. When you do this, you will find that most will reciprocate.
The end result is that your social posts will gain momentum, and traffic to your blog will begin to grow. Since you are focusing on interacting with those in the same niche, their followers will most likely be interested in your content and vice-versa.
The goal is to build friendships and professional relationships that will help you grow at a greater rate than you could on your own.
So, to recap the above, here is your assignment:
- Enter your information on THIS FORM.
- Follow the social account(s) of the other bloggers in your niche(s). USE THIS SPREADSHEET TO FIND THE BLOGGERS TO FOLLOW
- Build relationships with the other bloggers in your niche(s) by liking, sharing, retweeting, repinning, commenting, etc. on their social posts. This is an ongoing assignment (keep it going to build those relationships!)
SOME VERY IMPORTANT NOTES:
Do not subscribe to someone’s blog email list unless you wish to. That is not part of today’s assignment. The website address is listed solely for informational purposes. This assignment is about following the social profiles of the other participants in your niche(s)
We need you to enter the link to your profile page for each of these accounts: Facebook Page, Twitter Page, Instagram Page, and Pinterest Page
Please test your links to make sure they work before you paste them in the spreadsheet. It will not be possible to edit these after they are entered into the form.
**Please do not message, email, or comment in the group for us to change your links. With all the people involved in this challenge, it is impossible for us to stay on top of that task. Make sure your links work BEFORE you submit them on the form. Any emails, messages, or requests to change links will not be responded to.
Make sure your links are to your main profile page for that network, not to an individual post.
Remember, this challenge is only open to people on a self-hosted WordPress blog (not WordPress.com, Blogger, Weebly, Squarespace, etc). If you list your website here that has one of these other platforms, we will delete it from the spreadsheet. We have this because our training and teachings are designed to work with a self-hosted WordPress site. There may be other communities and training programs that specialize in those platforms, but that is not us. We know how critical a self-hosted WordPress blog is to your ultimate success so it would be irresponsible for us to look the other way on this important requirement.
Here is why we do this exercise:
1, Many of you have new social media profiles that have very limited followers. This will give you a boost to legitimize your profiles. The first 100 followers are always the hardest to get and people are more likely to follow an account with 100 followers rather than an account with 3.
2. One of the keys to success in blogging is networking and supporting other bloggers. This is a great way to get to know other bloggers and support each other.
Some more notes:
1. There is no set number of follows that you must complete. We understand that you may follow more people than will follow you back. That is OK. This assignment is about finding those that you can develop a mutually beneficial relationship over the long term. Don’t get caught up in the numbers!
2. All form entries must be completed by 2/20/22 at 9 pm PST. The form will be closed at that time for any further entries.
3. Any follow backs, likes, etc. should be completed by YOU by February 28, 2022. Remember, take your time and chip away at this daily. Do not attempt to do this all at once or your social media account could get restricted!
4. There will be 100’s of entries, so only commit if you are certain you can follow people back that are in your niche.
5. Don’t try to do everything at once. If you try to go too fast on some of the networks, they will temporarily block you from continuing. Do this assignment in chunks.
6. You should be liking other Facebook pages with your personal profile… not with your page.
7. Each day of the 10k Challenge will NOT be this time-consuming. This is the first day, so we wanted to kick it off with a bang.
This is a very crucial step in the traffic challenge, so don’t skip this one if you are serious about growing traffic to your blog.
Ready to get started? Here are your links:
Enter Links to Your Social Profiles on this form
Access the Participant Social Media Directory Spreadsheet here.
Have any questions about today’s coursework or assignments? Ask them HERE in the Day 1 10k Challenge Question Thread