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| Badge art by Ada Z from Collagepodge.com |
For the A to Z Challenge I started a blog devoted to the event and gave the event a name that was easy to remember. In November I enlisted the creative skills of artist Ada Z to develop a logo that we could use as a badge to be used on the A to Z Blog and for participants to use on their own blogs to identify them as part of the A to Z community. This event has been being advertised on the A to Z Blog, the blogs of the Challenge co-hosts, and many of the blogs of participants. All advertising in our case has been free.
If you are an author or a creator of some unique product you will need to resort to various forms of advertising in order to get your name out in the public eye. This is likewise true if you are a business owner or even involved in an organization such as a church or social service provider.
Free advertising is nice but not always easy to get. In order to get your product before more people you will need to decide on an advertising budget. Start small and choose your advertising platforms wisely. Do as much research as you can before making a decision so you don't squander your budget in useless places.
My Letter A honoree is Ada Z.
Ada Zdanowicz is an multi-media artist in New Jersey. Her specialties are collage and video. She can be found at her website collagepodge.com. Thank you Ada for the A to Z logo, promo video, and other additional help you have given to the A to Z Challenge.
A also stands for Alliterative Allomorph:
At her blog Alliterative Allomorph Jessica Bell will be having a drawing every two days during April. She will be pulling lucky winners from the comments on her posts. Be sure to stop by her blog and also visit her music website.
129 comments:
Hi Lee - I love Ada's art work - it's brilliant and by advertising and promoting her here .. more will find out about her.
Jessica of Alliterative Allomorph is such a clever, poignant writer and musician ..
Wonderful to highlight both of those bloggers ..
Congratulations to you Arlee - you've done such an amazing job encouraging so many to join us - 1600 this year .. that's great news ....
Cheers - Hilary
Great first post for the challenge, and an excellent way to highlight some cool people!
You've done an amazing job with A-Z!
Thank you for reminding us that every writer who wishes to have a career needs to take the marketing into their own hands!
A most important word Lee, excellent written about,
Yvonne.
It's my first year and I'm having fun and learning too.
I love the logo. Would love it even more if I could work out how to put it on my home page (ignore me I'm just shocked at how IT illiterate I am).
Many thanks for starting this challenge. There's over 1500 people all doing the same today. Wandering around looking at some amazing posts all because of your idea and your marketing.
Lynne
@lynneinPborough
Awesome way to kick off the challenge Lee, very informative stuff buddy.
Hi Lee, we are currently advertising our English seminars to be held in May. Hopefully it'll all go well.
This is me, Duncan D. Horne, visiting you from the A-Z challenge, wishing you all the best throughout April and beyond.
Duncan In Kuantan
You have done a wonderful job.This is my first time and I'm really enjoying it. I know advertising is essential but some blogs I've visited are authors plugging their books by using the first letter as a chance to promote their book. I think if they want to take part their books should not be plugged on the post.
Jessica is one of my newest followers. Heading to her site now
Nice first post!
I love the logo that was designed for the A-Z! Great advertising at that! :D
As a writer, it's interesting to learn more about marketing and advertising - they play such a big role!
Thanks for sharing. Good luck A to Z-ing!
Wise words.
Even in harder economic times it's amazing how little thought is put into some advertising until it's too late. I've never been involved in a corporate gig that hasn't changed radically on the day and included people in suits running around like headless chickens.
Dave
Dave Wrote This
Hosting the event this year will be no mean feat too! Best of luck to you, and with 1500 signups I think whatever tactics you did definitely worked :)
Jamie Gibbs
Mithril Wisdom
A good reminder that advertising isn't a dirty word :-)
Going to check these pees out, thanks for mentioning them. Awesome job with the challenge btw, you're a busy man huh! :)
Universal Gibberish
Nice start with Art...
Great start... to the challenge "A" is for Awesome!
Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
A to Z Co-Host
IZOMBIE: Visit the Madness
This is an awesome challenge. I visited several blogs that came right after mine. Thanks for tossing it out!
