#atozchallenge Blog Check Up in 7 Steps

       Here's some good words of advice from one of Arlee Bird's A to Z Ambassadors team.  

Blog Check Up in 7 Steps

Guest post by J Lenni Dorner

The April A to Z Challenge is fast approaching. Time to do a Blog Check Up! I've encountered many blogs that need a few minutes of tender loving care. Here's a seven-step checklist to help you:

Step 1- Using a computer (not a phone or tablet), surf to your webpage. Not your admin area, but the page that the public sees. Do you like the way it looks? If not, note what you want to change. Use the A to Z list to surf to three other blogs (any random three), then surf back to your own. Do you still like how it looks? (This is a color test.)

Step 2- Click on your links. Does your Twitter icon go to your Twitter page? (As opposed to going to "https://twitter.com/http://twitter.com/username" If you think I made that example up, you haven't clicked on as many Twitter icons as I have. I found that error 42 times last year.) Check your Facebook link, Pinterest link, Instagram link, etc.

Step 3- Even though I just discussed clicking your links, I'm going to make this a step onto itself. Check your Goodreads icon. (Skip this step if you don't use Goodreads.) People come to your blog to connect with YOU. If you have a Goodreads icon and it goes to Goodreads.com instead of to your Goodreads profile, that isn't helping you or your blog. (Unless, perhaps, you're getting paid for that click.)

I see many people making this mistake. Go to https://www.goodreads.com/user/edit and click on Widgets. There you will find pre-written code that will link your guests to you. It gives you various options to suit your needs.

Step 4- Can your blog be followed? You just joined a massive blog hop. A majority of bloggers who make this commitment do so because they want to be found, heard, and followed. The marketing blogs will tell you to create an email list for your blog army. That's certainly good advice.

I'm going to toss in that you should offer at least one other method. Why? Because some people will visit over 300 blogs in April. They do not necessarily want 300 new emails a day, a week, or a month. However, those same people might follow your blog with services such as:

·         BlogLovin'

·         LinkyFollowers

·         Networked Blogs (limit of 200 blogs that a person can follow, requires Facebook)

·         Google Friend Connect (only on Blogger, possibly being phased out)

·         Wordpress Reader (only those with a Wordpress account can use)

·         RSS feeds (several options for those people who use that service, but must be set up correctly)

Step 5- Site rating. Look over your blog posts. If you have adult material, you need to note this up front. Most importantly, you NEED to have an AC label on your link at the challenge sign up page OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED.

What is adult content?

·         Excessive Violence — If your blog reads like a how-to guide for Hannibal Lecter, you have excessive violence. If you've written the A to Z guide of how to beat up anyone, make bombs, and kill without detection, you have excessive violence.

·         Nudity for sexual purposes — If you write erotica, you have adult content. This gets tricky with art blogs. If you fall into a gray area, ask the challenge hosts for a ruling before April.

·         Strong and frequent harsh language — If the F word is being used as a verb, or it is used more than three times in a blog post, that is considered adult content. If your every blog post drops at least three curse words, that is adult content.

Adult Content blogs are not written for children. The purpose of the rating is to protect the young and those sensitive to such topics. Those people are not the core audience for such blogs, would not follow such blogs, and possibly present legal trouble if they land on adult blogs. The hosts and their volunteer teams take on the responsibility of keeping the challenge safe and legal for everyone. Please be respectful of this.

Step 6- Check your site on a mobile version (smartphone, some tablets). Can people still access your social media? (If that's important to you.) Do you like the look of your blog?

Step 7- Is your blog a blog? There's always someone trying to get their "click to buy sunglasses" site in the linky. Guess what? They get removed. The difference between a selling website and a blog that has some items for sale is all about content. There must be actual posts with actual content that people want to enjoy.

There are plenty of good people who are willing to help you get your blog ready for the challenge. This is the time and place to ask.

J Lenni Dorner is a speculative fiction and reference guide author who blogs at: http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com

This is the fifth year that J is taking place in the A to Z Challenge, and the second year serving on Arlee's team. 

#atozchallenge Meet Your Co-Host: John Holton

John Holton (photo: Mary Holton)

This is my fifth Challenge, my second as a co-host. I started my blog, The Sound of One Hand Typing, on Wordpress in January 2012, specifically so I could participate in this Challenge. I had been toying with the idea of blogging for a while, anyway, and had in fact started several blogs in the past, all of which I was embarrassed to leave lying around. It gets its name because a stroke nine years ago deprived me of the use of my right hand, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. What encouraged me was reading about the author Walter Wager, who wrote novelizations of TV series and tie-in novels based on them. I read somewhere that Wager only had one hand, and I decided that, if he could do it, so could I.

I blog daily, which I started in July 2014. I have a few regular features, and participate in a number of blog hops I've found along the way. I'm also technically inclined, and found a way to simulcast my blog to one on Blogger, which I talked about last year. This year, I created the Challenge's Pinterest and Google+ pages. I also participate in the weekly chats on Twitter. See what happens when you retire?

You can find me at either of my blogs, and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. I hope to get to know many of you during this year's Challenge! See you soon!

#atozchallenge Presenting Co Host Pam

Hi Readers (waving)!
I'm Pam, I'm one of the co hosts for the 2016 Blogging Team! I'm here to get to know you a little bit better. I'll share some stuff about me and then you share some stuff about you, ok?

Let's Go!


I'm the self appointed librarian of the Challenge.

If you need a book recommendation, I'll be happy to help you.  If there's research to be done, I'll do it. If there's a book to be read, I'll read it.

You see, I LOVE books. I can't get enough of books! I want all the books, all the time! I like to read them, talk about them, and blog about them. I blog at www.unconventionallibrarian.com  and I talk about books. Mostly books about diversity for children and teens.  I'm a supporter of the We Need Diverse Books movement, a judge for the CYBILS Awards, I have a column at Good Enough Mother called Moms Must Read  and I participate in many other bookish activities.  

I always have a book with me. In fact, when I'm not on the computer writing about books, I can be found reading a book.

But please, don't ever interrupt me while I'm reading a book. Emergencies like

cake (and maybe cupcakes or possibly cookies) are the only reason to interrupt me while I'm reading. 

And I don't believe in delayed gratification either; I want my cake and I want it now. And later.  In fact, I LOVE eating cake while reading a book. It's the perfect combination.

I belong to a gang. That's how hard core I am.

Ok so maybe gang is too strong a word. But I do belong to a book club (or two). Also? I love to hang out on Twitter! My handle is @Pamlovesbooks and I love making new friends, especially new Blogging from A to Z friends.

Next time you're on Twitter, give me a shout and let's be friends! It will be lots of fun to get to know each other and help each other along during the Challenge.

I look forward to getting to know you better.  I'll be waiting for you on Twitter.

Pam

#atozchallenge -- Theme Reveal Sign-up is Open!

Sign-ups for the 2016 A to Z Blogging Challenge are already under way. If you have done it before, you know how much fun it is (good for you!) and if you have not, this is your chance to give it a try. You can sign up to participate HERE.

One of the most burning questions participants ask themselves every year is: "Should I have a theme?" Themes are not mandatory, but definitely fun. They let your visitors know what to expect, and help you create posts that line neatly up from A to Z. They also have an added bonus – they let you participate in a whole separate blogfest!

Three years ago, A to Z participant Mina Lobo started the Theme Reveal, and we thought it was such a great idea that we made it tradition.

Here is how the Theme Reveal Blogfest works:

Sign up on the Linky List below. On Monday, March 21, reveal your theme on your blog and give us a hint of what to expect from it. Then, once your post is up, use the Linky List to visit all the other blogs announcing their themes.

This is a great opportunity for all of you to get a jump start on your A to Z experience. You can link up with fellow bloggers, scout out and bookmark themes that you look forward to, and lure in wandering participants with your awesome theme. This way, by the time the frenzied posting begins on April 1, you will already have an audience eagerly awaiting your posts.

Sign up below, ready your theme, and put March 21 on your calendar!

#atozchallenge -- Who the heck is Heather?

Hi. I'm Heather.

This will be my 6th year doing the A to Z Challenge and each year it gets more interesting.

My 3rd year I was recruited by Alex J. Cavanaugh to be a Ninja Minion and in my 4th year Alex conned me convinced me to be a co-host!

As for my posts, my 1st year (2011) I went completely random, but for the next three years my blog was taken over by the Gnome.

You may know him as Stormy the Weather Gnome.

He took a slight break last year when I hosted The Re-opening of The X-Files theme where I shared 26 days of my love for the show, old and new information, and all my memorabilia.

Is it possible that Stormy will be back this year? Only time (and glue) will tell.

You can find all my A to Z posts HERE. 

We hope you join us for this year's Blogging from A to Z April Challenge!


Heather M. Gardner
Blog: The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Twitter: @hmgardner

Facebook: HeatherWritesRomance