Yes, there will be a WordCount Blogathon in 2012. As in other years, it will take place in May.

If you’re not familiar with the blogathon, it’s a challenge to blog every day in May. In that respect, it’s similar to other community blogging challenges, such as NaBloPoMo (here’s a list of daily blogging challenges I compiled during the 2011 blogathon).

Bloggers – amateur, professional, whoever – who commit to blogging every day of the month are listed on the blogathon blog roll. If they make it the entire month, their names are entered in a drawing for writing and blogging-related prizes, which in years past have included books, tutoring, web design and other writing and blogging-related services.

The 2012 blogathon will include other features that have made past events so successful, including:

• A guest post exchange, a designated day for bloggers to swap posts with another blogger, preferably but not necessarily, another blogathon participant.
• Theme days, which aren’t mandatory but are helpful if you’re stuck for what to write about that day. Last year’s theme days included posts on favorite books and favorite places to write.
• Haiku days, also not mandatory, though the vast majority of bloggers who took part in previous blogathons did them because they’re short, easy to come up with and a week or two or daily blogging offer a much needed break!
• A members-only Google Group where bloggers can share links to their posts, get technical and other blogging questions answered.
• Live Twitter chats to kick off the blogathon, and to celebrate when it’s over.
• A weekly e-newsletter with blogathon updates.
• A blogathon badge to display on your blog.

Watch this space for registration, which will open some time in March.

Got a suggestion for how to make the 2012 blogathon even more wonderful? Leave it in a comment, or let me know at wordcountfreelance@gmail.com.

Time passed. And while I’m no less enthusiastic about blogging, this blog and the annual blogathon, I’ve had to do a reality check.

I adore the blogathon and have met an incredible group of people through it, people who have become some of my biggest fans, and even friends. Some of these people are still faithfully sharing links to their daily blog posts and asking each other questions about blogging on the WordCount blogathon Google Group that was set up for last year’s event.

But the hard, cold truth is that I lose money every time I host a blogathon. Last May, I probably lost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in time I would have otherwise used to take on paid writing or editing work. Not to mention the hours of sleep I lost doing blogathon-related administrative work into the wee hours of the night.

So I had to come to the conclusion that while a mini-blogathon was a great idea, I couldn’t pull it off twice in a calendar year. Not if I wasn’t going to charge people to participate – more on that in a minute.

If you were looking forward to a mini-blogging challenge this month, I hope you understand. And I hope you’ll still pick 10 days this month and blog every one of those days like you would have if the mini-blogathon had happened. Or maybe you’ll really go for it and join NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month, which starts tomorrow and is being sponsored by BlogHer.

And don’t worry – there will be a 2012 WordCount Blogathon. As to the matter of losing money, I’ve already got some changes in the works to fix that. For one, I’m getting some help. I’m also contemplating offering two tiers of registration. One would be the usual free entry level with everything that’s been part of the blogathon in the past – the Google Group, weekly newsletter, etc. I may also offer a second, paid registration level that would come with an ebook on blogging and some other extras.

Thanks for your continued support of WordCount, the blogathon and me.

Happy blogging!

Come with me, for a minute-by-minute peak behind the scenes of WordCount world headquarters and one day in the life of…me.

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6:30 a.m. Wake up, fold laundry, walk downstairs to office, turn on computer.

6:45 a.m. Get newspaper. Turn on computer. Make espresso.

7 a.m. Husband leave for work. Son #1 sick. Daughter asleep. Log on. Open Outlook, Chrome, Word.

7:10 a.m. Read email. Look at blog traffic stats. Moderate blog comments that came in overnight.

7:20 a.m. Read new messages on blogathon Google Group.

7:25 a.m. Wake son #2 up for school. Report son #1 sick to high school. Do mom stuff.

8:10 a.m. Son off to school. Check Twitter feed for @replies and mentions of #blog2011. Tweet. Go back to blogathon Google Group, approve pending membership, do message board maintenance.

8:45 a.m. Check conversations in subscription-only writer message board.

9 a.m. Call writer to discuss white paper project.

9:45 a.m. Check email, Twitter. Daughter leaves for college internship. Son #1 up.

10 a.m. Work on edits on feature story package. Exchange emails with copy editor, art director on project. Verify facts with sources.

12:30 p.m. Check email, Twitter, Google Group, blog stats. Lunch. Talk to son #1.

12:50 p.m. Check email, Twitter, Google Group, blog stats.

1 p.m. Finish edits on feature package.

2:55 p.m. Pick up son #2 from school. Stop for snack. Supervise homework.

3:30 p.m. Start working on blog post for website client.

5 p.m. Put dinner in oven. Get son #2 ready for track and field team party. Give daughter gas money.

5:45 p.m. Check on dinner. See son off to team party. Check email, Twitter, Google Group, blog stats. Back to work on blog post for website client.

