P is for Passion #AtoZChallenge

We're celebrating our Tenth Anniversary here at the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

#AtoZchallenge. The blog hop that made an online community by asking bloggers to spend the month of April using the English alphabet as inspiration for their posts. We're glad you stopped by today.

Passion (and other things) that make better blogs

I wanted to share with you ten things that make for better blogs, in my opinion. I love to be given an opportunity to see a glimpse of someone else’s life.

In no particular order:
1) Passion - love what you’re doing
2) Predictable - keep to a schedule
3) Proofread - make sure your meaning is clear
4) Polite - especially if someone is negative!
5) Pretty - attractive to look at and easy to read
6) Pure - as in real, actual you
7) Proud - be proud of who you are and don’t change under pressure!
8) Patient - be patient when getting followers; it doesn’t always happen overnight
9) Persistent - don’t give up, even when it’s tough
10) Prudent - choose your posts with care

Please notice that Perfect isn’t on the list. None of us are perfect. Be real. Be you. Write your pretty, passionate, polite, poignant, pure, proud, prudent blog on a predictable schedule, and be persistent while you patiently wait for more followers!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nZ7UupzB78MvJnraN9khkLJT3jM6uOP1LTDc8gaQluY

That's the link to the Master List. You can find, and hop to, all the blogs officially participating on that sheet.

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nZ7UupzB78MvJnraN9khkLJT3jM6uOP1LTDc8gaQluY

That's the link to the Master List. You can find, and hop to, all the blogs officially participating on that sheet.

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins

O is for your Oscar Speech (#AtoZChallene)

We're celebrating our Tenth Anniversary here at the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

The A to Z Challenge is called a challenge for a reason! It takes time, dedication, and a whole lot of writing (not to mention research). We are in the third week now, and if you have gotten this far, you deserve to pat yourself on the shoulder. Doesn't matter if you scheduled all your posts ahead of time, or if you are pantsing it - it is still a great accomplishment!

I don't know about you, but I know I couldn't do the Challenge alone, without the help and support of many other people. So, here is my question to you today:

If the Challenge was the Academy Awards, what would you use your acceptance speech for? Who are the people you'd like to thank for their help and support? And what is the message you would like to share with all of us?

And, just to fit with the theme: Who are the ten people that have been the most influential to your blogging career?

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nZ7UupzB78MvJnraN9khkLJT3jM6uOP1LTDc8gaQluY

That's the link to the Master List. You can find, and hop to, all the blogs officially participating on that sheet.

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins

No Visitors? No Comments? Let's Fix That #atozchallenge

We're celebrating our Tenth Anniversary here at the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

#AtoZchallenge: The blog hop that made an online community by asking bloggers to spend the month of April using the English alphabet as inspiration for their posts. We're glad you stopped by today.

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By now, I'll bet some of you are a little frustrated. Here the A to Z Challenge promises that you'll have more visitors than you'll know what to do with, and yet you haven't been getting people to show up and comment. Some of you might have considered just chucking the whole thing.

Hey, I've been there. It can get really frustrating when you've worked your fingers to the bone writing these posts and ending up with just bony fingers. But it's no reason to chuck the whole thing. Hey, you've gotten this far, right? Let's see what we can do.

1. Your readers might be stuck for an answer. Some people don't have a problem leaving a comment that says "I like this" and leaving it at that, but others feel they need to say more. If they can't think of more, they might be leaving without saying anything. Help them out and ask a question or two at the end of the post to prompt them.
2. They can't find you. You've been a good A to Z'er and visited blogs and left comments, and I'm sure the other bloggers would like to return the favor. They can't do that if they can't find you. Make it easy and leave your URL at the end of your comment.
3. It doesn't look like you're participating. A visitor comes to your blog and can't find your A to Z posts, and maybe can't find any indication that you're doing the challenge. Don't let that happen! Display the A to Z Challenge badge prominently on your page and use the letter badges on each A to Z post. You can find them all here. At the very least, use the #atozchallenge hash tag in the title of your post or title it "N is for..." or something to make it obvious. Some go so far as to set up a separate blog for the A to Z Challenge. (At this point, that would be something you might consider for next year.)
4. Advertise! Our neighborhood newspaper in Chicago had a slogan: "The man who advertises his business...has one." If you're on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn and/or any other social media, add a link to your A to Z entry to your timeline. It never hurts to expand your reach. Make sure you include the #atozchallenge hash tag so that when people search for it, they'll find your posts.
5. Timing is everything. If you post multiple times a day, make sure your A to Z post shows up first. You might also consider posting it a little later in the day. Many of us use feed readers which display the more recent posts first.

So, there are five suggestions. Can you think of any more? And, if you haven't been getting comments on your blog, feel free to leave the URL to your blog in the comments below.

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nZ7UupzB78MvJnraN9khkLJT3jM6uOP1LTDc8gaQluY

That's the link to the Master List. You can find, and hop to, all the blogs officially participating on that sheet.

Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: