Creating a meaningful challenge can be rewarding and fun. It can bring your business out of the ordinary day-to-day operation, spark your creative side, and give people something that they need. I prefer shorter challenges (7 days) but it all depends on the desired outcome and what you want people to receive from the challenge.
Grab an iced coffee and donut and prepare to get inspired as I share 11 steps to start creating your challenge!
Purpose For Your Challenge
Build your list. Spread love. Sell your merchandise or services. Showcase your authority.
Identify the goal for your challenge. Determine how you want it to benefit your business. There should be a win for your business and growing your list. Do you want more clients? Perhaps you want more referrals, testimonials or maybe just want to do a little good for the world.
Your business goals will help you determine the type of challenge you run, who participates in it, and how you structure it.
Determine The Type of Challenge and Length
A business challenge. A posting challenge. A blogging challenge. Determine what you want to showcase about your authority and how many days or weeks you want it to be.
Identify exactly what you will be challenging people to do.
A great way to get ideas is to look at what your own customers find most challenging or have been asking you about most often.
Pick the focus of your challenge and make sure it’s something achievable. Set the time-frame for the challenge based on how long you think it will take to achieve a result. I personally like shorter challenges and making the goal more easily achievable.
Name Your Challenge and Create A Hashtag
Research names for your challenge and then create a hashtag. Do a Google search for the name that you want to use. Find a way to put a unique twist on your challenge name especially if that name has been used before.
Once you have a name then create a hashtag. Search the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram to make sure it doesn’t have a negative connotation or that isn’t heavily used by another brand. Hashtags will make it easy for you and others to find what is being posted on social networks.
Determine Your Challenge Audience
Create a profile of your target challenge participant. Will your challenge be open to everyone or just to a specific group of people, such as your current customers?
Determine Were The Challenge Will Take Place
Will it be email only via a list or on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn? Where is your most active audience? Select just 1-2 networks to make it easier for you to track the progress.
Plan Your Challenge Content and Strategy
Outline the content you need to create, where you will distribute it, and when. Pre-schedule the content to be posted or emailed for the challenge. This will free up your time to watch and encourage others during the challenge
Make sure all your content follows a logical, step-by-step flow that guides your participants and motivates them to complete the challenge.
Create Landing Page and New List
Create a great landing page and new list for the challenge. This will allow you to follow-up with the people who entered your challenge and email them the appropriate content marketing in the future.
End Game
Will they get a flyer, a giveaway, a drawing for a prize? Decide how the challenge with end on a high note.
Announce Your Challenge
Pick your date. Announce it on social and email marketing. Collect the challenge names on your list. Make it fun, make it great and make it meaningful.
Review The Results and Answer These Questions
Was the challenge worth the time and effort to create it?
Did it build your brand authority?
Did it begin to position you as a thought leader?
What would you do differently?
Would you run a challenge again?
What topics would you pick for your next challenge?
I really hope that you found this helpful!
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Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company
Image © Unsplash.com/Kyle Loftus
