It’s been almost six months since the conclusion of the 2010 WordCount Blogathon. Enough time has passed that it seems appropriate to check in with the 110+ writers and bloggers who participated to find out how their blog or blogging has changed because of our daily blogging experiment.
I’ll go first. The live chats that I held at the conclusion of the last two blogathons were so popular it encouraged me to start a monthly live chat I dubbed WordCount Last Wednesday. Starting in June, those #wclw live chats have covered topics such as the best WordPress apps for writers, how to use Twitter, Facebook and e-newsletters to promote your business. The next WordCount Last Wednesday will take place on Oct. 29 and feature The Urban Muse blogger Susan Johnston talking about e-books.
Aside from the live chats, the blogathon helped me get more disciplined about regular blogging. That’s come in handy because since April I’ve been blogging twice a week at SecondAct.com, Entrepreneur Media’s online magazine for people over 40. Except for a few especially crazy weeks, I’ve been able to juggle posting twice a week on Second Act and two or three times a week here. I could have a third blogging gig in 2011, so knowing how to manage multiple blogging assignments will come in handy.
What about other 2010 WordCount Blogathon participants?
When last we left Charles Newbery, he had won the WordCount Blogathon’s top prize, a $500 SEO makeover for Pine Tree Paradise, a blog about his family life in Argentina, where he works as a freelance journalist. Jason Lancaster, an Internet marketing consultant with Spork Marketing in Denver, completed the SEO review of Newbery’s site recently and wrote about it here. Based on his goals of getting sponsors or turning the blog into a book, Lancaster made at least a dozen suggestions for how Newbery could optimize the site for seach engines – without changing a word of his already terrific writing. Lancaster’s advice is recommended reading for anyone that blogs about personal or semi-personal matters – if you know some behind-the-scenes SEO tricks, you don’t need to mess with good prose.
Over the last couple months I’ve also heard from journalist and blogger Paul Tullis, who’s writing for Environment, and Andrew Nielsen, who’ still blogging at his A Green Mushroom video game site and possibly looking to do more writing on the video game industry. Two-time blogathoner Teresa Mears is running five websites in the Cities on the Cheap frugal entertainment network with plans to launch a sixth next year, all based in Florida. First-time blogathoner Jennie Phipps added a blog to Freelance Success, my favorite subscription-based newsletter and message board for writers.
What about you? If you took part in this year’s blogathon, how has the experience changed you or your blog?
If you didn’t take part but have a blog, what have you done that’s new and different this year?
For me, the best thing to come out of this year’s blogathon has been the relationships I’ve made with other bloggers. Great, generous, supportive, intelligent bunch. Looking forward to next year. 🙂
Dina:
I agree 100 percent, getting to know other writers and bloggers was one of the best outcomes of this year’s blogathon.
MVR
I took part because my Mom is a writer and had a book coming out at the end of the Blogathon. She needed to be blogging regularly, so we both signed up. I made it through every day. I learned a lot about things I didn’t even know existed. I entered Famous Blogger’s blogging contest and came in 9th, winning $150. I switched from a weird blogging platform to WordPress and now have a paid blogging gig and more possibilities. I really appreciate the comradry and helpfulness of my fellow Blogathon participants. The chats that continue are helpful, too. I had hoped the Google group would continue to be active, but it seems to have gone dormant. Perhaps it can be revived for Blogathon 2011. Looking forward to that one, if you can manage it, Michelle.
Stephanie:
Sounds like the blogathon really kicked off a good streak for you, way to go!
I too thought that the blogathon Google Group would continue, but will be the first to confess that between blogging, work and the live chats, I ran out of time to maintain it. I will definitely reactivate it for the 2011 WCB and possibly even sooner.
MVR
Michelle – Thank you for the kind words. You’re absolutely correct in that blogs don’t have to be written for search engines in order to garner search engine visits. By writing good alt tags, using smart permalinks, naming files correctly, linking back to old posts with keywords, etc., a lot of search traffic can be gained.
