Challenges bring out the best in all of us.
Every couple of months I like to hold a reader challenge, where I ask you to do perform a particular task that will help your business or blog grow, and in return I link to your achievement and together we inspire and educate.
The pillar article challenge was a major success, and as a result many of you emailed me saying thanks and that you really benefited from participating. A few of you told me you received record traffic for the articles you published, and one of you even told me you got a book deal because of it! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
My next challenge to you was to write a list post, and I'm excited to share with you the results of hours of work put in by a number of SPI readers today.
To all the participants, I'd just like to say…
You rock!
Way to see an opportunity, take the challenge and execute. I love it.
Below you'll see 1003 things listed in 63 posts about all kinds of topics. I don't expect you to read them all, but scan through and see which ones stand out to you. If you have time, read through some of them and leave a comment on their post too if you'd like.
In order of receipt:
6 Steps to Making More Money with a Sales Funnel
One Easy Trick to Increase Your Conversions by 10%
7 Savvy Comments and Ideas from Maths Insider Readers
Twelve [No BS] Reasons to Take Massive Action Today!
Effective Habits That Have Helped Me Work Less & Get More Done
3 Ingredients to Standing Out From the Competition
32 Types of Fitness Equipment and the Top 4
6 Biggest Mistakes I Made With My Blogs and That You May Make in Any of Your Projects
25 Ways Not to Change Your Life
10 Reasons to Create a Lead Magnet
10 Tips for a Successful Weight Loss Challenge
The 9 Biggest SEO Myths Busted
4 Top Ways of Keeping up to Date with the Latest News on the iPhone
5 Ways Facebook is Costing You Money
8 Ways to Use Evernote in 2011
7 Sure-Fire Ways to Overcome Language Learning Block
10 Qualities of a Successful Online Entrepreneur
12 Meaningless Time Eaters in Your Day
Top 10 Reasons to Save for Your Retirement
10 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level
25 Ways to Jack Up Your Success Using Intuition
10 Ways to Have a Great Audition.
15 Things I Look at Before Trading a Stock
15 Must Have Computer Software Applications, Services and Utilities For Running Your Online Business
12 Ways To Kick Your Debt To The Curb
10 Tips for Getting Out of Your Own Way
Vacationing in Las Vegas Timeshares-Ten Check Lists that You Can’t Do Without
Top Ten Holiday and Travel Tarot Cards
Burned out on your job? 10 surefire tactics to survive being stuck in a work rut
5 Simple Tips to Finding Your Blogging Rhythm
11 Awesome Tips for Shooting Product Review Videos
5 Whole Foods Meals that are Cheaper and Faster than Fast Food
50 Reasons Freelancers Should Be Using Social Media
7 Indispensable Web Tools Every Ecommerce Merchant Should Be Using
7 Things You Should Know About Getting a Tax Rebate
10 Things to Know About Kids' Extracurricular Activities
5 Types Of Australian Visa Application You Can Make
10 Trips to Take in Britain in 2011
7 Steps to Building a List of 2,000+ on Mobile for Free
10 Ways for Women to Obtain Financial Empowerment
The Top 7 Things You Should Back Up on an External Hard Drive
101 Books You Must Read to Succeed
Top Ten List of things to do in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua
The Top 50 Greatest, Brilliant Video Game Shirts Ever!
3 Things Every Self Employed Person Should Know About Self Assessment
10 Great Educational Games for Kids
Ten Great Tips and Tricks to decipher the “Riddle of the Kitty”
100 Things I Learned From Blogging—100th Post Celebration
7 Most Important Factors for Email Marketing
Some Interesting Statistics:
- Total number of posts submitted: 63
- Total number of stuff listed: 1003
- Average number of stuff listed per post: 15.92
- The most common number used: 10 (30%)
- The second most common number used: 5 (13%)
- The third most common number used: 7 (11%)
- Highest number: 142
- Lowest number: 1
- 12 “ways“, 11 “things“, 6 “reasons“, 5 “tips“
- 14% of people made a “Top” list
- 40% of people used an odd number; 60% used an even number
- 6 posts spelled the number (i.e. six), instead of writing it out (i.e. 6)
Interesting indeed. Any insights?
The Next Reader Challenge
Part of becoming a successful blogger and online entrepreneur is stepping out of your comfort zone. For me, one of the most uncomfortable things I did was start to shoot and upload videos to YouTube. It was hard for me because although I loved to write, I dreaded the camera, my voice and the thought of people listening and criticizing me.
Now, 2 years later, I have a very successful YouTube channel with over 300,000 views and a fast growing podcast that has already been downloaded 250,000 times. I'm not shy in front of the camera or behind the microphone anymore, and my only regret is that I wish I had started sooner.
My challenge to you is simple: upload a 2 minute (or more) video to YouTube that relates to your blog or business. It can be anything—from an introduction to what your business is about, to a specific task or strategy involved with your niche. Anything, but try to think about your audience as well and how your video could help them too.
The only rules are that the video must be at least 2 minutes long, I must be able to hear your voice, and please link to your website in the description of your video (for free traffic!). You don't need to show your face on camera (I didn't at first), but I'd like to at least hear your voice.
I don't suspect as many submissions this time around, but please—I want you to prove me wrong.
I'll award one random YouTuber a $50.00 Amazon Gift Card, and I'll link to everyone's videos in the next challenge roundup post. Just send me a link using my contact form here.
For some tips and tricks on creating and maximizing the potential of your YouTube videos, check out my series below:
- YouTube Tips and Tricks for Bloggers Part 1
- YouTube Tips and Tricks for Bloggers Part 2
- YouTube Tips and Tricks for Bloggers Part 3
Cheers, and good luck!
Congratulations to Cara from 17000 Days who was randomly selected as the winner of the $50.00 Amazon.com Gift Card for the List Post Challenge. Yay!
