As a new blogger, I've found the A-Z Blogging Challenge to be life-changing. Well, blog-wise, at least. I've made so many new friends and checked out the blogs of some amazing people, including other writers like me. I've had some great comments on my own posts and honed my craft by writing these miniature subject essays every day.
But, I'm xhausted. There's no possible way I will be able to keep up this daily posting schedule after the challenge is over. Being so new to the blogging world, I didn't have an established pattern of "I post on X day" and "I read other blogs and comment on Y day" or anything like that, so it's been tough to work in both with the challenge. I often ended up floundering around, either not reading any blogs or commenting for a few days, or reading waaaay too many all at once. This is something I will have to figure out as I go along with this blog. What day do I want to post on? I'll obviously want to read the blogs I follow and comment on them, so when will I squeeze that in? I'll need to balance all this with my original work, which, as enjoyable as the challenge has been, has suffered. Quite frankly, I didn't feel like writing more stuff when I'd just cranked out a blog entry or three.
So, my question is this: for you established bloggers out there, what do you do? Do you have a specific day you post on? What's a good day? How about for reading other blogs and comments? Please share!
p.s. Kindly follow if you're enjoying my blog! I'd love to get to 100 followers by the end of the challenge, and I try my best to check out the blogs of my commenters/followers and follow back. Thank you!
p.s. Kindly follow if you're enjoying my blog! I'd love to get to 100 followers by the end of the challenge, and I try my best to check out the blogs of my commenters/followers and follow back. Thank you!
xoxo Sarah
I can imagine how tired you are, but just think of it this way, YOU DID IT.
ReplyDeleteYou have two more posts to go, Y and Z. Bravo to you dear. It was fun reading through your posts.
Cheater! lol I want a REAL X-word.
ReplyDeleteOr an x-rating?
I kid, I kid...
I wrote a column for MyVampFiction you might want to take a look at: http://myvampfiction.com/2011/04/the-job-of-productivity/ Deals a bit with "Courting Carpal Tunnel" as you write. :)
I know you're about done with this. I know how hard it is to do. I wrote a five-month-long series, five days a week, that involved copious research and multiple resources. I looked upon it as a job -- that's how I did it.
Because it's a job. :) Enjoy it!
@MZ: Yes, I did it! Yaaaaay! Two more to go. Two more to go. Two more to go. :-P
ReplyDelete@Sandy: Haha, I can cheat if I want. :-P I'll have to check out that link! You're always so helpful. I agree; I've definitely looked at the A-Z Challenge as my "job" for the past month. It's been great.
:) I'm with you on the exhaustion. And my X prompt was X-rays, lol
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your Xhaustion and at times, it's been tough getting the posts done and reading other blogs, especially when I have to work and do other things, but the good news is.....we've made it through the hard part already, since we're nearing completion! :)
To answer your question, my blogging tends to be sporadic every now and then because sometimes I post whenever I want to comment on a news topic or whenever I want to bring attention to a subject or event.
I've had maybe 3 or 4 posting schedules over the years and didn't really adhere to any of them. This year, I do have a specific day that I post on but I don't believe that there is a good day, in general to post on.
Before the A to Z Challenge, I would only read a few blogs that I were familiar with and these were the same blogs that I read continuously for months on end. Now, I try to find new blogs to read, so as to expand my blogging network sort of and also to learn new things that I would have not otherwise considered.
I'd recommend that you read the ProBlogger blog, because it has some useful posts for newbies. Do not get discouraged or overwhelmed if you find lots of posts that may not apply to you, your blogging habits or your blogging goals. That blog is for Professional bloggers or bloggers who are pursuing some type of business or career from their blogging, BUT the author still posts a lot of information that is relevant to new bloggers.
One thing that I can tell you, even though I don't think there are "good" days to post, I have read (on ProBlogger, of course, lol) that posting on the weekends are not the best days to post because people likely do not visit blogs as much on weekends. This could be due to family obligations or the fact that less people are not in their office, browsing sites on their lunch break during Saturdays or Sundays.
It all depends on the topic of your blog and what you want to do with it. For example, even though weekends are generally bad or non-popular days for many bloggers, there are some blogs that may thrive during the weekends because of their topic, such as news blogs or nightclub and city event blogs.
...hope this helps :)
The Madlab Post
Wow, thank you for such an informative comment, Nicole! I guess I'll just have to try a few things and see if they work for me and don't head-butt too much with my original work. I'll definitely check out that blog...always good to get tips, especially since I am so new to the game. I have heard that weekends aren't great for posting, so maybe I'll try writing some posts on the weekends and just schedule them to come out during the week. We'll see! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm pooped too! And my work has suffered. And my blog reading has suffered. I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteI only blog when I have something to say otherwise I think it feels forced. You have to do what you are comfortable with.
Good luck. Hope you hit your 100 mark!
HMG
Haha, I'm glad I'm not the only one, Heather. Yes, everything has suffered, but I've had a great time and loved meeting everyone. Like you, I'll probably only blog when I have something to say. I hope I hit my 100 mark as well! Trade follows? :-)
ReplyDeleteSarah - Thanks for the note. I already am following you! I don't mean that in a weird way either, I mean over to the right hand side there, under followers!
ReplyDeleteI'll be back for Y & Z.
Oh! I'm sorry! I've been running around like crazy lately and didn't check. *facepalm* I loved your X-Files entry! I need go Netflix that show...it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteHello from new follower #90!
ReplyDeleteHasn't this a-to-z challenge been amazing? I didn't think I could do it. So hooray for us!
I have brought my blog back to life in 2011 and have two set days that I follow a plan. The Monday Memo (5 things for the week) and Thursday Haiku. I try to post on at least two other days, so at least 4 per week, mostly about writing but sometimes about silly things.
I *try* to make a trip to visit as many other blogs that I can, and definitely thoose who have taken the time to comment on mine. I usually do this at night and give myself an hour to catch up. It can be so overwhelming.
Good for you on your almost 100 followers!
I'm with you on the exhausted, and I've been blogging for years. Well I post when the mood strikes, I haven't been very consistent. I have been trying to post once a week, aiming for Sundays because that is a good day for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen A to Z is over I think I might try out Friday flash a few times, and maybe get back into Muse prompting Monday (handy to schedule from Sunday).
Good luck with the rest of the challenge and you blog. :)
@Corinne: Thanks for a great comment! I guess I'll just have to try some different schedules and see if they work for me. I don't want to get overwhelmed or burned out.
ReplyDelete@Claire: I think that's similar to what will happen with mine...I'll end up posting once or twice a week. :-)
Oh my God! That's crazy! Two challenges? Good for you. I also hope to have more time to check out the others that I haven't read. It's been a pleasure reading yours as well, my dear. :-)
ReplyDelete