Friday 1 May 2015

#AtoZChallenge: Reflections

Well, the A to Z Challenge is over for another year and it’s now customary to write a Reflections post on your thoughts and feelings on the event through April.


I actually started writing this post way back on the 5th of April so that I could make sure I got all of my thoughts and feelings about the challenge down while they were fresh in my mind. I added to this post throughout the month so that it could go live today and would be a true reflection on my 2015 A to Z experience.

This year was a very successful challenge for me and saw me get record numbers of visitors to my blog. Out of curiosity I compared notes between now and my first year of taking part. During A to Z 2013 I received 1,949 page views, a year later saw me hit 3,745 and this year I got over 5,000! By the 5th of April I had breached 1,311!

I think that one of the reasons for my spike in views this year was because of my level of activity. In the past I’ve struggled with visiting blogs on the list because of a lack of an internet connection. The combination of car trouble (causing us to spend a week at my in-laws’) and Easter falling at the beginning of April, gave me plenty of opportunity to visit far more than just the recommended five blogs a day.

Obviously commenting on those blogs brought them to mine and in turn I would reply to their comments, then visit their blog back to leave another message. I managed to strike up some new friendships and find some blogs that I wouldn’t otherwise have found that way.

I think another thing that helped was leaving an HTML link back to my blog in the comments. It was very simple, just ‘Cait @ Click’s Clan’ by way of a comment signature, but clearly it saved people a lot of the hassle of clicking on a profile and then trying to find their way through to the blog. Some people had several blogs in their lists, or Google+ with no clear blog link, or worse, their profiles were private so I couldn’t find them!

One thing that did bug me, perhaps because I was looking through so many blogs in such a short space of time in the beginning, was the fact that there were some people who were obviously just copy+pasting their comments. I’d see the same names cropping up with ‘interesting post’ or words to that effect. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were actually reading the posts they were commenting on, especially as for many of them there was so much more you could say than just that it was interesting.

I tried to tailor my comments to what the poster was blogging about. It wasn’t always easy, sometimes I was reading about things that didn’t interest me that much or which I didn’t fully understand, but it seemed like common courtesy as I was leaving a link back to myself on their blog. If I’m drumming up readers for my blog on theirs, the least I can do it say something positive or informative about what they’ve written.

What worked for me:
  • Short posts. I picked a very personal topic which I could have written very long posts about, but I tried to keep each one as close to 500 words as possible. As you can see from this post, that was very hard for me.
  • Scheduling posts. I had planned to get my posts all written before the start of the month. I failed at this. I tried to stay a week ahead of myself all the way through. I mostly succeeded at this.
  • Following a theme. I found following a theme helped give my posts structure, though it made it trickier to come up with posts for a couple of letters. It helped to tie all the posts together and to raise awareness about the IVF process.
  • Leaving a return link in my comment to save the blogger from clicking onto a profile, hunting through a Google+ page, strolling down a website in search of a blog link, etc. Next year, if I take part I think I will include a mention of my theme in my link as well.
Other thoughts on the challenge:

  • Short posts are definitely easier to read during the challenge than long ones, short and sweet means quick to read and probably more comments.
  • Don’t just work down the list from beginning to end. Pempi at Pempi’s Palace mentioned that she started off working down the list finding all the bloggers who’d tagged themselves as Education or Craft. I tend to work through in order (as I use different devices and it makes it easier to remember the number I last got to), but her method makes sure that people lower down the list get visits, rather than all the people at the top.
  • Drop outs are inevitable but at the beginning I always tried to leave a comment for them if they’d started the challenge, in case they decided to pick it up later in the month. By midway through the month I adopted a five-day policy; if they’d gone five days without posting I assumed they were out and moved on to the next blog.

22 comments:

  1. Good idea to write this as you go along. Mine are much shorter because done in a rush - away for the weekend, hooray! I concur with all your points, especially the one about people who make it difficult to find them. I would add people who have too many steps to making a comment. Some steps, browsers will remember - but if you're commenting on several devices you still have to do it multiple times.
    Anabel's Travel Blog
    Adventures of a retired librarian

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    1. As we don't have internet access at home, I quite often have various blog posts in different stages of completion on my laptop to work on for uploading when I'm at my in-laws.

      You're right about some places having lots of steps to make a comment. It's frustrating when you write a comment, hit post and then have to go through some malarkey which deletes your message so you have start over.

      Enjoy your weekend away. :-)

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  2. Sometimes it is hard to find something to comment about, but you can usually tell who's trying and who is not. And I really, really hate Google +. (Sometimes I could find a blog link, and sometimes I could not.) There was one blog that you had to have a Wordpress account to comment. Interesting blog, but I don't need another blogging account.

    Congrats on making it to the end. They call it a challenge for a reason.

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    1. Thank you. :-)

      Yeah, there were certain bloggers who were writing about things that I just couldn't relate to and had nothing to add to what they were saying. Rather than leave a stock comment or something that wasn't relevant, I'd rather just not comment at all.

      Google+ can be an absolute nightmare for trying to find a link to a blog. And I also found a Wordpress account that you had to have an account with them to comment (I do have a Wordpress account for commenting on those blogs but it wouldn't accept my login), it was a shame because their posts were interesting and fun but other people must've been having the same problem because they didn't seem to be getting any comments.

