Recently, over at a wonderful blog called The Daily Post, there was a bit of an event going on, part challenge, part instructional “course”. The “challenge” is broken into two sections, labeled “Blogging 101” and “Blogging 201”, and is set up as a day-by-day learning experience centered around making your blog all it can be. “Blogging 101” is geared more toward people who are just setting up their blog and aren’t sure how to get started, and “Blogging 201” is more focused on expansion, building your audience, and how to keep your blog going strong. Whether you started with the 101 or jumped right to the 201, both sections of the “challenge” gave daily info and exercises based on different aspects of successful blogging. I came across the daily posts about halfway through the challenge, and I liked what I saw. If there’s anyone out there who is just starting a blog, or is considering starting a blog, I definitely recommend stopping by The Daily Post and checking out what they have to offer.
The other reason I’m mentioning this? I’ve decided to take part! Now, technically I missed the boat because the “challenge/course” started in the middle of April and finished up last week, but hell, just because you weren’t available at the exact right time doesn’t mean you can’t give a challenge a shot, right?
Now, since I’ve been blogging for a while now, it would make sense for me to jump right to the “201” posts, but I’ve decided to go right back to square one. Why? Well, for one thing, there’s always something to learn. Though the “101” posts are aimed toward people who are just starting from scratch, you never know what little gems you might glean if you’re willing to take a step backward. For another thing, I figure that as a “veteran” blogger, I can give my thoughts and opinions on each of the respective posts and exercises.
Since I don’t want 100% of my “free” blogging days to be all about this challenge, I’m going to stick to Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those two days of the week, for the next fifteen weeks, I’ll focus on the Blogging 101 challenge posts. Once I’ve finished those, I’ll reassess and decide whether I’m going to do the same for the Blogging 201 posts.
All in all, I think it’s going to be a bit of fun, and possibly even a great learning experience. Anyone else interested? Feel free to join me! The fun starts Tuesday! ^_^
No Page Left Blank 
It’s an interesting idea. I briefly thought about trying 201, but decided against it. I had too many things going on, and now I have even more things going on. But good luck!
Ironically, it’s the fact that I have too many things going on that was one of the reasons I decided to do this. lol It looks like I’m going to be returning to work in June, which means less time for blogging, which means that things like this – things that are easy to plan, write, and schedule ahead of time – are gold. 🙂
Ah, you’ve got things cutting your free time down. Work can do that. I guess with blogging 101, you’ll have ideas and won’t have to think so much about what to write.
Yes, exactly. The hardest part of blogging for me is coming up with things to write about day after day, so something like this helps a lot since I can write and schedule the posts in advance and then not have to worry about it for a little while. 🙂
I think one thing that’s helped me is having a roughly weekly series of posts. I haven’t stuck to a schedule, though. But they are posts I can rely on if I’m not feeling very inspired.
That’s exactly why I do my “accountability” posts, as well as “Fiction Fragment Fridays”. Even if I have a million other things going on, or I’m just so uninspired that I can’t think of a single thing to write, at least I know that I’ll get those two posts a week out. 🙂
i notice them in my feed all the time. I can’t count on being regular for my regular posts, unfortunately. It often depends on family. However, I’ve managed to make at least one post a day since March. Not bad 🙂
That’s actually amazing! 🙂 I work my butt off to make sure that I’ve got posts for Monday through Friday, and I’ve only missed two or three days over the past year or so, but I know I’d be missing them all over the place if I committed to 7 days a week. o.O
Some of my posts are spur of the moment and completely unplanned. I don’t always do long posts. Sometimes I do fairly short ones, but I try not to write fluff. At least I hope not 🙂
I’ve seen these posts and have considered doing it. Might have to give it another looksie.
The “101” stuff is pretty basic so far, but would definitely be super helpful to people just starting out. I’m antsy to get through those posts so that I can see what the “201” stuff is like though. 🙂
I’m so glad to know that I’m not alone in forging this little quest of Blogging 101 although we’re quite left behind already. Goodluck on your adventure!
Thanks so much, and good luck to you as well! Just because we missed the train doesn’t mean we can’t hop on another one. lol