The effect of a challenge is as substantial as you make it.

When MamaRed Knight invited me to make 31 SocialSnaks (short quotes or tips turned into graphic content) in 7 days, I jumped on the opportunity. I have been slack in my efforts to promote my business well and have noticed how much success other people have had with daily posts. By condensing a month’s worth into a week, I could see how this strategy could motivate me to do what it takes to get the results I desire.

I have to admit that I have signed up for many more things than I have actually participated in. This I hoped would be different…and it was. The difference was a combination of how it was presented and my eagerness to do the work required to finish the challenge.

There was a sense of urgency created by a definite deadline (the first to finish got a coaching session with an expert business consultant.) The instructions were clear and the lessons were delivered in small enough chunks that I could fit them into my schedule without having to sacrifice my client work and the timelines involved in that current project.

Make it simple to do well.

Having a step-by-step set of instructions in not only the actual event but also the pre-launch got me geared up to dive in and make fast progress.

Even though there were a few snafus along the way (a recommended site was responding too sluggishly for me to get satisfaction with it and I had a big edit that I was working on at the same time), I managed to get to the meat of the challenge and set myself up to crush it a day early. Once I realized that it was possible for me finish all 31 graphics before I had to quit for the weekend, I set about finding a rhythm to move along the task at hand.

Here is how I did it: Save to a new name first, copy and paste the text, adjust to fit on the canvas, save and open a background image, insert the background image, size background, tweak, save, save as .jpeg. Over and over again.

The two most difficult things to keep straight were:

1) Which background images did I use already? (I tried to avoid using the same one twice) and

2) breaking the text into lines that made sense and seemed to be easily readable (fast comprehension is important with these things.)

I believe that the next time I do this I will improve on my method so that those issues are pre-resolved and I can do 50 or even 100 in a day.

Thanks to a great idea, some brilliant facilitation by the author, MamaRed, I am now equipped with a complete set of SocialSnaks and the confidence to make a habit out of posting these effective little content bits regularly.

I highly recommend you check out what she has to offer and sign up the next time she hosts a challenge like this one.   Oh yeah, take it seriously to get the maximum out of it and your business will be impacted most positively.

Who I am:

I’m Philip Quintas and I make it easier for customers to trust you before and after they buy from you by creating simple videos that help you help more people.

If you want one-to-one help with making better videos, I can answer your questions and even write, shoot, edit, upload and promote videos for you or any combination of these services.  Sign up using the Email Address* and First Name* form on this website to get direct access to me, my experience and offerings.