In the last 2 years you can’t help but have noticed the trend for 5 Day Challenges (or in some cases 30 day challenges)

Every single Marketer, Coach or Consultant has ran one … and you’ll perhaps notice that we haven’t

Now I’ll be honest with you from the outset in that I’ve often talked about them in a disparaging way. So in my own way this is my own personal challenge: to look at the idea of whether you should take part in one or not (and do so without bias)

WHAT IS A 5 DAY CHALLENGE?
Interestingly if you google “what is a 5 day challenge” all it comes up with in the results is how to build your own 5 Day Challenge to drive more sales

There is nothing from the customers or learner’s perspective

Typically 5 Day Challenges are sold to the organisers as a way to build their email list or sell higher ticket items

For the learner a 5 Day Challenge should
– Teach You Something New
– Get You Into The Habit of Doing Something
– Start to show you the potential of doing something
– Align With Your Business Goals

It comes via a mixture of education, tasks and community support

Without getting too academic there should be learning outcomes

But let’s look at the pros and cons

PROS
Learn Something New
I’m a huge fan of learning

You should see the bookshelves to the left of me (75+ business books and 75+ non business books over the past 5 years)

Throw in podcasts, blogs and networking events and I spend my life learning and acquiring new knowledge to either help my business grow or because I’m interested in a specific subject

If you want to know a little more about a subject then a 5 Day Challenge can help to teach you something new

I’ll always credit someone who tries to expand their knowledge

Habit Forming
I’d say the 30 day challenges could help more on habit forming, but 5 Day Challenges can work as well for habit forming

If you start to get into the habit of doing something every day then it becomes part of your routine

When people say “Alex, so why have you …

– Blogged since 1999
– Tweeted every day since 2009
– Posted on LinkedIn every day
– Engaged on Instagram every day”

The answer is simple

Because … it drives business

So if a challenge helps your form a good habit over a bad one – it’s a win

A Tribe Of Encouragers
We all like to feel someone has our back

And this is one aspect that 5 Day Challenges do particularly well

A tribe of encouragers cheering you as you start doing something for the 1st time

Whether it’s losing weight or posting on Instagram, it’s nice for people to compliment you along the way and encourage you to turn up the next day

I can motivate myself, but sometimes I don’t get a huge amount of encouragement from my own networking group and I’m sure many feel the same

A kind word or comment can go a long way

CONS
Headline Tips Only
You’re only going to get the headlines in a 5 Day Challenge

It won’t go deeper than the bullet points

And for some headlines and soundbites can be enough, it can be exactly what you need to take action

For some who already knows the basics the headlines can be the equivalent of Delia Smith’s “How To Boil An Egg”

Not Bespoke to your business
5 Day Challenges are often designed to get as many bums on seats

They’re not bespoke to your specific needs – they can’t be by the very nature of the challenge

Most free content isn’t bespoke: Blogs, Videos, Podcasts, Challenges are all meant to appeal to a group of people and you only get bespoke when you take the step of 121 which neatly takes us to the last point

The Upsell
Make no mistake

A 5 Day Challenges core purpose is to take you, the “customer”, along sales journey to pay for the premium product

Everything in marketing is it’s essence is this

At the end of the 5 Day Challenge you will get sold to and sometimes it’s done quite aggressively

We’ve heard tales of people trying 5 days challenges and then receiving 20 sales emails a week

Approach this with open eyes that this is what will happen

CONCLUSION – DOES THE CHALLENGE HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS?
You now know a little bit more about 5 Day Challenges and the pros and cons

Before saying yes or no to a challenge do a cost / benefit analysis

The challenges may not have a monetary cost, but they often have a time cost

Does the time spent doing the challenge align with your goals?

What are the likely outcomes of doing the challenge?

What alternatives are there out there for the time spent?

Do you need something more bespoke?

Does the person delivering the challenge have credibility? (check reviews + blogs + social media posts)

NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation

We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you

Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services

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We can do this
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 400+ LinkedIn testimonials and is ranked number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.