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  3. I will always remember finding you on Dildo Cam day... it certainly made you very memorable!

    I didn't get as much blog hopping done as I'd have liked to, or repeat visits but I think I will slowly meander via the lists for a bit longer, it's always nice to see what you can find :D

    Mars
    Curling Stones for Lego People

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    1. Hehe, I'm glad I was memorable. I'll admit I was hoping that people would remember me as the person whose 'D' post was 'Dildo Cam'. ;-)

      I'm planning on working through the Reflections list just now and then to dip into the main list and Road Trip through the next few months. And obviously visiting the people who comment on my blog as well. ;-)

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  4. Congratulations on finishing your A to Z. You picked a pretty hard topic that I think probably got you some emotional readers. You were pretty brave to pick something so personal. I don't think I could have done that. Further, I can't imagine not having internet at home...I would lose my mind. Good on you for being able to do this entire challenge despite that. It's pretty impressive. I'm with you on the commenting thing. I don't typically comment unless I can say something relevant to the post. I know I appreciate comments on my blog, but sometimes a "good job" makes you really wonder if they're there for your content or just to paste their link on another page. Speaking of pasting... I do the same with my link. I hate tracking down someone's blog through their Google account. Nightmare. Elle @ Erratic Project Junkie

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    1. Thank you. :-)

      I think a lot of people found my posts interesting this year and hopefully they've made some people think, which is good.

      I'm used to not having internet access so it's just a question of being very, very organised so that you've got things to post when you do have a connection.

      Leaving my link in comments is something that I'm trying to do even outside of the challenge because it's a good way to network. :-)

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  5. What an upbeat Reflections post! It sounds like you've been paying attention through the years and now are doing everything right. I wish every participant had your attitude and knowledge about finishing the Challenge successfully. Well done!

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host

    Tossing It Out

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

      I think I've got the hang of getting through the Challenge now. I'm definitely looking forward to next year's. ;-)

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  6. I am glad to see it went well this year for you. it is always nice to see the page views increasing, mine seem to go up and down like a yo yo over time. I agree about the copy and pasting comments That is very annoying indeed so I always try and write something relating to the post. I did find I had very few comments from new visitors this year but I have been very busy and unable to visit many blogs.

    The General Election is going to be very exciting in Scotland this time I might even sit up and watch some of the results for a while and cheer and boo depending on who is doing well.

    Rob Z Tobor

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    1. I love to see how my pageviews increase during March and then spike during April, they always taper off over May, but it is fun to keep coming back and checking to see what new highs I'm hitting.

      The copy and paste comments really annoyed me this year, especially when some people we posting really meaningful comments on their blog posts. I noticed the same people coming back to visit me each post, it's helped me to find some new blogs to follow so I've got lots of non-A to Z Challenge posts to start reading now!

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  7. Glad to have met you. I loved reading your posts, and this one also shows. Very thoughtful. Now, I will be making my way through some one your posts I missed. P.S. Short posts worked for me, too. :)

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    1. Thank you for visiting, I really enjoyed your comments. I'm still working back through some of your posts as well.

      I definitely think short posts are the best way to keep people engaged. ;-)

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  8. What a good idea to write your reflections as the month progressed. You made some very good points and I am sure they will be reviewed for making the Challenge better for 2016. Thanks so much for your visits and comments to my blog. I was impressed with your theme and they way you shared your personal experiences. I learned a lot, and even though I am not a candidate, it was enlightening and educational and I am sure helpful for anyone who has been through the process or might in the future. Look forward to visiting you again.
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and commenting on the blog during the challenge. :-)

      It was a tricky topic to write about at times, but at the same time, it felt 'right'.

      Writing the Reflections through the month helped because in the past I've thought of things and then when I've come to mention them at the end of the month, I can't remember exactly what they were or why I wanted to include them. ;-)

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  9. Just now getting around to visiting. April was a busy month for me. Visiting from the Reflections Linky. Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year! See you on the Road Trip!

    Mary www.JingleJangleJungle.net

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Good luck with the Road Trip, hopefully I'll see you again. ;-)

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  10. That is such a good idea to keep your reflections during the month. I am going to try that next year. I noticed people copying and pasting their comments too! Weird. And I wondered if they were more interested in getting traffic to their blog than to actually find new blogs to enjoy. I am on the Road Trip right now. Hope to see you around.

    Smidgen Snippets & Bits

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    1. It was certainly easier to add to a little each week rather than trying to remember what I liked and what bugged me until May. Though warning, you may run the risk of having a very long reflections post! ;-)

      I suspect that some people were more focused on getting traffic than actually reading the blogs they visited. I tried to visit and comment on each blogger that visited me and often they returned the visit and commented back, which has helped me find some new blogs to follow, but I didn't notice the copy+paste visitors making return visits to any of the blogs.

      I've also just joined the Road Trip, so I'll probably see you later on down the list. :-)

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  11. I love your idea of starting the reflection post early and adding to it. When I wrote mine I'm sure I missed a lot of the points I'd been planning on making. I intend to do it your way next year, so thanks for the idea :) Congratulations on finishing the challenge!
    Popping by on the A to Z Road Trip
    Debbie
    www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com

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    1. It definitely made it easier, especially as the month got busier, I'd already got the basis of the post down so just had to add a little more to it when things came to me.

      Thanks for stopping by. :-)

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Let me know what you think. :-)