6: 15 p.m. Eat dinner with son #1. Watch news. Do dishes. Do more laundry.

7:15 p.m. Check email, Twitter. Back to work on post for website client.

8:30 p.m. Load post into client’s content management system. Add title, deck, tags. Proofread one last time. Son #2 home from party. Mom stuff.

9 p.m. Start next day’s WordCount blog post. Write while watching “Dancing with the Stars.” (Go Hines!) Husband home from weekly after-work b-ball game. Nag son #1 to do homework. Nag daughter to do homework.

10 p.m. Finish post. Schedule publication for 6 a.m. Shut down computer. Get son #2 stuff ready for tomorrow. Fold laundry. Head to bed to watch “Castle.”

When I polled WordCount readers recently to find out what they wanted to see more of here, how to get more comments on blog posts was one of the most-requested topics.

It makes sense: if you spend your time and energy putting your thoughts out there for the world to see, you want feedback, right?

Here are some tips for getting more comments, and links to posts I’ve done on the subject:

1. Be radical. If you want comments, take a stand. Don’t be afraid of expressing opinions some people won’t agree with. They can tell you that in a comment and you can respond in kind – that’s the start of a conversation, and that’s what readers like.

2. Blog about what people are talking about. The most commented-on posts I’ve ever done had to so with the merits of writing for Demand Media, Associated Content, Helium and other so-called content farms. Some writers swear they’re ruining the profession. Others love them because they provide pitch-free work and bring in extra cash for easy work they can do while they watch TV.

• Freelancers, do not write for content aggregators
• Counterpoint: Yes, freelancers should write for Helium
• The great freelance debate continues
• Novice freelancers, instead of Helium, try hyperlocal news

3. Blog about what people are reading. The most popular post I’ve ever written is on J.K. Rowling’s writing style. Someone just Stumbled it again this weekend and page views for that day doubled from what they were the day before. People love Rowling and the Harry Potter books and movies, and with the final movie in the series coming out, they’re going online to look up information about it. Lesson learned: blog about bestselling books, movies, TV shows, and other popular culture. Some of this year’s blogathoners are doing just that: they’ve writing on blogs in the voice of Sookie Stackhouse, Anna Paquin’s character on True Blood, and I’ll wager they get some nice traffic to their websites because of it.

• WordCount rerun: Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s writing style

4. Write about things people can relate to. People leave comments when posts are on a universal topic everyone can relate to, the time I wrote about being too sick to work. People also leave comments when you share information they can use to improve their business, such posts on getting more customers or learning about search engine optimization.

• How to write blog posts that get comments

5. Comment on other people’s blogs. Remember the saying you learned in kindergarten: if you want to make a friend be one? Well, it you want comments, be a good commenter. Find bloggers who write about what you write about and leave comments on their blogs. Look at the links coming into your blog, click on them to see where they’re coming from and if any are from bloggers you’d like to get to know leave a comment. Start a conversation. Become someone’s blogging buddy. Make a pact to comment on each other’s blog.

• 5 reasons you should obsess over blog stats

6. Create a blogging circle. A group of writers I know made a deal to regularly comment on each other’s posts  as a way to build traffic on all their blogs. At the American Society of Journalists and Authors writer’s conference I attended last week, one presenter who runs a cat blog talked about the blogging alliance she formed with six other pet writers. They started out commenting on each others blogs and over time built up so much traffic they were able to go after advertisers.

• 6 surefire strategies to get more comments on your blog

7. Ask. If you really want comments, ask for them. Include a line at the end of a post saying something like: “What do you think?” Some bloggers run question posts on a regular basis – in such a post, you pose a question and then ask readers to answer and their answers form the meat of the post. Susan Johnston, who blogs at The Urban Muse, does this on a regular basis in what she calls Open Thread posts. Surveys are another way to solicit comments. Build a post around a poll, and include an “Other” area for readers to leave a comment.

What tactics do you use to get more comments on blog posts?

Bloggers unite – and welcome to the opening of registration for the 4th annual WordCount Blogathon, which takes place May 1-31, 2011.

If you’ve been here before – it’s great to have you back.

If you’re here to learn more about starting or running a blog, you’ve in the right place.

The WordCount Blogathon is an annual event that brings together professional writers and committed bloggers for the purpose of becoming more proficient by posting to their respective blogs every day during the month of May.

Why blog 31 days in a row?

True confessions – it’s hard to blog 7 days a week, and for 11 months out of the year I don’t do it. Unless you’re running a hyperlocal news site or making 100 percent of your income blogging, I don’t recommend posting once or more a day 365 days a year.

But there are plenty of reasons why it pays to become obsessed with blogging for a short time:

• To gain experience to look for paid blogging work.
• To gain expertise in a subject you want to write about for paid markets.
• To build traffic.
• To etablish yourself as an expert.
• As part of building a personal brand.
• To help promote a book, e-book, e-newsletter or other product or service you’re selling or hoping to sell.
• To start a blog – or a second or third.
• To improve your SEO skills.
• To make money from advertising, affiliate programs or other blog-based enterprise.

