What I Learnt From my March Challenge: Publish an Article Every Single Day.
The roller-coaster ride of March.
Over March I challenged myself to write and publish an article every single day. 31 articles in 31 days.
I wanted to “find myself again”. To tap into my love and passion for writing, and hopefully gain new followers and, of course, benefit financially!
Goals for the March Challenge:
- To gain new followers and become more active within the Medium community.
- To improve my writing skills.
- To build my portfolio.
- Money! I didn’t have a specific dollar amount in mind, but to earn the cost of being a paid Medium member would be nice.
Did I achieve my goals?
I gained many more followers and felt I was more active on Medium, so yes this gets a big fat tick!
I feel that I improved my writing skills so another tick here!
I added 25 more articles to my portfolio, a definite win. The bonus was a new client seeing my articles and approaching me for some work. Another huge tick!
Hmmm…and then we get to the money. I didn’t earn enough to cover the cost of a membership. However, I am playing the long game here so there is still plenty of time!
My plan for the challenge.
I planned out weekly themes based on the topics I love to write about.
Week One: Parenting
Week Two: Health and Wellness
Week Three: Freelance Writing
Week Four: Working From Home/Organisation and Planning.
Did I stick to the plan?
Not at all! I found that the themes were too restrictive when I was trying to write every single day. So instead, I just went with the flow and wrote about whatever I felt like at the time.
What would I do differently next time?
I would try to be more organised and have more articles ready (or almost ready) for publishing up my sleeve. This would have been super helpful on those days where shift work and life simply got in the way of being able to write articles from scratch.
What was the easiest?
Writing! I found that once I started writing the ideas kept on flowing. I have a huge list of ideas now, and have even submitted articles elsewhere (hopefully to be published)!
What was the hardest?
Balancing shift work, client work and publishing all these articles. It was a wild rollercoaster ride and some days I simply did not have the energy or mental capacity to sit down in front of my computer and write. I chose not to push myself on those days. I don’t want to burn out or force myself to write when I really do not feel up for it.
I also found that the way Medium has the home page at the moment made it difficult for my articles to be seen. When I asked around and researched this, I discovered that many people were having the same difficulties.
What were the results?
Now we are getting to the good stuff! What were the results of the March Challenge?
How many stories published on Medium: 30 in total, only 25 during this challenge, so 6 short of where I wanted to be.
My top earning story: Take Control of Your Life And Set Your Own Hours as a Freelance Writer
My lowest-earning story: Is your toddler making feed time with your newborn a nightmare?
Overall Earnings for March: $2.33
How many stories were chosen for further distribution? 8!!
How many followers: 105! Up from my 47 followers from the start of the challenge.
What is next?
A new 30-day challenge. Yep, that’s right. Another challenge!
This time the challenge will be to submit an article to a different publication every day for 30 days! I saw this challenge by David Majister. He has had great results and it looks like fun!
I am busy with school holidays at the moment and have very limited time to write. But once things settle back into a school routine I will be starting this new challenge!
That’s a wrap!
25 stories in 31 days!
- Is your toddler making feed time with your newborn a nightmare?
- Survival Guide: Tips for parents on the first day of school.
- What is “mental load”?
- Antenatal Depression.
- What is the fourth trimester? Chosen for further distribution.
- A letter to my newborn son.
- Bonding with your unborn baby.
- Why am I lucky my partner helps out at home? Chosen for further distribution. Perceive More!
- Surviving the First Day of School. Chosen for further distribution. Family Matters.
- Do you need to hire a freelance writer? Writer Mom.
- How To Identify Toxic Clients.
- Setting goals as a freelance writer and mum.
- Have You Lost Your Joy? Mind|Body|Soul
- What Is Freelance Writing? Writers Blokke
- How To Balance Work And Life.
- The Halfway Mark Of The March Challenge. In R.M.Writing.
- What To Expect in the 6-Week Postpartum Period. The Mom Experience
- Why Is It So Hard To Ask For Help? Mind|Body|Soul
- Take Control of Your Life And Set Your Own Hours as a Freelance Writer. Freelancers Hub.
- How To Set Boundaries As a Freelance Writer and WAHM. Chosen for further distribution. In R.M.Writing.
- Do You Need To “Niche Down” To Be A Successful Freelance Writer? Chosen for further distribution. In R.M.Writing.
- How To Be A Ghostwriter.
- How Many Clients Do You Need To Be A Freelance Writer? Chosen for further distribution. In R.M.Writing.
- 12 Tips For New Freelance Writers. Chosen for further distribution. In R.M.Writing.
- Rejected! When Someone Says No To Your Writing How Do You Cope? Chosen for further distribution. Freelancers Hub.
Rachel Maree is a writer, mum and registered nurse. Bringing you the real truth to parenting, nursing and writing (even when it is downright ugly). You can read more articles or hire her to write amazing content for you — Rachel Maree.
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