What a great way to start A to Z. Thanks for Ada's info. I'll have to come back later and check it out b/c I'm due into work soon.
Shelly
http://secondhandshoesnovel.blogspot.com
Good start Arlee...now I'm off to read some new blogs.
Ada is one talented lady! I love the logo and aren't we all walking advertisers of something? We wear t-shirts from places we've visited and some of us are 'brand-loyal' so there you go; free advertisers :)
Great start Lee! Truly amazed at the hard work you have done and how you have made this happen. Thanks. Looking forward to a great month and challenge. cudo's to you!
While releasing MY ZOMBIE DOG, I tried many different forms of marketing and promotion, some free and some pricey - but I've kept a record of what worked well for me and what was a waste. At least I'll be able to share the results with my blog followers.
Wagging Tales
Arlee,just saying thanks for starting up the A-Z Challenge and I do love the logo!
Advertising can be awesome or annoying! In your case, it's definitely the former, Lee! Many thanks for giving us the A-Z Challenge!
Great kick-off Lee! I'm going to go to those blogs you mentioned! So far I've been playing it safe and seeing how my buds are doing the challenge but it is time to light out for unknown parts - be an Adventurer!Jan Morrison
Hello and goodbye, lots to read so onwards and upwards
I love Jessica, but haven't met Ada yet. Off I go! :)
Thanks for creating A to Z Challenge, Arlee. I am super sic. for the since of relief and satisfaction I am sure I will feel when it is over.
Also, thanks for making the logo available for all of us. I love the logo. It looks great on my site.
yay! Advertising is really important if you're trying to make a name for yourself. Great A-theme and yay Jess!
I do advertising for fundraisers with out local firehouse. You certainly need something eye catching and get it out everywhere possible to get a crowd. It ain't easy.
Thank you sir for your information!
Great challenge, as usual!
HMG
Jessica is doing a drawing? That's right!!!
Marketing is very important to me right now because my book comes out soon. Thanks for this post. I'm trying to be creative when it comes to advertising.
Lee! It is here, the big day! :-) I am super pumped, even woke up early to get a jump on it. You have done an AMAZING job with advertising and getting this challenge going. Thank you so much for all that you do!!! Ada Z. did a great job...totally love the logo and so nice that it was free. Happy A-Zing!
Thanks for the post. I got to check out a music I had not heard before. Jessica's music is something I'll be listening to more often. I enjoyed it!
I also enjoyed Ada's art. She did a great job on the logo!
MAJK
Great "A" post! Advertising is such an integral part of letting others know something about us - its what adds the colour to who we are.
Congrats to Ada and Jessica for being featured here today.
Jenny @ Pearson Report
Co-Host of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
Love this year's artwork and love your post on advertising ;-) We all need a reminder now and then to get out there and market ourselves...
And thanks again fro putting this together - it was such fun last year!
Thanks to all for your comments today. I will hopefully be able to address a few of these directly later on.
Lee
As I'm trying to prepare for a book launch, I'm really looking forward to your ABC's of marketing this year. Thanks for creating the challenge and thanks for the post...
M.J. Fifield
My Pet Blog
Very interesting!! I am a new follower and am going to be attempting the A to Z challenge for the first time. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Great! Now I gotta go look up 'allomorph.' I'll be right back.
I'm going to enjoy this blog through the challenge-- I can already tell. I love the A-Z Challenge badges...well done!
Cheers, Jenn
http://www.wine-n-chat.com
HI, Lee,
You are so right about advertising...
I am a bit confused. I thought we didn't post on Sundays during April? I don't have my challenge piece posted yet.
If it starts today, then I will dry to get it up later in the day....
how awesome! appreciate your advocation & advice!
happy a day!
"Any of the variants forms of a morpheme."
After my initial "Huh??" I looked further. My dictionary said something like the "s" in "dogs" and "cats" belongs to the morpheme "s."
Okay, think I got it.
Then, I looked to see how many dirty words my dictionary had.
All of them.
Even THAT one.
I think you know which one I mean.
And it ain't "frik."
