Our second A-Z Challenge is completed and after a few days off it is time to say a few words about how the challenge went.
- This was our second A-Z Challenge and we just as much fun as last year.
- This year we chose to follow a theme (Our favourite places in Australia) instead of general posts about different subjects. Having a theme made choosing posts a little harder to match the letters but was a better choice as our visitors tended to come back several times throughout the challenge because they liked the theme we presented. I would highly recommend following a theme for the challenge.
- I didn't prewrite the posts this year and it was tough to keep up. Next year I will prewrite as many of the posts as possible so I can spend more time enjoying everyone's posts and less time trying to get the posts written and published.
- I have a new found respect for everyone who does this challenge by themselves. Last year my wife and I did it together and this year I wrote all 26 posts. It was a lot harder but I felt good after being able to complete the challenge.
- The challenge was a great way to find blogs that I would never have found otherwise. I have found a number of blogs I plan to visit on a regular basis from now on.
- It was great that several of the co-hosts were able to visit our blog and comment on our posts. They had a lot to do during the month and it was nice that they had the time to visit us even though we were near the end of the list.
- I would like to see the themes (if someone is following a theme) on the sign up list rather than the blog name as it would be easier to find blogs that interest me.
How did your A-Z Challenge go?
How cool that you have a theme already for next year! I am toying with several but haven't committed yet :) I think that is a great suggestion about the theme listed on sign ups, but some don't have their theme yet when they sign up or go themeless (is that a word?)
ReplyDeletebetty
Pre-writing my posts kept me sane. I wouldn't have been able to write each post that day.
ReplyDeleteI think adding the theme to the list in front of the blog title would be a good idea.
I agree that a theme is a great way to go. I'm interested in Australia, so that's one of the reasons I would come back to see what you were writing about. I'm very impressed you wrote most of yours on the fly! I have a bloggy buddy who did the same thing. Personally, I don't think I would have survived if I hadn't written most of them beforehand.
ReplyDeletePre-scheduling is a great idea! This is my 3rd A-Z Challenge and I didn't preschedule although I wrote drafts and notes for each letter. Still yet, the night before, I was pounding away at the computer or trying to make some nice graphics. I was also a minion this year, so visited more blogs than ever. There is the theme reveal in which people reveal their theme, but you have to go to their blog to see it. It'd be nice if there was a way to update the linky to add more info after you sign up,but that's not an option. One other thing is that people's blogs sometimes didn't match the wording for their blog. Like one person is A. J. Writer and their blog name is JollyDay or they sign up as Jolly Day but the blog URL goes to AJWriter. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking for the person who did the Russian travel theme, but I think I will find her again if I dug through my comments!
Maui Jungalow
I agree about the pre-writing I did do a few that way. But I still did not have time to visit all the other blogs in fact I still have 20 more to go!! Thanks for stopping by the cave I have you bookmarked and plan on stopping by throughout the year!
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to swear by prescheduling. It does help not to have t post something every day on the fly.
ReplyDeleteSomeone else suggested posting themes on the list, but I guess that's harder to keep track of than the way they're doing it now. But I'm sure there has to be a way...
Congrats on making it through. The big advantage of pre-writing is the extra time for commenting and reading other blogs. I loved learning more about Australia.
ReplyDeleteI didn't find you this year during the challenge (I remember last year) but I am here today on the Road Trip. I think they need to find a way to group the like themed blogs together. I don't know how but it would help me get to more blogs that I was interested in. Hope to see you out on the Road now!
ReplyDeleteI'm here from the Road trip too. I've not seen a shared blog before; what a good idea!
ReplyDeleteHello there.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on completing the challenge!
I didn't get to visit you during April. I agree that pre-writing is a must and that's what I did this year, my second AtoZ. Just popping over today from the Road Trip.
Entrepreneurial Goddess