Being Thrilled With an Unsuccessful 30-Day Challenge

I gladly set myself up to achieve the impossible and couldn’t be happier with the fantastic results

My goal was to write and publish 30 articles in 30 days. It was a personal challenge. As a mother of a 4- and 5-year-old, I knew this was never going to happen.

But I wasn’t setting myself up for failure. Instead, I was committing myself to being fully engaged with writing.

“You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing.” — Doris Lessing

What I didn’t know was how amazing the results were going to be!😄

These were my goals

1. Build an audience. When I first started, I was at 71 followers. Naturally, I wanted to hit the big 100 and join the Medium Partnership Program.
2. Develop my writing voice. I wanted to get better at writing articles, while also narrowing down my niche.
3. Connect with other writers. Writing can be a lonely process. My goal was to meet fellow writers. I wanted to learn more about them and their world around writing.

My awesomely fantastic, over the moon with joy results

Here’s what happened with each of my three goals. I was so surprised and I feel proud of what I’ve achieved in such a short time.

Build my audience

I went from 71 followers to 175 in one month. Awesome! I gained more than 100 followers when my initial goal was to gain 29. After only 2 weeks, I joined the partnership program.

I’ve earned a whopping $3.20! I’m a paid writer people!!💃

My stats have gone through the roof too — well, for me anyway.

Before the challenge

After the challenge

Do you see those numbers?🤩

My readers went up by 6% compared to before the challenge! So not only have I grown my audience, but I’m also engaging readers. Woohoo!

There’s a dip at the end because my daughter had a double ear infection and I gave myself a weekend off after the challenge. I still wrote, but I didn’t write to publish.

Develop my writing voice

In 30 days I wrote 33 articles and published 23 (9 short-form, 6 mid-form and 8 long-form).

My writing voice is still a work in progress, but it has definitely improved.

As a writer, I’ve opened up more. I’m letting go of control and sharing parts of me I never even imagined I would.

Writing daily, even if I don’t publish, has significantly shifted my willingness to be vulnerable as a writer.❤️

My niche has narrowed too.

Parenting and self-improvement are my go-to's.

I write about:

• My kids and being a mom
• Dealing with anxiety
• Perfectionism and being a recovering perfectionist
• The pesky inner critic
• General self-help advice based on what’s helped me on my journey

To help with ideas, I’ve been practicing headline writing for about 6 months now. At first, I struggled to think of topics.

Now, I am constantly coming up with ideas, which makes writing articles easier. I no longer have to think about what to write.🧠

Being fully immersed in writing has created an endless source of ideas. This is helping me develop my writing voice and motivation to write daily.

Overall, I say these results are fan-freaking-tastic! I am so amazed at the progress I’ve made as a writer in only 30 short days.👏

Connect with other writers

So basically, I didn’t want to be lonely, and I wanted to learn from and about other writers.

If you are contemplating whether or not to increase your writing frequency, this my friend is what it’s all about.

Things get super-duper awesome when you connect with other writers!✨

Here’s what happened in less than 30 days. It’s a lot and it’s fabulous!

1. I reached out to the inspiring Megan Llorente. She’s the owner of two publications: Modern Women and MIDFORM. Through her Women’s Circle, I connected with other great writers. Her support has also helped me feel safe in being vulnerable. This increased my connections, followers and readers.🙏
2. I became a co-editor for 2 publications. What? Yuppers! MIDFORM, mentioned above, and This is My Psyche owned by the gifted writer Julia. Now I’m connected to and learning from a group of excellent editors too.🥰
3. And then there’s the phenomenal Kristina God. Towards the end of my 30-day challenge, I signed up for Kristina’s final Medium Kickstarter Boot Camp. She’s created this inspiring community of engaged writers who I’m also connecting with. Plus, I’m learning so much from her and her program.🙌
4. To top it all off, there are the sensational writers here on Medium. You have been such an inspiration to me. By sharing your stories and engaging with me, we’re connecting at a level I never thought possible.🌟

How many times can someone say fantastic in an article? Because this is exactly what it is… FANTASTIC!

During this personal 30-day challenge, I have grown as a writer. My followers and readers have increased significantly and the connections I’ve made have just blown me away. This experience has been fun, exciting, and, to say it yet again, fantastic!

Thank you for taking the time to read about my experience with writing daily. I hope you enjoyed learning about the benefits it can bring.

Here are some other articles of mine: