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Friday, February 18, 2011

...A Little Help From Our Friends: Helpful Bloggers to the Rescue


          As I have been teasing all week, today I have a special announcement.  And I guess it would be of little surprise to anyone that this announcement has something to do with the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  If this is your guess, then you are correct.

          The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is climbing toward 300 participants with a probability that we may go over this amount before the arrival of the start date.  Last year I was nearly overwhelmed by the almost 100 bloggers who participated in A to Z.  I knew that this year would be even bigger since we had a much earlier start to get the word out to the blogging community.

            Fortunately, popular bloggers Alex J Cavanaugh, Jennifer Daiker, and Talli Roland came to my rescue to make the Challenge easier to administer and be a greater success.  However we came to the conclusion that even we might not be able to satisfactorily pull this off to a point that would make the Challenge as great as it could be.  For this reason we are expanding the A to Z Team.

Here are the four added members of the A to Z Team:

Jeffrey Beesler from World of the Scribe....

Candace Ganger from The Misadventures in Candyland

Karen Jones Gowen from Coming Down the Mountain: From Reclusive Writer to Published Author....

Stephen Tremp from Breakthrough Blogs..

           Some of you may already be familiar with all or some of these bloggers.  I'll let you visit each of their blogs so you can say hello and get to know them better.  They each have their own unique strengths and talents which should help make the challenge more fun and more rewarding for all of us. 

           In the weeks to come, we will be offering our special Challenge posts to make your April a more successful race to the finish line.  Be sure to watch the posts of the A to Z Team as we present tips from our experiences in blogging, writing, and life in general.  It won't always be A to Z of course, but we hope the special posts we give you will be something you will find useful and enjoyable. 

          The A to Z Team will be here to answer your questions as best we can and provide support to your blogging efforts.  Let us know if you feel like you need some attention or any suggestions.  Don't forget though, we are also participating in the Challenge and even with the added members our capabilities are limited.  That's why there is one more team member who is the most important one of all.

           Who is that most important team member?   It's YOU!  Without the participation, interaction, and mutual support that only each one of you can give to the Challenge community as a whole, this run through the alphabet is going to be less than the best we can make it.  We're counting on you--every one of you--to see us to the end of April with a grand sense of accomplishment.

            I'll have more to say about all of this in the next few weeks.  I'm sure that our A to Z Team members will likewise have their own words of encouragement.  We're all friends here and never underestimate the power of friends.  We can do this challenge together--so let's do it! 

            There is one more request.  Over the next few days if there are any other bloggers that you think would benefit from this Challenge or who are still on the fence trying to decide if they should do it, please try to get them to sign up this weekend.  We can make it to our goal of 300 by Monday if we try.  Please do what you can.

            Now enough from me.  Head on over to the above links and visit the blogs of our A to Z Team members, say hello, and if you're not following them yet, do so now.  And don't forget to continue going through the Linky list and visit, comment, and follow.  In other words:  network, network, network. April will be here soon. 



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37 comments:

  1. Hello Lee
    Glad to hear you will now have more help with what seems to be the biggest blog challenge so far this year but I'm sorry to say I have to withdraw. I realise there's another month to prepare but I'll be away for part of March and also some of April and just can't fit it in to my schedule. Thanks for giving everyone the opportunity to take part - this way there's another place available for someone else
    Take care
    Cathy

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  2. Having been away I am stunned at the amount of entries. glad you have extra reinforcements. looking forward to the fest,

    Have a good day.
    Yvonne,

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  3. Looking forward to this year's blogfest. Last year was a blast, and this year is gonna be even more epic! Can't wait :D

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  4. I'm already trying to think of a to z things to blog about! I'm excited at the prospect of daily blogging again, yehaa :)

    I can think of a few people and I'll contact them this evening. Busy day!

    Happy Friday and congratulations on the number of bloggers already signed up AND the new hosts!

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  5. This is going to be huge. So wonderful. Thanks for hosting, and a big wave to those joining.

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  6. Welcome new hosts! This is going to be awesome!

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  7. April is coming fast isn't it? Trying to get my A-Z's in order :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  8. I shall try to mention AZ challenge in my post tomorrow! You must reach half thousand till March :)

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  9. What a great group; this will be an epic year~
    Going to email a few friends that blog, see if I can sway them! Happy Weekend~

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  10. Cathy -- I hope you'll reconsider. I think you could still manage the short posts. We'll keep you name on the list for now just in case. Let me know if you change your mind and we won't drop you at the end of March. Thanks for the heads up.

    Yvonne -- You're back! Hope you had a great trip and are ready to get in gear for April blogging.

    Jamie -- Yes, it should be epic indeed-- now spread the word to others!

    WordsCrafter -- Anyone you can get to sign on would be great. We're counting on everybody to make the Challenge a big success.

    S.A. -- It will be the best ever!

    Alex -- Yes, I agree.

    Jules -- I've been working on mine as well. Time goes way too fast doesn't it.

    Dezmond -- "Half a thousand"--I like the sound of it. That's kind of a glass half full approach. We appreciate any good words you can give us. You're always a great supporter and blog friend.

    Ella --Yes! Anything you can do is great. That's how success happens--the efforts of the many. Thanks!

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  11. Glad you have some reinforcements. I can’t seem to keep up with my schedule as it is, so I’m not in a position to add to it. However, I am looking forward to supporting as many of you A to Zers as I can by dropping in on your blogs as often as possible.

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  12. Wow - almost 300!! That's amazing ~ :) So glad you've got a great team of hosts behind the event. Because it will be THE EVENT! Can't wait!

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  13. I'm still mulling this over, but the potential participation so far is astounding!

    Alex
    Breakfast Every Hour

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  14. Hi Lee you're certainly grabbing the A-Z limelight .. good for you and there are quite a few of us to put it mildly .. I'm sure you'll easily make 300+++ Cheers Hilary

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  15. Got enough on my plate without joining this challenge, but I do laud and support those taking it up. And I'll be following along with interest and lending a cheering hand!

    Marvin D Wilson

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  16. Lee-

    I'm still crossing my fingers that you reach your 300.

    Thanks again for promoting the Super 8 Debut Albums blog hop-I guess there are fewer music fans out there than we thought, as we've got a whopping seven participants (compared to 300 who will post for an entire month).

    But the seven who are on board look to be music afficianados who will probably have some very interesting choices.

    I fear it will look like McCarthy and I copied off each other-I know we're going to have at least two titles in common.



    Larry

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  17. 300 is amazing! Wow!
    I think it's going to go really well this year with all the effort you guys are putting into it.

    And thanks for the reminder about conserving water. I always need reminding!

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  18. Jane -- Sometimes you never now what you're capable of until you try it. But sidelines support is also encouraging.

    Donea Lee -- We have some of the greatest bloggers in the world participating. How could it not be good.

    AlexNYC -- C'mon you know you want to.

    Hilary -- We will be a force to be reckoned with and it's not just me, it's us!

    Marvin -- Maybe you can grab a bigger plate.

    Larry -- We will pass 300! And you'll get more for Super 8--you've still got a week.

    Lydia -- We've got a lot of great bloggers spreading the word.

    Andrew -- It's alive! Maybe someday they'll make a cheesy movie about it and you can review it.

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  19. I was a little worried about doing this at first, but with some coaxing and convincing, as well as the realization that I can make the Saturday posts be something I haven't done before on the blog, I feel confident enough not just to participate in the blog, but to help co-host it, too.

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  20. Well, I love a new challenge and jumped right in. All I need to know now is how I should advertise this challenge on my wordpress blog. Do I need to install 'linky' or just provide a link to your linky? :-)
    Blessings!

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  21. Jeffrey -- When I saw how enthusiastically you jumped in to promote A to Z it seemed like you might as well be an official part of the motivatonal team. I'm confident that you will do well with the Challenge.

    Petra -- Welcome to the Challenge. Add the badge to your site and provide a link to any of our sites. At the top of my page you will find links to the team members. And if you want to do even more go ahead and write up a post talking about the Challenge. Thanks for the help.

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  22. It's exciting how it's coming along. Huge welcome to the new participants. Looking forward to april -- I've already messed up my calendar in April with a letter for each day (my hubby looked at me strangely)

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  23. Thank you SO much for inviting me to be a part of it:)

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  24. I saw the banners everywhere, but had no idea what it was. Thanks for the info.

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  25. Hi there! I came across your blog and think this idea is great! I'm excited to start :) If you have a chance, check out my blog ! (http://michelleinashell.blogspot.com)

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  26. Lynda -- It's really booming isn't it. I've got a calendar on my desk marked with letters and blog titles.

    Candace -- Glad you're in. You're going to add a lot to the Challenge.

    Tanya -- I didn't look yet but I hope you joined us.

    Michelle -- I will indeed check out your blog.

    BAW -- Wow! I've been hit by the famed Boycott American Women. You really have to wonder what kind of issues this guy's got to spend so much time sending this message to bloggers everywhere.
    Mr. BAW--Are you going to participate in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge?

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  27. A big yay for the A-Z Challenge! It's going to be AMAZING! :) Can't wait to get started.

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  28. I'm sending out some emails to some friends who blog almost every day. I'm hoping to bring a few more to join the fun.

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  29. Talli -- We've already started from the organizational standpoint. Several people have mentioned that they've already started composing posts. I have started a few and am thinking my calendar thru.

    Susan -- You're the kind of blogging friend that I'm talking about here. Thank you Susan for reaching out to bring others into the event. I think they'll probably appreciate you for doing it and we all appreciate having as many new voices to the blogging community as we can find. A big thank you!!!

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  30. There are so many people coming onboard for the Challenge! It's exciting.

    I've already started listing possible topics and know what I'm going to write about for a few days; even so, April's coming up fast!

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  31. I look forward to read and to cheer you all on.

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  32. Golden Eagle -- Preplanning is probably the best way to go so you can do plenty of visiting and commenting in April.

    Ocean Girl- We're going to need the support!

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  33. This sound like great fun. I can't wait to read what others come up with.

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  34. Hi Arlee.. I am stunned by the response your Blogfest is getting. Every blog I visit mentions it. Its simply great! I look forward to cheering you all.

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  35. Linked in from SheWrites and couldn't resist becoming your 900th follower. Don't think I've ever seen a writing site with so many!

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  36. thanks Deborah--there are writing blogs with more, but I do feel honored to have so many great followers and now you #900. Appreciate it!

    Lee

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