The Cheat Codes to Creating a Compelling Challenge

I am one week into a 21 Day Challenge by Joana Galvão from The Ambitious Creative and I feel inspired. Because not only did the challenge light a fire under my ass. It is also a masterclass on how to write an effective challenge. 

In this article I will break down the must-haves in a good challenge, using my 21 Day Challenge as an example and how you can leverage a challenge in your business. 

Extremely Clear Purpose

Everyone is on the same page and everyone can follow the logic. Seems basic right? But what most don’t realise is that this stated purpose will be the through line for everyone participating. The “purpose” of challenge is “Get Booked Solid in 21 Days” Short, sweet and to the point. Has the power to unite persons from different niches and background because anyone who reads it gets the urgency, gets the promise of having their calendar full and the benefit and ties well into The Ambitious Creatives’ mission. 

When you're planning yours, ask yourself: can a stranger read your challenge name and immediately understand what they'll walk away with? 

Built in Accountability 

We all start things with the best intentions but life WILL get in the way. So we need an anchor to help us stay the course. On the first call in this challenge, we were split up into break out rooms to introduce ourselves and form support groups we will lean on throughout the challenge. This is great because if your schedule wouldn’t get you to do your homework, peer pressure will. Probably FOMO too. 

We haven’t gotten to it yet but a timeline was shared, some mini-goals set and a pop-up community was given as a place to put it all and get feedback! These things reduce the opportunity to waiver when it’s been made simple for us to progress. 

Community

I am a major advocate for pop-up communities. Not only is it an opportunity for you to meet others like you, but it is an opportunity to network, collaborate and get help. We all know working online can be terribly lonely so the Challenge hosts took the time to bring everyone together and engage. 

Now we have a community all working through the same problems at the same time is super appealing to anyone whose felt like taking action on their own was daunting. 

Challenge Guide

Be it a list, guide or template, make it easy for your participants to take action. 

A simple, weekly to-do list or guide is an amazing asset for a Challenge. The 21 Day Challenge gave us a dated to-do list and a Worksheet to keep all the notes as we go through the tasks. 

This way we set expectations and mini-goals that participants can celebrate. Every tick off that list is a dopamine hit and a motivation for someone to finish strong. And it can all be done in Canva in 20 minutes.

Solid Tech and Automation

My favourite section! I have to really work at shortening this part. I want you to let tech do the heavy lift by automating the repetitive tasks. 

All you need is:

• A community space (eg. Slack, Telegram, Discord) 

• A email marketing platform (eg. ActiveCampaign, Mailerlite, Kit) 

• A place to stream (eg. Zoom, Google Meet) 

• A place for the replay (eg. YouTube, Vimeo)

These are all things we have or have used in our business. No need to find new equipment or software because these essentials pack a punch once set up well. Picture it. A new participant signs up and checks out through a Mailerlite form and they get an automated email welcoming them to the Slack channel, a reminder of the timeline for the challenge and a download link to their checklist for week one. You schedule regular posts to go out in the Slack channel reminding persons of the calls and to post their wins for the week. You get on your pre-scheduled Zoom call and sit back to relax after the call because the recording will be automatically uploaded to Vimeo for your participants to view. 

So, how can this help you with your business? Why do a Challenge?

Complimentary Offers 

I am sure you have notes, unfinished SOPs, templates and transcripts from client meetings cluttering your Google Drive. You’ve kept them knowing they will come in handy and now is the time! You have a group committed to taking action and are dedicated to seeing progress quickly. All of those disparate things suddenly make sense! They are a gold mind to a women deep in progress and complimentary to the action you are supporting your members in. Why not offer them? 

Downstream Offers

If you have been around for a while, you would know  what I am about to say: “What is the next step??” What are you nurturing your community towards? How are we going to cement the action they have taken and support them further in your journey? 1:1 Coaching, an exclusive Membership, a self paced course?

It’s worth putting some serious thought as you now have a warm, engaged and enthusiastic group looking to you for guidance.

Testimonials  

An enthusiastic and active group is an amazing thing to witness. People from different languages, cultures and business all coming together to share their opinion to support. And YOU did that! Every win shared and every testament of progress in the community speaks to the transformation being achieved and what others can experience too if they become a part of your ecosystem. Don’t dismiss these messages of comments. Lean into it. Screenshot it and save them.

Feedback

Getting questions on replays, questions submitted for hotseats, or DMs asking for more? 

Every bit of feedback you get from your participants tells you how you can refine the experience. Are participants sad they missed the Live? May need to tack on more reminders. Participants needing clarity on the tasks? May need to add examples. Not seeing much activity in the group? May need to up your presence.

These 4 benefits of a Challenge help you become attuned to what support your community needs and tap into your uniqueness to provide it to them. 

The opportunity is endless and the format of a challenge can be customized for any business owner and any niche.

Comment below and let me know if this got you thinking about running a Challenge and what questions you have. I’ll respond personally.