The 2013 WordCount Blogathon is moving to June

The 2013 WordCount Blogathon is moving to June!

For the sixth year in a row, I will be hosting a month-long challenge for freelancers, writers, authors and anyone else who wants to start or build up a blog by posting for a month straight.

Last year, close to 300 people signed up. Bloggers who made it through the entire month called it a transformative experience. Read more here: 2012 Blogathon success stories: A job offer, a novel idea, and lots more.

Everyone who completes the blogathon also got their names entered into a raffle drawing for some amazing prizes, including a blog makeovers, books on writing, and more.

In the past, the blogathon has taken place in May. This year, I’m moving the event to June for a variety of work and personal reasons. Because June is the start of summer for many people, I believe it’s a more laid back time of year, which means more time to devote to blogging. On top of that, it’s one day shorter than May – one less day of posting but you’re still blogging for an entire month!

Not sure if you can handle posting 30 days straight? Throughout the month of May, you can read guest posts here from people who’ve taken the blogathon challenge – and ended up with bigger, better blogs as a result. Here’s an example from last year: 8 great reasons to do the blogathon.

Registration for this year’s blogathon will open in April.

2013 WordCount Blogathon Details

This year’s blogathon will continue many of the same features that have made it a favorite of bloggers in the past, including:

• Badges – Once again this year, everyone who participates in the blogathon will receive a badget to put on their blog, and if they make it all the way through, an “I Did It!” badge to display at the end of the month.
• May 29 blogathon kick-off Twitter chat – The kick-off chat will take place Wednesday, May 29, at 10 a.m. Pacific time/1 p.m. Eastern time. For the chat, and for all other blogathon related tweets, we’ll use the hashtag #blog2013.
• Theme days – This year, theme days will include the always popular haiku and word-cloud posts as well as a “My favorite…” and some surprises.
• Blogathon ambassadors – I’m inviting a few long-time blogathon participants to act as ambassadors to help with questions from people new to blogging or new to the blogathon. Experienced bloggers: If you’ve done the blogathon before or are comfortable answering questions about WordPress, Blogger or other blog software, mechanics or strategies let me know, I’m still looking to fill a few blogathon ambassador spots.
• July 1 wrap party/Twitter chat – The blogathon ends on Sunday, June 30. All June 30 posts must be published by 8 p.m. Pacific time in order to give the blogathon crew time to verify the results. The wrap party will take place on Monday, July 1, at 10 a.m. Pacific time/1 p.m. Eastern. We’ll share what we liked and learned, then announce raffle prize winners.
• An online forum –  I use the blogathon forum to post badges, updates and other blogathon news. Blogathon bloggers can use it to post links to their daily posts (if they want), ask questions, share tips and encourage each other. In the past, I’ve used Google Groups for the forum, but that is changing. I’ll share more about that soon.

Looking for Blogathon Sponsors

Blogathon sponsors donate prizes for the raffle, take out ads and generally support the blogathon. If you have a blogging or writing related business and are interested in getting your message in front of 300+ freelancer writers and bloggers, contact me at wordcountfreelance@gmail.com and a member of the blogathon crew will be in touch.

If you haven’t blogged before, or are looking to kick up your blog to the next level, the WordCount Blogathon is a great way to learn. To help with that, I’ll also be publishing a series of posts on how to start a blog between now and June 1. Here are a couple to get you started:

• Why writers should blog: it’s not personal, it’s business
• Cheat your way to blogging every day
• Dear WordCount: How can I be more consistent to adding posts to my blog?
• 31 lessons from blogging 31 days

Remember, if you’re going to share on about taking part in the 2013 blogathon on Twitter (or Pinterest, Facebook or LinkedIn for that matter), use this hashtag: #blog2013.