To that end we usually recommend following other blogs, commenting on their posts.
Another way to cement these relationships is to follow each other on social media.
One of the things I want to encourage this year for AZers is cross connection-- follow as many AZ bloggers as possible on the following social networks:
If you're on any of these networks, leave me the details in the comments below-- I'll follow you, and encourage others to do the same. While adding your social media details, make sure to mention the name and number of your blog in the sign up list.
Use this format for your details:
My Blog Name and Number on the list My Facebook My Twitter My G+
Follow each other as more AZ participants drop in their social media deets in the comments below.
Following other AZ participants on social media would create a buzzing network. And who doesn't want more followers, right?
It would deepen a sense of community come April and the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the challenge if you haven't already, and leave us your details in the comments.
Please
welcome Susan, who joined us this year for her first A-Z Challenge.
She has an interesting proposal for next year – check it out!
~Tina
As a relatively new blogger looking for something to write about I came across the Blogging from A to Z challenge just at the right time. I had been blogging for about 8 months on my first blog, Sue's considered trifles which was intended to be the basis of a book on the English language from an enthusiastic amateur. I had sometimes deviated from my original intention and blogged about other subjects of in a different style.
At the beginning of Holy Week I had started posting to a new blog, Sue's Trifles in order to blog in whatever way I chose, while working on my original blog in a more consistent manner.
I had already created and published two posts about letters of the alphabet, P and R and had begun making notes about other letters. I was considering taking the words PRECIOUS and WALK which do not have any letters in common.
Precious is a word used to mean valued or special. Isaiah 28:16 is one example of its use in the Bible.
However that was only going to use twelve out of the twenty six letters in the alphabet. An A to Z challenge was right up my street.
I was at a slight disadvantage during the challenge as my blog was so new.
I also found that it was difficult to direct other A to Z bloggers to my A to Z posts. My username on WordPress is more closely connected to my other blog. I have learned a lot during and since the challenge about using widgets to customise my blog. I have also improved my Gravatar profile to help with this. I also created a page with a list of links to my A to Z posts, having seen a similar one on another blog.
I use facebook a bit, but have very few friends on facebook and don’t often look at links to it from blogs. However I set up a facebook page for my blogs during April.
When I published post U, I had already prepared and scheduled my posts for the rest of the challenge, so I had a bit of “spare” time and discovered the facebook page for the A to Z community.
I posted links to my posts from Q to the end of the alphabet on the appropriate threads there, but did not seem to have any additional traffic from this source, although I looked at some posts myself using links from the same threads.
Now as a blogger on the WordPress platform, it is simple for me to post comments on other WordPress blogs and keep track of the answers without flooding my email inbox. However, I found that to comment on other blogs, whether on blogspot or other web-sites required a great deal of patience, perseverance and ingenuity. Even then it often did not work. I had thought carefully about what I wanted to say, typed it and it either gave a page not found error, or just failed. I learned to copy my comments before trying to post them, but even so my failure rate was very high.
So here is my proposal.
For bloggers who really want to interact with others on different blogging platforms, why not set up a facebook page for your blog. (You need to have a personal facebook account first.) The help pages on facebook allowed me to do this, so I’m sure you can manage it too!
Then if you find a blogger you wish to give a comment to, use your facebook page identity to comment on the facebook page of the other blogger.
I’d like to do the A to Z challenge again next year. I have found some interesting blogs and wonderful bloggers through it. There are links to some of their blogs in my reflections post and on my links page. I have also learned a great deal about blogging and social networking.
What do you think? Have you already set up a facebook page for your blog(s)? Did you use the A to Z community page on facebook? And how difficult is it for non-WordPress bloggers to comment on WordPress blogs?
Now that we're just getting into the swing of things, let's make the most of the A to Z Challenge by keeping in mind that it stretches beyond your blog. We’re
social, with a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to make it easier for
you to find likeminded participants and keep up with what’s trending –
including the latest news from the challenge Co-Hosts. That is why it’s
important to tag the challenge by
using the official #atozchallenge hashtag when referencing the challenge in
your social media updates – especially Twitter. Adding the A to Z Challenge
hashtag to your tweets can help all of us cut through the clutter when
searching for blogs to visit or staying up to date on discussions related to
our daily alphabet party.