Having said that, some blogs are more able to write keyword-sensitive titles than others. If you blog about something more business-oriented or technical, I think it’s a really good idea to write your blog posts so that the title incorporates a common search term. My blog post “Constant Contact vs. Vertical Response,” for example, is a short little review that gets me some a handful of very targeted searchers each month.
Anyways, thanks for the opportunity – looking forward to the next Blogathon!
Jason:
Thanks for the additional advice. One thing I’m religious about is linking back to old posts – it’s such an easy way to build page views. And since new readers discover my blog all the time it gives them an invitation to read posts they probably haven’t seen before.
Michelle
I was glad to participate in the Blogathon, although I burned out before we reached the end. Lesson learned: plan ahead and then plan some more!
I’d like to get more interaction and discussion going on my blog, so I’m trying to put more energy there. This morning I set up a Facebook page for it, hoping that might add some conversation opportunities. I’m very curious to see how that works out.
Joanne:
I agree, planning is essential. I did the best job of planning during the blogathon, when I had to post 31 days straight plus write my SecondAct.com posts plus run the blogathon. Before it started, I planned six weeks worth of posts in advance, and tweaked it as time went by. Having a plan helped me pre-write future posts when I had a little down time. It also made me more aware of material I came across online that would fit with a post I had planned so I could save it for when I was writing.
Michelle
I garnered a few new followers/readers, so it was worthwhile to me. I will participate in future Blogathons if invited.
I try to list key phrases to snag search engines, but am not sure how successful I am.
Caroline: Thanks for sharing. To find out how successful your use of keywords is, look at the tags you’re using on posts then look at the search terms that are bringing people to your site – there should be some overlap. Also, if you’re seeing certain search terms over and over consider writing posts related to them, to continue the cycle.
Michelle
The most important thing the Blogathon does for me, as it has every time I’ve participated, is be that reminder that regular posting is key to blogging success. Having that badge on my blog is a proud marker of that. While I know regular blogging is just one key, it’s a very important one for me.
I also realize from it the benefits of regular commenting and the building of community. So it inspires me to think of ways to do that, which is why I’m almost always going to ask questions at the end of my posts. The Blogathon serves as a good reminder that you want to always think of your readers. It’s good practice for that.
One more valuable lesson I’ve learned is that theme-based writing is the best way to focus on regular posting. I started doing that in the second year, and now I really favor that approach. Whenever I utilize a theme, I get in a zone that keeps me going for the entire length of the themed experience. It’s maintains the passion or the interest, which is going to bring my readers back.
In fact, right now, I’m reading The Artist’s Way book. It’s a 12-week process, so I decided to invite anyone interested in participating with me to use my blog as the check-in place. There are about half a dozen or so of us, and we report on our weekly progress with the book every Monday. That’s been yet another inspirational way for me to make my blog useful to my readers.
I can’t wait to be inspired by the Blogathon next year. That’s what it really does. It inspired me to get creative, to think of new ways to attract a readership, to look at different ways to build the community. And you can’t do that alone. You need the team to work with and learn from. So, thanks, Michelle. You’ve been a great catalyst for growth.
Six months – wow! A lot has changed. I entered on a whim to clear a backlog of posts and to see if I could write a post a day, and to see if blogging would lead to anything. Has it? Not monetary or anything. But I do feel more plugged in, like I understand how blogging works.
As importantly, it has led to a redesign. I switched to WordPress from Blogger and kept a steady posting schedule of every Monday and Thursday. It helps me to plan posts, and makes it feel more like part of my work as opposed to a hobby. I hope it keeps readers in anticipation of the next issue like me as kid waiting for the postman to bring a new issue of Surfer Magazine. There’s still plenty to learn about SEO and still plenty to do to take the blog to the next level, what that may be.
I think the change from hobby to a regular thing is the big change for me that came from the Blogathon, as well, of course, as the kick-ass SEO review.
Charles: Thanks for the additional feedback; as usual, Pine Tree Paradise is a great read. Keep up the good work.
