Don't Forget the Audience You Already Have

With all the frenetic buzzing around A-to-Z preparation, it struck me that I was forgetting one important factor: my current followers. Last year when I participated in the A-to-Z, I had two followers (no idea how they'd found me), so it wasn't an issue. I hadn't really established what I was even blogging about from day-to-day. I think I had three posts, total. This year, however, I'm approaching the A-to-Z with some actual followers and a fairly regular schedule.

While many of those followers were gained during last year's A-to-Z, not all of them were, which means putting my regular blogging schedule on hold isn't necessarily feasible (or the best thing to do). I'm in the A-to-Z to meet other bloggers and writers, as well as to challenge myself and have a good time; I'm not in it to lose the followers I currently have! As such, my plans have changed a bit on what I'll be posting during the A-to-Z. I can't forget the readers I already have, while reaching out to those who are new to me. My regular schedule will be worked into the theme of my A-to-Z posts to insure everyone is included.

So, as you plan (or not) what you'll be posting during the A-to-Z, consider taking a moment to figure out how to keep your current followers happy, as well, especially if there is a theme or meme that draws a lot of readers your way on any given day. You want to include them in the fun!

May you find your Muse.

Shannon Lawrence
The Warrior Muse

Survival Hints for the A-Z Challenge: How to Pre-Schedule a Post

Hello again, Alphabet Fans! Lots of excitement out there in Blogland! It's been such an adventure already to meet so many of you, visit your blogs, and hear YOUR excitement about the upcoming challenge. As you've probably noticed, this blog is an equal opportunity posting place. If you're going to be joining us for the challenge, you're invited to submit a post for approval and be another contributor here! If you'd like more info, check out this invitation post. 

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that a common thread is the idea of pre-scheduling posts. That way when April rolls around, you've got some already set. For example, let's say that you're going skiing for the weekend and will have no time to blog. No need to fall behind! Write your posts for those letters, schedule them for the correct alphabet days, and then enjoy your trip.

What's that? You don't know how to schedule a post in advance? I didn't either. I've been a writer my whole life, but didn't start blogging until a few years ago. I've been learning how to best utilize all the great features that blogger offers one baby-step at a time. Let me show you how easy it is to do.

Go to the “new post” screen and enter your post. Before publishing, click on “schedule”, which is on the right side there, being pointed to by the pointer that I just figured out how to add to my screen shots (I love to learn almost as much as I love bragging about what I've learned...)

Click “schedule” and you'll get the following screen where you can set the date and time for your post to go live. (There's another nifty pointer in this shot, too)

Now all that's left to do is hit “save”!

So be careful out there on the slopes, and just leave it to blogger to post your brilliant piece while you're swishing down those steep hills, in that wonderful champagne powder...(can you tell I'm a frustrated former skier?) (If you want to know why it's former, check it out this post at my own blog, Life is Good).

Any questions? Please leave them in the comments, or email me at

tndowney at gmail dot com. I'd be glad to walk you through it.


                                                                                                          Tina @ Life is Good


Update!!!!


We have a video entry to showcase.  Soon a list of entries will be started and put on a tabbed page so you readers can access the list in order to view the videos.  Watch for that page.  In the meantime, enjoy this video by Marta Szemik from Marta Szemik's Blog :

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My A to Z Blogging Challenge Secret: How I Survived....

I must confess that this was truly challenging! Like with any huge project, I planned ahead of time. I thought of a theme I'd stick by through out the entire month and created a list per alphabet letter on a spiral bound notebook, writing as many words that started with each letter.


example:


A: anaphora, alphabet, allegory, artist


so on so forth till I reached Z.

(sneak a peek at my posts here!)


Next, I went down my list and circled one idea per letter to post about it. I wrote my entire alphabet post in two days a month ahead of time. Why? Because I wanted to enjoy visiting everyone's fabulous blogs and leave comments on as many as I could per day! 

Since we aren't posting on Sundays (but for April 1st for 2012) it gives us a fabulous opportunity to catch up on the comment love!


And that's my secret. What's yours?

Letters Entertain You: A Word from Arlee Bird

Image via Wikipedia

         Are you having as much fun with the alphabet as I am?


         I've been preparing my A to Z posts and having a great time with it.   I think I've come up with some fun A to Z posts for April and maybe some surprises.  Since last year I'm sold on the idea of preparing posts ahead of time so I can do more visiting come April.


          Alana Garrigues talked about the idea of preplanning in her A to Z guest post this past Monday.  If you missed Alana's post, it's well worth your time to go back to visit it.   She provides some excellent tips on how to tackle the Challenge and breaks things down into some easily digestible bits.


           That's the way Alana operates.  Visit her blog Writercize and you'll see what I mean.   I had some fun with one her writing exercises the other day when with a tip of her hat to the A to Z Challenge she posed the following:  

       Write a 26 word glimpse of a story or poem in which each word begins with a different letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order, from A through Z. 

           With my mind filled with thoughts about the A to Z Challenge, I offered this: 

        "A big challenge daunts everyone. Forget gentility. Have 

intrepidation! Just keep laconic. Make notes or prepare quite 

rigorously. Such tactics unleash victory. Winners--Xerox your 

zeal!"

           Alana suggested I put my attempt here which was exactly my idea as soon as I had finished writing it.   See how much inspiration the alphabet can offer.

           The biggest A to Z news this week was the announcement of the A to Z Video Challenge.  If you like to make videos I encourage you to try this.   

          Contrary to some of the comments we received, making a video such as this doesn't have to require immense video making skill or many hours in creating a video.   You can make a pretty decent video entry in an hour or even less.  Try it--you might like it!   And the more entries we get, the more fun prizes we'll come up with.

           So there you go.   Lot's happening in Alphabetland.   The April Challenge sign-ups are now only a week away.   Are you ready for the fun?

           

Related articles

• A to Z The Writercize Way: Helpful Tips from Alana Garrigues (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• We Interrupt This Program For A Very Special Announcement! (breakthroughblogs.blogspot.com)
• Awesome Stuff and the Big Announcement! (alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com)
• Kibbles and Bits (breakthroughblogs.blogspot.com)

Pearson Report weighs in on prepping for a Challenge

Last April was my first attempt at doing the A to Z Challenge.

I signed up on April 1st; I had only found out about it on March 30th.

By letter “C” I had my groove on and was letting the juices flow.

Having no time to prepare for the challenge I was clearly at a disadvantage - my day to day activities did feel the pinch and sleep was lost in the process...but, By George I sure had fun!

Is it necessary to have your posts finished and ready to hit the Publish Button well before April?

Some say yes, I say not completely...let me explain.

It is a challenge set forth for the month of April, to be done in April...so why all the fuss about having everything finished before the Challenge has even started?

Well, I imagine getting organized early falls into a few areas of concern; finding a theme; having the available time; commitment to a day job; family obligations; other interests...and so on.

All of these areas do affect how much time we spend blogging and therefore a little preparation can go a long way in helping us participate in a Challenge that has very clear time constraints, without messing up our lives completely. Right?

It’s no different than preparing for your first marathon - you don’t just lace up your runners, arrive at the starting line and run twenty-six mile without some preparation.

Key word here is “preparation”; so when April 1st rolls around you can enjoy the process of “doing” the Challenge because you are ready, organized and have prepared for it.

Now, that being said, I will have much, if not all, of my “stuff” done because, as a co-host, I want to spend every free minute, in the month of April, visiting YOU and reading your posts!

What are your “preparation” strategies for this upcoming A to Z Challenge?

Are all of your posts finished and ready to go? If so, what will you be doing in April? 

Happy Blogging!
JENNYPEARSON