If you’re still wondering “how the heck do I use a hashtag?”
or “why the heck would I use a hashtag?” the time for guessing games are over.
Here are simple ways to Hashtag the heck out of the A to Z Challenge.
Hashtag your correspondence with us
When you send a tweet to us by writing @AprilA2Z, also make
sure to add an #atozchallenge hashtag to the tweet. Unless it’s a really
pertinent matter, you probably would do better just replacing the @AprilA2Z
text with the #atozchallenge hashtag, altogether!
Hashtag your comments
Everyone and their momma is leaving comments that are one
variation of “Hey, I’m stopping by from the A to Z Challenge!” or another – as
if we really need to know (and we really don’t…or at least, I’ll speak for
myself by letting you know today that I don’t need the reminder that you’re
doing the challenge, ok?!) this bit of information. We get it. We read the
memo. It’s been signed, sealed and delivered. Now here’s a thought…
If you really…I mean, really
need to inform the blog that you’re visiting about your A to Z Challenge
status, just put the #atozchallenge hashtag at the end of your comment. It
takes up much less space and is less likely to leave a blogger wondering why he
or she wasted time trying to read a comment that was nothing more than an
announcement along the lines of “me too! Yay!” when it could have just as
easily been summed up with a simple hashtag.
Hashtag your questions
Most, if not all, of the questions that people ask A to Z
Challenge administrators can be useful to other participants who have similar
concerns. Using the #atozchallenge hashtag can help your fellow participants
get answers to something that they may have been wondering. At the very least,
it also puts other bloggers on alert about matters that they are curious to
know. Adding a hashtag can help simplify the question-and-answer sessions for
@AprilA2Z on Twitter as well as other social media websites. It is easier for
some participants to create a list or do a search for topics that are of
interest to them if the hashtag is utilized more often, because it cuts down on
the workload of having to find profiles and topics that might have come up in
conversation about the challenge.
Hashtag your photos
Add hashtags to the photos that are included in your blog
posts related to the challenge. This can be done by adding text directly in the
image, using photo editing software or online photo apps such as Pic Monkey. If
you don’t want to interfere with your visual masterpiece that you snapped in
preparation for winning visitors over with your photographic images, you can
also add hashtags to the “caption” section when editing the photo before
publishing the blog post. The official A to Z Challenge hashtag can also be
used to promote your blog posts on Facebook and Instagram.
So tell us…
How are you
Hashtagging the Heck out of the A to Z Challenge? -Nicole @MadlabPost 2013 Blogging from #atozchallenge Co-Host See you at the movies!
This post brought to you by Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out:
Today I had originally planned to post about the negatives of the A to Z, but instead something else came to my attention which I wanted to get your opinions on before I continued with the Challenge evaluation. I will discuss the bad next Monday.
Something else we'd like some feedback on:
Here's a link that was brought to my attention through my Google Alerts for "Blogging from A to Z Video Challenge"You might enjoy checking this out. I found it to be quite a surprise. I've never seen a YouTube notice like this which includes not only all of the entries for the A to Z Video Contest, but also many links to blogs that have something to do with the A to Z April Challenge. Check thisout. Your blog may have been included. Have you seen something like this from YouTube before?
So far in the Reflections or the evaluations posts I haven't read anything about the A to Z Video Contest. I'll tell you more of my thoughts about the contest in a couple of weeks, but perhaps you can tell us yours in today's comments. Did you pay much attention to the Video Contest? Do you think it added value to the Challenge? Were the video promos that were later linked to on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere effective in reaching those unaware of the Challenge?
Did you watch any of the videos? If you missed them, you can find them at YouTube or at the A to Z Video Challenge. How did you like this year's video entries? What suggestions would you give to the entrants?
Would you be interested in submitting a video for a future contest? Would quality prizes such as gift cards, video related equipment, cash, or something else be a greater incentive to participate in a contest of this nature?