Nice informative post!
http://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com/
Absoloootly awesome, I think Ada's advert is cementing an awful lot of blogs into a festival of alphabetical writing :)
Great post - sometimes I think we forget the value that can come from advertising.
Thanks for doing the A to Z challenge! I am doing it for the first time, but think it is a great way to change up my blog and to gain some more viewership.
Advertising and marketing are on my A list at the present time!
Great start to the challenge. :D
It looks like it worked for you this year. You got so many more participants!! I'm glad. I loved doing this last year.
My (A) Post
Ada's artwork is absolutely amazing.
Arlee, I like your theme a lot. It is especially relevant to all the writers (including myself) who are putting out books.
Jessica Bell: she's wonderful. So I'm off to her blog now.
Thanks for the whole A to Z experience.
Advertising is always a challenge but incredibly important. Thanks for the great points.
Great topic today and great bloggers to follow. I follow Jessica but am definitely going to check out Ada.
Your AtoZ has been an amazing success. This is my first time out, so it will be interesting to see how I do. I've visited the Alliterative Allomorph before, so know how wonderful her work is.
See you daily! OMG
Hi Arlee,
Good Selection.
For anything advertising and connected promotion activities
are a must, for that matter our
writings too needs promotion
Good an informative links too
Thanks
Best Wishes
Phil
So Much talent and so many things to learn. Glad I joined this challenge and get to *meet* so many of you all month. Marketing may be the bane of an author but you take the shiver out of the fear.
http://www.billiewilliams.com/blog
Got my badge on and ready for a great challenge this year! Lots of new blogs to visit. Thanks Lee...this is all due to you.
Lee, just wanted to thank you for coming up with this amazing concept of an a-z blogfest. It has become quite the event and you have done an incredible job promoting it and honing it and making it fun for all of us.
Karen
I've mentioned TV adverts as part of my A to Z nostalgia post today and it's those that people seem to remember more than any of the other stuff I've talked about. I guess when creating an advertising jingle it has to be catchy and that's what advertising is all about, that idea that sticks in your head... and you've done an amazing job of getting the A to Z word out there with your advertising.
I’m doing the A to Z Challenge too at A to Z of Nostalgia
It's finally here! Yay!
As for advertising, I'd say you pretty much nailed it in the A to Z challenge!
A-Z is a great idea and has become a pretty massive success so I'd say the advertising is working well. Thanks!
Ada Z designed the A to Z logo? That's just so poetic.
Nice to get some advertising tips from the ad-master. Just look what your little A to Z has become!
Thanks for all the advertising you've done for the A to Z challenge. It's the best I've seen and the blog is Awesome! I hope you'll stop by my blog where I'm blogging the Hunger Games
Have a great bloggy day!
Hi Lee.
Been in the advertising industry for twenty five years now. I have this to say about advertising; Advertising and marketing are expenses. The sales of the product, whatever that may be, is what brings the money in and the cost of manufacturing is the investment. However, putting efforts into marketing are what make the sales happen, thus justifying the investment. It's weird, I know, but that is the truth. Advertising is essential even though it's an expense.
Nice post and good topic.
Blessings and well done, all round, as far as the A to Z challenge is concerned, Geoff.
Hi Arlee!
advertising is a great A topic. And I do love the badge by Ada Z. Thanks for starting this crazy and yet awesome blogfest!
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Advertising is crucial and a tough one to navigate.
Hello Arlee,
Thanks for hosting the A2Z challenge again..
Advertising / Marketing..wow..such an interesting topic..looking forward to see the other post(s)..
Love the badge :)
Great blog with a lot of useful information! Cant wait to see what you write next!
It's my first time joining. There are 1682 blogs listed. I actually divided it by 26 to find that I need to visit 64 blogs each day in order to read everybody's blog during the challenge. I love to read. I also love to write. I'm so looking forward to visiting everybody's blog sites. Thanks for the challenge!
A Ladybug's Life
Sonnia
Excellent choices. Marketing. Ugh!
Thank you for all the work you and the other hosts have done for the A-Z. And this is a great post (I need to get a handle on advertising)
A great start, amazing! Thank you Lee and crew for all you do~ I think this will be the best challenge, yet!