Register today

To sign up for the 2011 WordCount Blogathon, fill out and submit the registration form below. Once it’s in, you’ll receive the 2011 WordCount Blogathon participant badge to display on your site – it’s that easy!

You’ll also automatically be added to the 2011 WordCount Blogathon email list for announcements related to the event. In addition, you can join the WordCount Blogathon Google Group to share messages and information with other blogathoners.

Don’t forget to sign up for the WordCount RSS feed to receive 2011 WordCount Blogathon updates directly to your email inbox or blog reader every Monday between now and May 1. You can also sign up to receive all WordCount posts in your blog reader.

If you have general questions, leave a comment here, email me at wordcountfreelance@gmail.com, or catch me on Twitter, @michellerafter.

You can follow the 2011 WordCount Blogathon on Twitter using the hashtag #Blog2011.

If you make it through all 31 days, you’ll be eligible to be entered into this year’s raffle drawing for writing and blogging related prizes. Watch for more details on prizes and sponsors coming soon.

Registration for the 2011 WordCount Blogathon will continue through 11 p.m. Pacific time on May 1 – leaving stragglers just enough time to sign up and write their first post. After that, registration will be closed. Late comers can participate on an unofficial basis but won’t be eligible for raffle prizes.

Thanks  for visiting, and I hope to see you in the blogathon.

REGISTRATION FOR THE 2011 WORDCOUNT BLOGATHON IS NOW CLOSED. SORRY YOU MISSED US!

A lot of that has to do with the Blogathon Google Group Rebecca Allen helped get started earlier this week. As of May 6, about 75 blogathoners had signed up and conversations about guest posts and blog topics are in full swing. If for some reason you didn’t get the invitation, or had trouble signing up, let me know.

Between the conversations going on in Google Group and on Twitter – at #Blog2010 – I’m getting to know more about this year’s blogathoners and reading lots of posts. There’s so much good stuff out there, I’ve decided to devote the remaining Saturdays in May to a list of especially engaging entries I happened upon this week.

Here’s this week’s edition of Around the Blogathon:

Build-a-blog workshop – Writer and website designer Ron Doyle is using the blogathon to crowdsource a redesign of his blog, BlogSaladBlog.com. Each day Ron picks a different element of his redesign and asks readers to vote on the direction he should take. So far so good, with the possible exception of the color scheme readers chose for him – not sure how well rust, tan and green are going to look together.

Scofflaws, reveal yourselves – In a completely different type of interactive experiment, Kathy Murray is asking readers to fess up if they’ve ever broken the law. A long-time journalist (and former newspaper colleague of mine), Murray runs Out and Employed, a blog offering job advice to ex-offenders that grew out of a class she teaches at an adult detention center.

Trust your gut – Tastee Pudding blogger Amanda Hirsch writes about how scary but important it is to trust what your instincts tell you about what you do for work, where you live and how you live. Good advice, especially for self-employeds like freelance writers who too often say “Yes” to projects for the money despite the alarm bells going off in their heads over circumstances of a project.

Idioms R Us – Speaking of trusting your gut, that expression is called an idiom and idioms are the subject of the blog, About English Idioms, Joanne Mason started recently and is using the Blogathon to get up and running. Mason is a freelance writer, long-time ESL teacher and tutor, so who better to unravel the mysteries of why we say face the music when we mean accept the consequences of what we’ve done than someone who’s made language her career.

All-in-one blog reader – Keeping up with 110+ blogs participating in this year’s Blogathon is daunting. Dylan, who blogs at DiscordianZen put together an RSS feed that groups all the blogs in the Blogathon onto one page, making it a real time saver.

Last year close to 50 writers participated in the blogathon. In addition to putting up a list of all participating writers on our respective blogs, we had an official guest post exchange day and a real-time wrap party on Twitter to discuss what we loved, hated and learned.

Here at WordCount world headquarters, I’m already hatching plans to make this year’s blogathon the best ever. Already in the works: an official button participants can prominently display on their blogs to show the world what they’re doing. And once again we’ll have an official guest post exchange and a real-time wrap party.

I’d like to take it to the next level – but what is that exactly? Contests? Prizes? Guest posts from editors? Pre-blogathon posts to help you plan how to blog every day in the month of May without going crazy or stopping everything else you do?

Since this is a participatory event, I’d like to hear from you. Whether you took part last year, think you might this year, or just want to have a say in things, I’d love your input. Please take the following poll to let me know what new things you’d like to see this year.

And don’t forget to check back here regularly for more WordCount Blogathon 2010 updates.

