 |
| Infinity Room (Photo credit: pixeljones) |
How will you be using A to Z to your best advantage?
From that first year in 2010 I realized the potential of an event like the April Challenge. It was a great way to meet new bloggers and add to followers to ones own blog. Now after four Challenges we've seen the endless possibilities that A to Z has to offer. Each year brings talented bloggers with innovative ideas to try as well as tried and true methods of improving content generation, reaching out to community, and bettering oneself as a blogger.
Among the ongoing A to Z community and the A to Z alumni, proudly displaying A to Z badges and other identifiers is a mark of achievement. A to Z has become a blogging institution of integrity.
How has A to Z helped you? How can you make the Challenge serve your needs?
These are some questions we'll be exploring in the next coming months. If you've given up on the April Challenge or have considered not doing it again in 2014, think again. You may be overlooking some important potentials offered by the A to Z Challenge.
Want to Start a Blogging Wildfire?
Please check out my Monday November 11 post at Tossing It Out. You don't have to read the entire thing, but scroll down to the last section. I'm planting some seeds of thought that I hope to start sowing more extensively in the next couple of weeks.
Or if you'd rather just skip the Tossing It Out post and visit the post that started my thinking, then go to the post by Yolanda Renée at A Faraway View. This post might make you think. But this post is only a starting point for something else. Something that will come later. Be sure to leave Yolanda a comment about her post so we know that you were there.
How has the A to Z Challenge helped you? Are you looking for more readers on your blog? Do you think there is any tried and true formula for increasing blog followers or subscribers who actually come back to read your posts?
Hello Arlee. I found your post from the Twitter feed. I am an occasional visitor to your blogs. It is difficult to connect from other blogging platforms. (I have tried to post this comment there without success!)I wrote a guest post for A to Z on this topic! I enjoy learning from reading blogs, so my "one choice only" must be the first! I join in with various blogging challenges. The latest is Blog Every Day in November #BEDN A to Z is a great challenge. :-) Sue blogging at http://suestrifles.wordpress.com/ and
ReplyDeletehttp://suesconsideredtrifles.wordpress.com/
I am looking for more readers of my blog but the A-Z this year yielded more frustration for me than anything else. I gained about 20 followers, whereas in 2012 I gained about 50-60.
ReplyDeleteit's wonderful to be part of something like this, that makes you feel you are doing this for a good reason.
ReplyDeleteI discovered your weblog web site on google and check a few of your early posts. Continue to maintain up the excellent operate. I just extra up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Looking for forward to studying extra from you in a while!
ReplyDeleteBest Cccam Server
Stay with this site to keep up with A to Z news for 2014 as well as other interesting posts.
ReplyDeleteLee
Left a message on your other blog, Lee. Enjoyed Yolanda's post. I listen to my gut and try to be aware of intuition. It's kept me safe so far. My mother had a lot of precognition. She was special in many ways.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jo Jo! I had too high of expectations. I will gear it down this year and just blog A To Z for my own enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing, Lee. The A to Z hijacks a lot of the blogging community I'm involved with. I find that very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have done, ironically, is satirise it and thus, brought further awareness. On a number of my postings in my anti-A to Z, I put in direct links to A to Z and to your blog, Lee.
Gary, the official anti-A to Z spokesman....
A to Z has never been about getting more bloggers, for me. It is about the challenge of thinking a different way, trying genres, etc. It allows me to hone skills, expand ideas, reading other writers.
ReplyDeleteGary -- You may be overlooking the possibilities and the potential. Of course the satire you have created makes you a part of the event. There is no hijacking of community intended, but a more focused blogging experience. This works for some who create some amazing posts while others struggle. If you see the greater positive aspects of the A to Z the frustration fades. Much good has come out of the April blogging and I think you have benefited in your own way. There is good to be connected to all things. We appreciate the part you have played and thank you for the links.
ReplyDeleteSusan -- A to Z has become the multi-purpose blogfest.
Lee
The A-Z has changed my blogging life forever! Being part of the co-host team has made the most difference. I've made lifelong friends and have gotten to make an organizational difference. It's also brought me lots of new readers and I've found more blogs to enjoy. Working on a theme for this year...
ReplyDeleteTina @ Life is Good
Been listening to alot of new music lately and sparking ideas for AtoZ themes ;) I reckon its time I made from A to Z.
ReplyDeleteFor me it only reinforced what an outcast I am in the world. I won't participate again.
ReplyDeleteTempest -- Outcast? Have you determined why you would think that way? Sometimes you have take the initiative to bring attention to your creations. A to Z is all about building community, but participants have to play an active role just as they would in regular blogging. The Challenge provides a community of common goals in which it becomes easier to reach out to others and become more accessible yourself. I hope you will reassess your conclusion about the benefits of the A to Z Challenge.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
More than anything, A - Z has helped me feel like I'm part of something bigger in the blogging community. And that, my friend, is a wonderful thing indeed. So thank you!
ReplyDeleteI've done three A to Z Challenges thus far.
ReplyDeleteI've had a blast during all three!
For me it's all about the mental stimulation, stretching those mental muscles a little bit more with each challenge...
Attracting new followers is a bonus!
I'm thinking about a theme for the 2014 challenge... but have no idea at this moment...
I'm a new blogger (I just started a few months ago). I want to sign up because it sounds fun, and I hoping for readers that don't know me personally.
ReplyDeleteThe A to Z challenge helped me stay motivated and introduced me to other bloggers and different blogging styles. My blogs were hacked, which set me behind considerably and believe it or not I'm still working to finish A to Z on three of my blogs because I loved the idea of using the alphabet as a prompt for posts. I intend to participate again in 2014 and I'm excited about the new people I will meet during the challenge.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteHey, I just recently found out about the A to Z challenge, and was wondering how does one sign up for the new 2014 challenge.
ReplyDeleteI have been writing film reviews online for almost ten years now, and I just recently opened a new catch-all blog that is open to any and all subjects.
I would love to be part of the 2014 (and future) festivities. So, with that said, how can I sign up?
Woo hoo!!
Hey Kevyn! We will open up the list for 2014 at the very end of January. Hope you can join us!
ReplyDeleteI'll be there, baby! I'll check back for all the details. Thanx.
ReplyDeleteKevyn Knox
Blogger, Film Historian + Critic
All Things Kevyn
I can hardly wait for the challenge this year! It brings me so many new readers, and introduces me to sooo many more new blogs to read and friends to make!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to being creative with my posts and meeting new bloggers.
ReplyDelete