:D
Great 1st blog for a-z.
Have a great month.
Lee, you are always going above and beyond to support your blogging friends. I'm very impressed with your hard work and kindness--a good example to all of us.
Nice "A" post!
Doris
Cowabunga for the A to Z Challenge. Having a blast being a part of it so far.
Hi Lee, thanks for helping to put this challenge together! And Ada's work is awesome. :)
Great post. Advertising is key, especially for a writer. I've used the same tools of badges I created for my blog and a 'plastering' it across the web :) The smallest effort can make a big difference in someone finding our work.
Congrats on the awesome success of A to Z. Looking forward to a great month of blogging and reading :)
http://gladiatorspen.blogspot.com
Great post to start us off. This is my first time participating in the challenge. I'm excited and scared all at the same time.
Great post. I have often found in many ventures that word of mouth is the best advertising also, especially when you are a newbie at something. :) Can't wait to read your other postings this month
fantastic - looking forward to keeping up with you over the month - and thank you for all your hard work setting this up
Lx
Great post Arlee as usual...can't wait to see what you have in store for us for the next 25 letters of the alphabet
Thanks for coming up with such an awesome and fun event! I love your first post about advertising and Ada is awesome.
I'm excited to see the rest of these posts. I'm on the path to self-publishing my fiction and marketing is one of the major stumbling blocks for me. Advertising, in particular, can be tough when you don't have a publisher (and their budget) taking care of it for you.
Thanks for the helpful information!
Thanks for the information and great blogs to follow.
Oh, no, more great links to follow. Advertising can get very expensive so it's nice to have lots of contacts.
The Japanese are doing some scary things with advertising these days.
Thanks for sharing the links. Good info on advertising.
This is a topic I have not given a lot of thought to and a stimulating theme for these posts.
Oh, how this post delights me and YES! I agree... I love that you found a woman named Ada Z or are you maybe, possibly, pulling our legs?
Anyway - I am delighted to be a part of this challenge & am so grateful to have chosen a theme that practically writes itself.
Brava to everyone participating here!
Julie Jordan Scott
twitter - @juliejordanscot
A is for Adelaide
Great word for the letter "A". One of the places I worked in the past paid fines of a hundred thousand dollars each two times for wrong signing.
Ada Z.. love it! :-) So looking forward to this challenge.
Ada came up with some great "stuff" for the A-Z. Happy to be here this year.
I've been wondering what you were going to use as a theme this year. You probably told me, and I forgot ;-)
Is it coincidence or providence that your A to Z artist's name is pronounced "A da Z". Say it fast and you'll see what I mean.
I'm so stoked already: I hit over 300 on the followers, and got the most comments on a post EVER. 47 so far. I'm grinning from ear to ear, and am about to make myself a comfy spot to go visiting from. You rock, Lee. Thanks for making all of this happen.
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-Host of the April A to Z Challenge
Twitter: @AprilA2Z #atozchallenge
Excellent info! =D
Well said...free advertising is very nice but is not always easy to get. Thank you for posting on this topic.
Advertising and marketing are the precursors of sales. It's like planting seeds, watering and providing sunlight, where the sales are your harvest.
Great 1st post. I look forward to seeing what you do for the rest of the month.
Great A launch, Lee, with some super info. And Jess is awesome! But, most of all, thanks for your hard work, and Ada's, for making the Launch cone alive.
A is also for Arlee is Awesome :)
Interesting "A" choice! I always like learning a bit about subjects I'm not familiar with. Great start to the challenge!
Good post--thanks! Advertising is hard--thanks for some guidelines. Looking forward to participating in the A to Z challenge!
And we're off! Great job leading up to the challenge this year Lee! I really look forward to getting to know lots of great bloggers throughout the month. :)
looking forward to following your blog!
As someone who has wasted money on a variety of advertising platforms and services -- for example, a $50 back page newspaper print ad that didn't bring me any new clients -- I can attest to the fact that choosing the right advertising platform is important whether online or offline, especially when you are working with a small budget.