• Organization. It’s an art, really. – Tips for work and life from freelance writer Danielle Buffardi’s blog, Horrible Sanity.
• Partner with others – Nobody said writing had to be a solitary pursuit. Sometimes it helps to have partners on the journey. From Jackie Dishner’s blog, Bike with Jackie.
• Deciding whether to capitalize ‘how’ in a title – Grammar debates while co-authoring a grant introduced Zazou Marketing‘s Heather Holliday to the APA Style Book.
• The ebook writing process – From Sara Lancaster’s No. 2 Pen blog.
• How to pick a gravatar – In case you don’t know what that is, it’s an image – photo, drawing, icon, etc. – that serves as your online persona and follows you from place to place or blog to blog online. Read Kate Reilly’s explanation of how to get one on her Polka Dot Suitcase blog.

Here’s what else I’m reading this week:

• How Kindle lets you steal this blog – TechCrunch explains an apparent flaw in a new blog publishing program for Amazon’s popular e-book reader.
• Red Room is soliciting writers – To join its online community, which includes free accounts and member pages, a newsletter, blogs and other goodies.
• 10 Twitter mythconceptions – From Technologizer’s Harry McCracken, starting with No. 1, Twitter is something utterly new (it’s not).
• Top 10 obscure Google search tricks – Cool things you never knew Google could do, care of LifeHacker’s Gina Trapani.

Some are enjoying it, and others finding it harder than they thought it would be. Some are getting creative – Sue Dickman devoted last Saturday’s blog post to making Wordle images from keywords on her blog, A Life Divided. Others have come up with clever ideas for standing features, like the Molecule of the Week feature Sarah Webb started for her blog, Webb of Science.

Since this is a self-directed experiment, all experiences are OK since they lead to better blogging skills and insights, which is the point of blogging on a regular basis anyway.

To keep things interesting, I’m declaring May 21 to be the official Blogathon Guest Post Day. Blogathon writers are invited to ask another freelancer to write that day’s blog post. Likewise, blogathoners should write a guest post on someone else’s blog. Depending on how you want to work it, you could swap posts with the same person, or trade posts within a larger group. I’ll also leave it up to you whether you trade guest posts with blogathon writers. Just have fun.

If you’re up for the challenge, make sure to extend an invitation to a prospective guest blogger early enough to give yourselves time to discuss what they’re going to write.

A few guest post housekeeping things to think about:

• If your guest blogger has a head shot or other picture of themselves in digital form, ask for a copy so you can run it with their guest post.
• Ask your guest blogger to write a short bio, or write one for them, to run with the post. Include links they might want  to their own website, blog or Twitter ID.
• If you’re writing a guest post somewhere else, write a short post on your own blog so your regular readers know where to find you. Blogs like WordPress let you create a sticky post to put at the top of your regular blog posts. Or you can create a small text box and run the information at the top of your blog’s left- or right-hand sidebar.
• As an example of what a guest post looks like, here’s a post I did earlier this week on the American Society of Business Publication Editors national blog.

Mark your calendars for May 21, and happy blogging.

31 posts later, I’m at the finish line and here’s what I discovered:

It’s not that hard to blog every day, you have to “just do it.”

Not all blog posts are created equal. Some can be short. Some can simply point to other interesting stuff you’ve found online. Lists are crowd pleasers. Here’s some other great suggestions for types of posts from Problogger, a great source for anything related to blogging.

Regular blogging leads to more readers. Since the blogathon started, traffic to WordCount jumped close to 150 percent. If you blog, they will come. Here’s another great post from Problogger listing 23 ideas for finding new readers for your blog, including persistence.

It’s critical to tag your blogs so they show up when people do keyword searches on Google and other search engines. For a while I did what some search engine optimization experts suggested and only used a few tags per post. But I’m back to putting in about a half dozen or so, and I think it’s working.

Freelancers blog about all kinds of things. Some blog on the same subjects they write about. Jane Boursaw writes about the movies and her Reel Like with Jane Website and blog are full of entertainment industry news. Some, like me, blog about writing. Susan Johnston, The Urban Muse, is in a different place in her career and her take on freelancing is a refreshing change from mine. Other writers’ blogs are very personal, like Claudine Jalajas’ The @$#!% Extension, which chronicles her home addition, or Dawn Weingarten’s blog, where she writes about life after her husband’s organ transplant.

Blogging has been good for my writing. Compared to my other work, my blog posts are pretty chatty. That’s helped the stories I write for a consumer electronics Web site, where adopting a conversational, between-friends tone is a good way to explain tech topics that can sometimes be intimidating for the uninitiated. Here’s one example, this story on encryption I wrote recently for YourSecurityResource.com.

Some fellow blogathoners have been inspired to go after paid blogging gigs. I haven’t got there yet, but I’d consider the right offer.

So thanks to the other freelancers who braved it out. I hope you learned as much from the experience as I did.