What suggestions do you have concerning a video contest for the A to Z Challenge? Are there other types of pre-April contests we might consider to bring more attention to the A to Z Challenge?
There's lots of activity going on as we make our big push for 1000 sign-ups by March 1st. If you haven't signed up yet why not do it now. Also please consider liking the A to Z Facebook page. We're still sort of 200 likes there--shouldn't we have more like at least 700 likes? Same with this A to Z Blog. Have you clicked the "Follower" button yet to become a "Friend of the Alphabet"? Let's fire up some A to Z spirit!
We had some great posts on the A to Z Blog this past week. If you missed any be sure to go back and check them out. We are no longer accepting guest posts for the A to Z Blog as the schedule is now full. Thanks to all of you who have shown such hearty participation.
Fellow co-host Konstanz Silverbow is providing some incentive with a great give-away. Check out what she's offering at her blog No Thought 2 Small and then be sure to tell others about it as well. Somebody's going to win a very cool package.
Be sure to be at the A to Z Blog this coming Tuesday February 28th. I won't tell you what's going on, but I bet some of you can guess. Tuesday is a very special day to celebrate.
Sommer Leigh at Tell Great Stories provided one of the best A to Z posts that I've seen so far. Make sure you pay her a visit to thank her for providing this valuable information and make sure you follow her advice when the April Challenge starts. In fact, don't wait, start now!
RJR Daydreamer gave not only a nice summary of what the Challenge is but also provided an excellent graphic layout of what he did last year.
Donna Mc is a first-timer on her blog My Write Spotand she's getting organized for April. She provides some excellent tips on how to plan for the Challenge. I hope all of you will go through her checklist and make sure you've got these points covered.
Jman at Death of a Hardcore Gamer appears to be ready for April. I think you'll have loads of fun, Jman. Let all your friends know about this.
Susan Kane at the contemplative cat provided a round of A to Z brainstorming inspired by the "How It's Made" TV show.
Teresa at Journaling Woman was having an internal debate about the Challenge, but it looks like the Alphabet won.
Mish at Writer-In-Transit got very creative with her Challenge post. Just goes to show what kind of inspiration comes from Blogging from A to Z. Can you top this one?
Marcy at Maine Words(#235 on the Linky List) played the "Getting to Know Me" game by answering some of the questions posted to co-hosts. Always a good time to get to know one another better and everyone is welcomed to join in the fun.
Dave at Dave Wrote This is another blogger who joined in the "Getting to Know Me" fun--Dave went with the entire list. Whether you answer them all, just some of them, or make up your own questions; we'd all enjoy hearing some of your answers. As we head into the Challenge you might want to set aside a post to introduce yourselves to the others who may not know you yet.
Susan Gourley/Kelley at Susan Says provided some important tips on her blog that can't be said too many times. I hope everyone listens to what Susan says.
And hooray Inspire Nordic who also touted the Challenge on her blog. So glad you're with us this year.
Patricia Stolteyis a solid supporter of the A to Z Challenge. She's been giving weekly shout outs for us on her blog.
Janice at Jabbloghad some kind of snafu with her sign up on the Linky List, but it gave her a reason to post about the Challenge which is always good. Might as well turn lemons into lemonade.
Call it what you will, there's no reason to be in a tizzy about the April ChallengeLizard Happy--who is #370 on the sign up list by the way.
Tower of Archmage is a gamer blog that is returning to play the A to Z Challenge for the second year. Have fun!
Thank youChristine Rains for helping push for the March 1st 1000!
I'm learning about Twitter and in doing so I spotted Laurie Carlson's Challenge to her readers. Check out Laurie's great A to Z Post. Then follow her blog while you're there--she deserves it.
Spirit Calledput forth a call out for more folks to be a part of the April A to Z. Yeah! That's the spirit!
The adrenaline is pumping high at Whatever. Thanks Gossip Girl for your energetic post.
Susanne Drazic at Putting Words Down on Paper announced our drive to get 1000 sign-ups by March 1. Come on bloggers! Get everyone you know involved in the April Challenge. Let's make this a party to rival any Oscar party out there.