MVR
I feel like a blogathon failure! I think the problem is that I’m still casting about to find what, exactly, I want to be blogging/writing about. I wrote Creative DC for 4 years (http://www.creativedc.org), but since moving to NY last year, I’ve been struggling to define my focus and voice with a new blog. I was doing Tastee Pudding during the blogathon (http://tasteepudding.com), but it felt too unfocused. In July, I closed up shop there and launched ZENyc (http://zenyc.info), my current blog, which is about staying centered amid the chaos of NYC. I thought it would be analagous to Creative DC – responding to a deficit in the place where I lived (creative community in DC… zen/calm in NYC). But I’m just not feeling inspired. I have such a hard time coming up with story ideas, and my only regular feature (“3 Ways to Relax in NYC This Week”) doesn’t get much traffic. So, I’m a bit of a lost soul as a blogger. If anyone has navigated a similar challenge, and has any advice – I’m all ears!
Amanda:
I know at least one other blogathoner who was having trouble isolating a topic worth blogging about on a regular basis. Have you tried studying blogs you like? I forget – are you also a FT writer? If so, is there some aspect of your paid writing work that you’d like to blog about as a way to learn more about the subject? Or maybe you could join one of the hyperlocal blogging networks that are popping up all over the place (NYU and the NYT are working on one I believe, and there’s always Patch.com). Or do some brainstorming to come up with something fun – nothing like a fun subject to keep the blogging juices flowing.
Michelle
The Blogathon helped me get off the fence to blog. I have been posting regularly at both my blogs, http://www.thisthat-herethere.com and http://www.take25tohollister.com. Yep. I got domain names, which means I take my blogging seriously. 🙂
Since the Blogathon, I’ve been assertive about putting my blogs out there. I have Facebook pages for both of them and I link up my This and That blog at various blog parties and hops occasionally, which has allowed me to meet a lot of bloggers worldwide with different interests. I haven’t jumped to Twitter, yet.
I have no idea where I’m going with these blogs, only that I’ll continue blogging until it’s no longer enjoyable. Thanks, Michelle, for hosting a blogging place/event/tool that’s just plain helpful.
Susiee – Thank you, your enthusiasm is infectious.
MVR
Oh, where to begin? The blogathon did so many things for me as a writer and even for my writing biz. As others have noted, it got me into a regular habit and taught me the value of doing posts in advance. It also helped me rediscover my voice and fed other writing projects, as well as introducing me to a group of supportive bloggers who showed how a community really can grow and feed a blog.
Since the blogathon, I’ve dropped back to a post or two a week to concentrate on paying work. Nevertheless, an agent recently approached me about doing a book on the subject of my blog. I had to decline the opportunity as it did not really fit in with my business plan. Still, it was a nice confidence boost and a reminder that even if you’re not drawing thousands of readers (which I’m most certainly not!), a blog can still establish you as a niche expert.
I’ll definitely be back for the blogathon this year — although I may be using the month to start a new blog. Either way, I wouldn’t miss this great opportunity!
Kathy
Kathy:
If an agent approached you about doing a book, I’d say you’re definitely doing something right. I’ll look forward to hearing more about all your new ventures.
M
Well, I’m doing something, anyway. 😉 Almost forgot to add: another great thing that came out of the blogathon for me was learning about one of your sponsors, writing coach Marla Beck. I’ve been working with her since September and she’s been amazing. With her guidance I’ve started to focus more on the types of writing I enjoy and landed some of the most interesting projects I’ve had in years. I can’t say enough about her!
I loved the comraderie the Blogathon provided. I have not contacted you, Michelle, because the summer has been so very full and we have not come to a complete stop yet. I’m still blogging every day.
I wrote one or two blogs after the blogathon, but stopped. It was most interesting to get feedback from one or two fans. I emailed them replies.
Suddenly it seems as if I now have found something to write about even though there have been plenty of personal stories right in my own day to day life. That sounds like a good blog theme!
It is the comparisons that depressed me. Here I thought 200 hits was really something when I discovered others were getting in the thousands!
Focus, Shelley, focus! Is popularity what I really started blogging for? No. It was to take this widow out of her self enclosing prison of ‘Can’t do’ into a world of fearless flying!
It was icing to find a few who read my ‘voice’ and found time to respond positively that made me blink back tears. “People out there took the time to read my voice and validate it!”
Thanks, Michelle, for heaving me up where I could spread my wings!