I did it! For the second year in a row, the Word Count Blogathon was a success with plenty of new lessons.
1. Emphasizing the quantity of posts can compromise the quality of the content, but the daily deadline can also allow you the freedom to tell that internal editor to shut up and press publish.
2. The fat lady doesn’t have to sing. Blogs posts can be edited and updated as information changes.
3. Blogs aren’t books that need to be complete before you publish. The best posts can be a series on a project that you’re working on allowing your readers to see the process which often is the most interesting part, especially if they can give feedback.
4. People want to learn. They don’t really care to see the chair you refurbished, the pie you ate, or the how beautiful the harvest is from your garden. What they want to know is how-to do it themselves so that they can refurbish a chair, and eat a pie baked with strawberries from their own garden.
5. People like pictures that help tell the story or evoke emotions or thoughts.
6. Just because someone has a fancy website doesn’t mean they are important. Just because someone is important or an expert in their field, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach out and make contact. Send e-mails, leave comments, tweet! Use social media to be social. Genuine people will reply.
7. Pinterest, the virtual pinboard that allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web, is a great way to draw traffic to my blog especially “how-to” and “food” posts.
8. Browsing the internet is procrastinating, browsing Pinterest is research for inspiration. If a reader liked one of my posts, I can see what else they like and discover future topics to write about.
9. Blogging for a month would be impossible without my calendar WP plugin.
10. Word counts, deadlines, and other goals are excellent motivators but should be flexible if your priorities change. One of my favorite people who happens to also write a popular blog, With A Little Love & Luck, allowed herself to drop out of the blogathon when another lucrutive opportunity came along.
11. As a writer, I am not a lone wolf but part of a pack that supports me. Shout out to Sarah of Animals Help Heal, for pep talks, constant comments, and even text reminders to write, and to my husband for feeding me when I was “too busy writing”.
12. I can do anything for a month.
13. I’m glad it was only a month.
