January 2014 Biannual Blogathon & Bloggiesta Goals & Accomplishments

45 Comments

1. I’m just finishing up on the 31 day blog challenge. I am going to take a week or two to enjoy a little rest. I have a few things I want to tidy up around the blog, but after a crazy busy Oct through Jan, I am needing a bit of a break. I have a few scheduled blogs already to go so the blog can go on while I take a break!

   1. You deserve a break after the crazy wonderful months you’ve had. I really enjoy your blog. I wish I could do a 31 day challenge but I am way too wordy to post everyday. It takes me awhile to finish a post.

2. You got a TON finished, way to go!

   1. Thanks April, it sure does feel good to cross things off my to do list!

3. Sounds like you are up on your blogging! I set up a new schedule that allows me to get weeks worth of posts done so all I need to do is network. : )

   1. Oh I’m jealous, wish I could get ahead of schedule but I am always behind it seems!

4. It sounds like you had a successful blogging weekend. I had hopes of working on my blog this weekend,but it seems it is the time of year sickness hits. Both of my boys have come down with a nasty cough and cold, so we have been cuddling and watching movies this weekend.

   1. Sorry kids were sick but yay for cuddling too. Hope they are feeling better and you can get some blog work done. I know there is always so much to do and learn.

5. You have done a ton!! I did do some Friday and Saturday = about 5 hours on Friday, 3 on Saturday, and 3 today. I think you’re not giving up blogging :).

   1. Glad you got some good hours in! I think I’ve blogged more this weekend than all of December. No, I haven’t given it up entirely, I really enjoy it. Updating these book reviews has been on my list since May when I purchased the plugin. One of those things nagging at me but know it makes my book reviews more consistent and nicer. It will be easier going forward. Trying to get these done so I can get back to recipes, RA and travel. Do you have a plugin that helps you create a food recipe index? That will be the next index I tackle!

      Thanks as always for your support Tammy!

      1. I don’t, but I quickly searched, and this is what turned up: Easy Recipe – Built by a Food blogger’s husband, this really is the best recipe plugin for SEO purposes and formatting purposes. It has far more capabilities than most recipe plugins just in it’s free version. There is also a paid version and it’s totally worth the upgrade for the customization options alone. It is one of the only plugins on the market that plays nicely with Ziplists Save recipe feature, allowing you to switch seamlessly from Ziplist to Easy Recipe with no trouble. It is also the ONLY recipe plugin that provides a feature to convert older recipes that were already created with another recipe plugin. It’s awesome.
         Ziplist – Ziplist is a great recipe plugin for beginners or those that need simple & basic. With Ziplist, you can also create a partnered recipe box and shopping list for your readers to enjoy. It allows for customization, but you do need to have some coding knowledge to be able to do that. Otherwise it pretty much looks the same as anyone else using it.
         I don’t know if that is what you’re looking for.

         1. : http://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2013/04/17/how-to-create-an-automatic-recipe-index-for-wordpress-blogs/
            Here’s what one person used with ziplist to make a recipe index.

            1. Thanks so much. I have Ziplist and easy recipe downloaded, now I need to get them in the plugins so they are easier to print and save. Thanks for your friendship and support.

         2. I love listening your conversation. Thanks for sharing, Tammy and Tanya. I really love most of your reviews, Tanya.

            1. Thanks so much Adelien, I always appreciate you stopping by, sharing my posts and your support!

6. I have never heard of Blogathon. Wow. There are blog conferences. I would love to go to one too! You did a ton on your first day. Congrats!! Love your new blog design. So pretty!!!

   1. Blogathon is great, very technical bloggers who really know their material and are so helpful and for all types of bloggers.

      Thanks for the compliment on the new design. In a house with 4 boys, my own little piece of the internet needs a little purple, pink and prettiness!

7. Wow! You have done awesome so far!! I’m so impressed!

   I’m recently followed you on Instagram! I’m excited to see your pics!!

   1. Thanks for the encouragement Tif and for following me on Instagram. I LOVE to take pictures wherever we go and my kids now expect me to take pictures of food I cook and blog about it. Photography is my favorite form of art and I love looking at other’s pictures too. I don’t know why I waited so long to join.