~Nicole
Blog: The Madlab Post
@MadlabPost on Twitter
Yes, advertising, marketing, etc. is crucial for getting ones name out there.
Since my book is coming out May 7, I am working on that now (well, have been).
We are off and running!
Thanks for starting the a to z challenge. It's been a blast! Thanks for the great advertising tips. :)
I heard about A to Z last year, after the fact and couldn't wait to participate this year. Thanks for the work you put into this project and promoting others. I'm looking forward to having fun, making friends and learning much!
Lee, thanks so much for all your hard work and generosity to all us bloggers. Love Ada's work, too.
I love Ada's work! You guys did an amazing job advertising the challenge, I've been looking forward to it since Christmas! I'm glad it's finally here and look forward to the rest of your posts. :)
Excellent start to the Challenge!
New to this Blog Challenge. Thanks for starting it off...I am thinking about how advertising plays a role in almost everything we see and do these days...EVERYTHING-even school choice...
Hi,
I just wanted to say you have a great blog here. I wanted to let you know I am following you so if you want to follow back, that would be great.
I am a freelance writer and agree with you about the advertising although I do mostly free advertising through social media and get a good bit of page views this way but it would be nice to get more. So I need to think of a strategy on using some paid advertising. Thanks for the post and I will read along every day.
It would be nice to be advertising one of the five novels I've written, but instead I spend too much time blogging. Thanks for another fun A to Z Challenge.
Catch My Words
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2012/04/atoz-abducted-by-aliens.html
Hi Arlee,
I just wanted to hop by and thank you for co-hosting the A-Z Challenge. I'm reading a lot of good blogs and am thoroughly enjoying myself.
:)
everyone is off to a great start
I always love marketing posts! Thanks for hosting the challenge, Arlee!
You have done an excellent job advertising and promoting this cool challenge. I am looking forward to reading and meeting new blogger friends. I am also eager to visit Ada's site. I am already a follower of Jessica's awesome blog, but will remember to stop by often.
Advertising is so important and you make a strong point about starting small. When I first opened my solo law practice, I made the biggest mistake of starting off too big. I had full page ads in the newspaper,my name all over the yellow pages, radio and television commercials. It brought in business, but not nearly as much as word of mouth and the cost added up quickly. It was a rookie mistake that cost me, but boy did I learn fast!!
Lee, you started this challenge, and have been the brains behind advertising it. We're nearing 1825 on the list as I type this---so you do know your shit :)
Hello Arlee, the fun has started. Advertising is a basic need in almost everything that we do. Awesome As.
Great information on advertising! I'll have to check out more of your marketing posts. I'm so excited that it's A to Z month finally.
Lee, Thanks for a great A to Z kick-off! So glad I signed up for another year, and I appreciate all of your helpful tips! Julie
Sorry I forgot to mention what amazing artwork Ada has provided! Thanks Ada!
Sigh, advertising has always been my little bugbear. But hopefully I'll improve:) As some have mentioned above, you obviously know what you're doing because the number of bloggers who've entered the challenge is truly awe-inspiring. Looking forward to discovering new voices (new to my solitary self anyway) this month!:)
Thank you all so much for your kind words! My name is in fact Ada Z. and that's one of many many reasons that I wanted to design the A-to-Z logo. I admire all of you for taking part in this difficult but rewarding Challenge. GOOD LUCK!!!
~ Ada Z.
www.CollagePodge.com
Hi, Lee!
Great theme! Thanks for the ABC's of advertising!
I'm really enjoying the A-Z Challenge! It's fun, exciting and very informative! Not to mention all the great people you get to meet!!
It would be hard to top the creative advertizing you made with the A to Z Challenge. Plus, it's so much fun. Here's to more years of A-Z!
Cherie Reich - Author
Surrounded by Books Reviews
Although I'm not a fan, I understand the necessity. Love this A-Z idea. It's perfect.
Thanks for the challenge, it's a great motivator to write every day.
So far, so good.
Stop by if you can.
www.cdrvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
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