Lindi fromF.A.I.T.H. Girls gave the Challenge a nice mention and provided the link for others to sign up. Anyone can do this--how about you?
More and more of you are posting about the Challenge. We are trying to keep up with these posts to list on our Sunday Summary. I'm watching Google Alerts, emails from co-hosts, and the messages I receive from you who contact me. If you've posted something and we've missed it here, let me know and I'll try to put it up. In the weeks to come we may have so many mentions that I may have to distill them into the highlights and the most unique posts.
But Please! no matter what--keep on promoting A to Z to get more sign-ups. We are looking for 1000 by this Thursday and it would be nice to pass 1300 by April 1 so we can surpass last year. Our goal is to make the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge bigger and better each year. Thanks to all of you for helping us meet this goal.
And now a word from our sponsor courtesy of Ron Easton at Dads Unlimited:
Many of you reading this know about the April Challenge, but there are still some of you who have heard about Blogging from A to Z and don't know what it is. Or perhaps there are those who are still trying to decide or are even afraid to try it. Don't worry--it's all in good fun!
If you're new to the A to Z Blog, be sure to click on the tabs at the top of the page to see if that information answers your questions. There are a couple of polls in the sidebar for you to answer if you'd like to express yourself. And please click the "friend connect" button to become a "Friend of the Alphabet". That's not the same as the sign-up list but it will keep you connected to the official Challenge blog.
The sign-up list will appear this coming Monday January 30th. You will be able to find it at the A to Z Team of hosts' blog sites and on this blog. The A to Z Team blogs are listed about halfway down the sidebar to your right. Be sure to visit all of the blogs of our Team members, drop in to say hello, and follow our blogs. We will all have our own updates in addition to the ones on this Challenge Blog and each blog host may have their own special surprises along the way. Don't miss out on that part of the fun.
Alex Cavanaugh talked about the Linky List yesterday on this blog. If you missed that post be sure to scroll down and read it. Tomorrow we'll have some last minute business before the big day on Monday.
After Monday the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Blog will continue presenting daily posts with Challenge news and helpful tips about doing the Challenge and blogging in general. Be sure to check into this site frequently.
Here's a check list of what you can do before Monday if you will be participating in the A to Z April Challenge:
Add the official A to Z Badge in a prominent place on your site. The top of the sidebar is probably best. Announce to other bloggers that you will be participating in April by displaying the official logo. Use the code under one of the badges on this page to place it on your site.
There are a couple of animated A to Z graphics that I'm sure you've seen. These were created by co-host Jeremy at Retro-Zombie. If you copy the code beneath each of these you can transfer this code to your own blog design page and you will have your own animated banner or button minus the code. It makes a snazzy addition to dress up your page and show your enthusiasm for the Challenge. If you still don't know which animated pieces I'm talking about, it's the apple to zebra banner at the top of this page and the flashing letters of the alphabet about halfway down the sidebar. They'd look very nice on your blog.
Plan a post about the A to Z Challenge. Let your regular readers know what you'll be doing in April and encourage your fellow bloggers to join you. You can do one or as many posts as you like about the Challenge. Talk about previous years, what you plan on doing this year, or ideas that you think might help others. This provides your blog content and gets the word out to others.
Spread the word about the April Challenge. Shout it out on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever social media you like to use. Let others know that the sign-ups will be starting and let them know when you've signed up. Let's make the first day of sign-ups a big splash.
Follow the A to Z Challenge Facebook page. Also click the follow button for Networked Blogs. Help the A to Z presence grow.
You are a big part of the success of A to Z. Last year was a hit because of wonderful bloggers like you. We're going to make 2012 even bigger and better.
Some of you have been putting up some wonderful promotional posts to spread word about the A to Z Challenge and that is greatly appreciated. There are posts like the one found Sommer Leigh's blog. That's the kind of post that will stimulate more interest as it explains what the Challenge is all about.
If you blog about the Challenge, let us know here in the comments or by sending one of us an email. We'll try our best to get you and your post recognized. Thanks for your help and participation. Now let's do some prepping for Monday's big day.