8. Great goals, and it looks like you’ve made a great start!

   Here’s BLOGGIESTA STARTING LINE & MINI-CHALLENGES

   1. Thanks Laurel-Rain! I’ve done more blogging in the last 24 hours than I did all of December! But it feels great to catch up! Good luck with the rest of Bloggiesta.

9. What is the UBB plug-in? Is it a Blogger thing? I never heard of the Blogathon event, but I’m a big Bloggiesta fan! You’ve certainly gotten a lot accomplished already!

   1. Ultimate Book Blogger plugin for WP Self hosted blogs, costs $35 but I had gotten it on sale. Book Wookie has a free WP Book Review plugin also.

      Blogathon is the same type of event as Bloggiesta but for all types of bloggers. I love both events because great chance to meet new bloggers and learn new things. Thanks for stopping by Laurie!

      1. Thanks! I have heard of UBB now that I hear about it again. I might put that on my next Bloggiesta list!

         1. It’s a very useful plugin Laurie. I keep finding new things I didn’t know I could do! Hope you are having a good and productive Bloggiesta!

10. Nice list. One of my tasks is to write an article on why you shouldn’t cross-post your book reviews. If you care about SEO, then you might not want to do this one. If you don’t, then go for it!

    1. Well maybe it’s a good thing I do it only sporadically. I had heard you should change words slightly and not just copy/paste to avoid hurting SEO. But I look forward to what you’re going to fill us in on!

       Thanks!

    2. Hi Donna, just visited your blog and got an error when I tried to post comments. It said I wasn’t authorized for the task or something like that. I was complimenting you on such a productive Bloggiesta. I wish I had your technical expertise. There is so much to learn about analytics. And I agree with you that I prefer G+ over Facebook. There aren’t any viewer games and the communities are very interactive.

11. Tanya – my event buddy – wanted to stop by and wish you all the best in this week’s blogathons! I finally got my kick-off post up. Hope you are well and productive. Would love to hear how you like the UBB plugin and if you feel it’s worth the investment when you have a moment!

    1. Thanks so much Create with Joy! Good to hear from you. I’ve been productive today thankfully. The latest update to the UBB plugin allows for automatic retrieval of book info from Google which certainly helps get the review done more efficiently. I still really like it even though I don’t use all it’s capability. I am still trying to get all the reviews in it so the indexes generate automatically. I bought it at half off and I think it’s worth it for my blog. With the # of books you review and giveaways you host, I think it’d benefit you. If you follow Caffeinated Book Reviewer or Unconventional Bookviews, they have a lot of the UBB features up and running. I’ve got a long way to go 🙂 Feel free to email me tanya{at}momssmallvictories{dot}com if you have further questions.

       Hope to chat with you later!

12. Good luck with Bloggiesta and all of your other goals! 😀

    1. Thank you for linking to this week’s Spread the Love Linky Party! I also pinned your post! 😀

       1. Thanks so much for hosting and pinning my post!

13. I have to agree with Adelina- I have never heard of the Bloggiesta. But this is my second BBB so I have learned to multi-task quite better.

    But I hope you have tons of fun!

    1. Thanks Angela, i’m doing well so far but time for a break! Bloggiesta is popular among book bloggers but it is extremely helpful even for non-book bloggers. So much to learn and so little time. Good luck with your goals!

14. Never heard of the Bloggiesta…It looks like another great resource of bloggers! I can’t multitask that much though, lol.

    1. Hi Adelina, what a pretty name you have! It is a great resource and I can use all the help I can get with blogging. I enjoy it but so much to learn. Thanks for stopping by!

15. Great list! Good luck with your goals!

    1. Thanks so much Joy, same to you!

16. I’ve never heard of these, but it sounds really fun to devote an entire weekend to my blog. Maybe someday when the kids aren’t so little…

    1. These blogathons are very helpful to me. I especially like the mini-challenges to focus on a task I haven’t done before. I always learn something. Maybe you can join in the next one, the big biannual blogathon bash will be in June and they have twitter chats in between and an active Facebook group.

17. thanks for sharing Tanya I am hoping to do Bloggeista.

    1. yay, I love Bloggiesta, getting an early start today!

18. I’ve never done a blogathon, not joining in right now. Just working on getting up some posts! 🙂

19. Good luck! 😉

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