Showing posts with label blogger events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogger events. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2015

What a Wonderful Thing

Happy Monday, everyone! As most of you know, yesterday was my birthday. Because of all the outpouring of wishes on my Facebook timeline, I have a few things to say today. So, sit back, relax, and grab a cup of Jo.


Please keep in mind this has nothing to do with the feels I had at home. My family and my work are two separate beasts, and one does not negate or overshadow the other. These are just some thoughts I had about my work community that I'd like to share.

Why?

Because good things seem so rare right now. With all the crap pouring out of the media, I'm bringing a little bit of balance. Ready? Let's go!

When I checked my e-mail yesterday, I saw a number of notifications about posts on my Facebook timeline. So, I clicked over to tell each person thank you. If they took the time to tell me HBD, I was going to take the time to thank each and every one of them personally.

As I'm clicking "like" and dropping comments, I realized I've hugged or shaken the hand of nearly every person who posted. It was staggering to know that, not only have I met most of those people, I've helped nearly every one of them in some way or another.

It humbled me.

I'm so proud of the people I know who've done so many wonderful things. I feel blessed to be a tiiiiny part of whatever they've accomplished.

But, more than that, I can call these people more than acquaintances. They aren't generic faces in a sea of people. That makes me positively giddy. In just three years, I've met so many amazing people!

For those of you I don't know personally (we've either never had a chat or I've not met you in person), I invite you to say hello and strike up a conversation (if I don't make it to you first). I want to know about you!

So, thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. I'm so grateful to have you all in my life. What a wonderful thing to have such a vibrant tribe (there is no such thing as a tribe of one). I wouldn't bother doing all that I do if not for you guys.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Your Blog's Big Event

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Since Thursday is writing tips day, I thought I'd give a little to the bloggers out there about planning and hosting an event. So, get your pens and notebooks ready, grab your coffee, and let's get rolling!

As you may know, every year I do a little thing here on the blog called the 12 Days of Review Requests. This event not only gets me great books to read and review over the next year, it also helps me expand my network, meet new (awesome) people, and connect with other book bloggers and reviewers.

I spend all year thinking about what I'll do next and planning my marketing for December. I have to choose days, invite awesome bloggers, and gather donations from other authors. 2014 was the biggest year yet, and I intend to make it even more epic in 2015.

Over on My Book Addiction, Toni Lesatz has her zOctober event that focuses solely on zombie novels and the authors who write in that genre. She sent me information three months out about my guest post, what was expected of me, and what I needed to do to take part. That told me she spends a ton of time setting her event up, too.

So, if you went through my how to become a book blogger series, you'll know there's a lot more to running a blog than just choosing a name and typing stuff up once in a while. You need a plan and a big event of some kind that'll take your blog to a new level. After all, what good is a blog if no one reads it, right?

But, before you get all crazy, you have to first decide what kind of event you're going to hold and what you're gonna call it. Here's a quick list of things to consider:
  • Why should people attend?
  • What's in it for them?
  • What's in it for you?
  • How will it be run?
  • Where can you market your event?
  • What if (what can go wrong)?
  • Will you accept donations? If yes, what kind?
  • How long do you have to plan?
  • How long will your event run?
  • Is there another blog with a huge event running in the same time frame?
  • Could you partner to make both events a little bigger?
  • How will you handle donations? Will you deliver the goods or will the donator?
After you answer all those questions, you're ready to start planning. Take these steps:
  1. Form a marketing plan for the event based on the type (I'll get to that in a moment).
  2. Plan for snafus.
  3. Ask for donations (if you plan to take them).
  4. Set up your Rafflecopter forms.
  5. Design stuff for your theme.
  6. Pre-write your posts or gather guest posts and get them formatted.
  7. Prepare your invites.
  8. Take a deep breath and dive in!
Here are some types of events:
  • Blog challenges: Many bloggers join and plan to post each day--and visit posts by others--for a set period of time (do a search for the A-Z challenge, and the Author Blog Challenge).
  • Author/theme spotlights: Guest authors appear and highlight their books. Can be in one genre or many (zOctober).
  • Book Celebrations: Readers gather together to talk books, and/or authors can join in and pitch books (12 Days Review Requests).
I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that roll off the top of my head. Your imagination is your only limit here.

You can also join up with a couple of memes. I know there's a few out there like Waiting on Wednesday (books you're looking forward to reading), Stacking the Shelves (books you've bought over the last week), and many, many more. That'll drive some traffic to your blog and help you discover other bloggers to network with.

Above all else, make your blog something people will want to stick around to look at again and again.

So, talk to me! What big events are you planning? Have you ever considered running something like this?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo