IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The 2024 OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Friday, April 5, 2013

E: Must read---Every #AtoZChallenge Participant Deserves Visitors..and some MUST DONTs

A to Z Challenge is all about building community, so I would encourage all of you to go visit as many blogs as possible. That's the only reliable way to grow the audience of your blog. At the bottom of this post, I'm adding a few links that I think could do with more followers.


Now, the super-awesome Mina Lobo from my AZ team has volunteered a post on how best to go about giving and receiving comments, so I'll let her take over from here:
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 MUST DON’Ts for the 2013 Blogging from #AtoZChallenge

Howdy, folks. I’m Mina Lobo, from Some Dark Romantic, and a helper to Ato Z co-host, Damyanti. As I go down the linky-list, checking up on my allotted group of A to Z-ers, I’m finding a lot of the jazz that drives the average blog reader le cray-cray. Please believe you’ll enjoy far greater blogtivity (blog-activity—it’s a technical term) if you heed these words and take prompt action to rectify any of the items below, should you find you’ve been guilty of them (whether by accident or design):

DON’T use Word Verification/CAPTCHA or any such beast on your blog. Those tiny, wavy, blurry letters and numbers are the work of The Evil One. If you insist on using this vile stuff, be warned: the Devil will drag you under by the sharp lapel of your checkered coat! (Props if you can name the showtune or musical from which hails that last bit.) Dunno how to rid yourself of this blight upon the blogosphere? Click here. CLICK HERE NOW!

DON’T fail to leave a link-back signature to your blog when you leave a comment! You’ve been kind enough to leave a note showing your appreciation/voicing your disagreement/requesting an order of fries with that Coke, which is super groovy of you to do. The blogger will, if s/he has a soul, wish to return the compliment by visiting your blog and doing the same. You’ll make it weh-heh-HAY easier for her/him to do so by providing a link-back signature. CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW.

DON’T bury your A to Z stuff all the way the heck at the bottom of that day’s post if you’re combining topics on a particular day (ESPECIALLY if that post has loads of pictures to scroll through). I can’t tell you how close I’ve come to tagging an A to Z participant as a non-participant because I had to scroll down to the very bowels of his/her blog to find the day’s A to Z post. Well, I guess I can tell you—I’ve come very close indeed. If you’re combining a bunch of topics for a day’s post, be sure to stick the A to Z part at the tippity-top of your post. The average individual doesn’t have the time or patience to do all that danged scrolling. (Trust me on this; if I had no sense of duty as an A to Z helper/minion/ninja, I sure as shootin’ wouldn’t.)

All right, folks; if you need to, go fix your stuff. If you don’t, rock on! And if you’ve got any Lindt or Guylian chocolates in need of a good home, Tweet me.
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Now that you know how to give and receive comments, make sure to drop by the following blogs and spread some love, in order to receive some love in return:

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If you want to access all the posts tagged #AtoZChallenge across a lot of different social media check this out: http://tagboard.com/AtoZChallenge

Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Enjoy day 5 of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge, and may you all get as many comments as our Ninja Captain, Alex J Cavanaugh!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

D is for Determination


Determination! 
That's what this Challenge is going to take. We are just a few days in, but the newness may have lost a bit of it's shine, you may be feeling discouraged for any number of reasons.

Not getting as many comments as you expected?
~ are you visiting a lot of blogs?
~ are you acknowledging the comments you've gotten?

Finding dead links?
~ please report them to me, Tina, through the info@ email or my personal email, both found under the CONTACT US tab. Please know we are continually combing the list for ads, dead links, and non-participants. Our assistants are out there in the trenches spending a LOT of their Challenge time doing that. So are the co-hosts. We welcome ANY help you can give.

Having trouble writing your posts?
~ these aren't works of art, perfect specimens of your very best writing, or masterpieces of any kind. They are short and sweet and meant to get you in the habit of blogging daily. Or if you're a perfectionist like me, hitting publish even though you could spend hours still editing. This is NOT the time to be trying that. Write it. Push publish.

Still feeling discouraged?
~ go hang out with your blogging buddies. Maybe you've all decided that for the Challenge you're going to visit others, but maybe you need a dose of that favorite blog you usually start your day with. That's OK. I wouldn't make you skip your coffee in the morning...

Above all, this is supposed to be FUN! Now go out there and have some FUN and don't worry so much. (Advice this girl needs to take a dose of herself...)

~Tina

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

C: Commenting Your Way through the #atozchallenge



As we've said time and again, the main purpose of A to Z Challenge is building a community of bloggers, and the way to do that is through Comments!

Commenting on a post is to reward the blogger for the effort he or she put in to writing the post, and it is also perhaps one of the best ways of ensuring that your posts get comments.

Here are a few blogs I came across while doing my challenge visits that I thought could do with more follows and comments. Please hop on across and show them some love. I'm sure they'll love you and your blog back!
1.     www.uberrandom.com
2.     http://saniaheba.blogspot.in
4.      http://stephcb.blogspot.in
 

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Bring It On! #atozchallenge

 
    Are we off to a great start or what!    The sign-up list closed out at #1969 which is up from all previous years.   This event just keeps getting BIGGER.

         Keep in mind that the numbers will change as we continue to eliminate non-participants and other bad links from the list.   Watch your number as there is a good possibility that your positioning might go up a notch or two or more.  If you're telling others where to find you, make sure that number hasn't changed.

         And whatever you do, don't be a BAD LINK.   Keep your posts up to date as best you can.  We will be patrolling the list and removing non-participants.  If you are having a posting problem please make a note of it on your blog so we don't remove you.  Let us know if you need any assistance.

        The Challenge just keeps getting BETTER and we want to make it fun and rewarding for everyone.  Try your best to visit back to those who have commented on your blog.  Try to go through the list at least five a day starting with the blogs immediately below yours.  Be nice.   Follow the blogs you enjoy.  And try to leave a comment at each blog you visit.  Remember--in order to get comments it helps when you give comments.  This is social networking so let's be social.

         April is underway now so BRING IT ON!    Have a great Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

Arlee Bird


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Monday, April 1, 2013

ADVENTURE!

As the A to Z Challenge kicks off, prepare for adventure!

You will be challenged to write a daily blog post corresponding with that day’s letter.

You will find new bloggers and make friends.

You will stretch your blogging skills.

You will learn new things.

You will emerge on the other side a different person.

Most of all, you will have fun on this adventure. Go and enjoy.

You are now free to move about the A to Z Challenge list!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE