Just two weeks ago, I jumped in head first and joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge….with some egging on from fellow Bloggers here in Australia. So far I am enjoying it, and…

…somewhere along the line I was talked into participating in not 1, but 2 Blog Challenges….what the?

Yes, not only did I enlist to write 31 posts in 31 days, but I also managed to get suckered into the visual beauty of Fat Mum Slim's super-fun January Photo-A-Day Challenge using Instagram. And now I find myself posting a blog post as well as a photo each day. Macro and Micro Blogging all in the one day…every day this month.

Disclaimer: Aherm. I err, do, um, admit that I have not been totally up to date with the blog posts – I have missed a couple, but I intend to catch up (really!) and, well, at least I am blogging more than I was prior to January 1. So, yes, there will be 62 blog posts in total. 31 using Instagram and 31 on my blog. Promise.

So, here are 5 Benefits from Blogging Regularly:

Creativity – There is one thing I have learned in the past two weeks – creativity breeds creativity. I write a post, tweet, make a video, generate content, and the ideas just rush in…I have so many ideas for content now that I know that when this blog challenge is finished, I will not struggle to find inspiration for what to put out there…be it by writing, video or in pictures.

Traffic – even for a fledgling blog like mine, there has been no doubt that generating content breeds more traffic. I have guest posted recently as well as posting regularly on my own blog in the past two weeks and it has generated a noticeable increase in traffic on my blog, on twitter and video views on youtube, as well as blog subscribers and downloads of my ebook. Most noticeably has been an increase in traffic on my blog. Unique Visitors and Page views for the two weeks of January have doubled compared to the whole of December, so I am on track for a 4x traffic increase in one month from blogging regularly. It has very much cemented my view that blogging is the core of social media strategy.

Community – that traffic increase would not have arrived on my blog without a shift in community – regular blogging, engagement on other blogs and interaction via twitter and facebook has brought many new readers and commenters to my blog….and the same goes for the blogs I have been reading. And the most important payoff has been the connection with other bloggers and content-creators, which has brought inspiration, ideas, encouragement and most of all feedback – knowing that the content you produced has helped someone else solve a problem or inspired them, makes me want to create more content on the next day, and the next….

Presence – it is not only my blog that has received a little dose of extra love and traffic, but also my profiles on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. By being present every day and producing content, I have been able to grow community across all platforms, organically, the way I like it. And in creating that presence, I have also been more aware of where my readers and followers are hanging out – It has also shown me that readers/viewers/followers/fans will access content in the fashion that suits them most, so it is vital that I do not rely on one medium. For me, my content will centre around blogging, but I will be sure to include a variety of blog posts (video posts, written, visual with photos), and linking them with other social media channels such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest – all are the places in which my target audience are hanging out. and on that note…I am so interested to see where Instagram and Pinterest take us this year, as they are fast showing their worth as a micro-blogging platform. Oh and I intend to blog about this very soon.

Motivation – doing a blog challenge has brought all of the above in one content-filled month so far. And the payoff from being creative, getting more traffic, having a growing presence, and being part of a community (as well as watching my community grow) is Anticipation and Motivation. Motivation to write. Motivation to produce content. Motivation to try new things. Anticipation of where it will take my business.

And, I can hazard a guess that at the end of the 4 weeks, I will be blogging more regularly than I was….quite a bit more regularly.

What about you? Are you participating in the January Blog Challenge, the January Photo-A-Day Instagram project, or have you made a commitment to blog regularly? I would love to hear about the benefits you have noticed so far!