If you’re thinking of joining the WordCount Blogathon for the first time, welcome. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
What is the Blogathon?
The WordCount Blogathon is an annual event that brings people together for the purpose of becoming better bloggers by posting to their respective blogs every day during the month of May.
How do I register?
Registration open using this form. Registration will remain open until 11 p.m. Eastern time on May 1.
What happens during the Blogathon?
Write a post every day. If you’d like, you can share links to your post on the official Blogathon Google Group. Take part in theme days, specific days of the month that everyone writes about the same thing, including the blogathon haiku day. There’s also a guest post exchange day where people in the Blogathon pair up to write guest posts on each other’s blog.
Do I have to live in the United States to participate?
No. Over the years, the Blogathon had bloggers from across the United States and as far away as Japan, India and Africa.
Do I get anything for taking part?
When you sign up for the Blogathon, you get a badge to put on your website to show the world what you’re doing. If you make it all 31 days, you can upgrade to an “I Did It!” badge. Besides that, there’s a raffle drawing at the end of the month where everyone who’s make it all 31 days has their name entered into a drawing for writing and blogging related prizes.
How can I find out what people are saying about the Blogathon on Twitter?
You can follow the 2012 WordCount Blogathon on Twitter using the hashtag #blog2012.
How long has the Blogathon been around?
The event started in spring 2008. I’d recently starting work as a freelance writer again after taking a seven-year break to raise my family. I’d previously worked as a business and technology reporter so I launched a blog to catch up with changes in the tech and media industries. When my birthday rolled around in May, I used the occasion to commit to blogging every day of that month as a way to get into the habit of posting more often. Misery loves company, so I asked other writers to join me, and the WordCount Blogathon was born.
By 2009, magazines were folding and newspapers were getting skinnier by the week. Freelancers who once made their living writing for print publications were looking to expand their repertoire to include podcasting, multimedia reporting - and blogging. Once again that May, I challenged myself to blog every day and was joined by other ex-newspaper reporters as well as an assortment of freelancers and bloggers. That year I also added a guest post exchange day and celebrated the end of the month with a live chat on Twitter.
In 2011, more than 200 bloggers participated in the blogathon.
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How do I get the “I Did It” badge?
The badges are available on the blogathon Google Group; there will also be information on how to get the badge code in the final blogathon newsletter that I’m sending out tomorrow (Sunday, June 3).
Michelle
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