The 30 Day Blog Challenge was not on my radar when I started this blog. In fact, I was such a newbie that I had only a few posts on the site. But this challenge has helped me understand several things about blogging and consistency – and also helped me understand better what is of interest and what isn’t here. I thought I’d share some insights I’ve gained over this past month, just in case you want to participate in the next 30 Day Blog Challenge. 
- Don’t expect people to read your posts. Ah ego. It is a bit stinging when you work hard on a post, it gets published and then . . . crickets. No comments, nothing, nada. <sigh> Get over it.
- What you think is important might not be to your audience.
- Shorter posts are easy, but well-written and researched posts tend to be more favorably received.
- It pays to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. This helps inform your blogging.
- Reading other people’s blogs is a good idea, but don’t use their words for your sole source of inspiration (and for heaven’s sake, don’t use their words verbatim!)
- Don’t stress about what to write. Your muse will arrive in time.
- Plan ahead, if possible, so you have at least your topics outlined for the month. That helps you avoid #6.
- Don’t be afraid to broach controversial subjects. If you lose readers, they weren’t yours to begin with.
- Unless your blog is a personal one anyway, limit your personal revelations. However, don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through.
- If you miss a day, don’t get discouraged. Get back on that horse.
- If you do get comments on a post, thank the people who took the time to write to you. Even if the comment is negative, at least you know people are reading. Thanking them appropriately keeps them coming back.
- Don’t be surprised if that great and unique topic idea you blogged about yesterday was blogged about by others yesterday, too. Innocent but identical idea inspiration seems to hit several people at once.
- And finally, have fun! Too much pressure takes the fun away. Never lose sight of having fun.
A big thanks to Dr. Jeanette Cates, the person in charge of this challenge. I can’t imagine the amount of work this added to her day, but she’s to be commended for taking it on. Thanks to Connie Ragen Green for starting this program originally.
Thanks to all the readers who’ve taken the time to read my words and comment on them. I’ve learned a lot from you, and I’m grateful you’re out there.
Now that the challenge is over, I’ll be inviting select people to contribute to this blog as guest posters. I do believe in the power of collaboration – plus, I may be smart, but I don’t know everything. (Shocking, I know.)
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Thanks for your insights, Lizbeth. I’m going to keep them in mind as I continue to blog. I started the 30 day challenge at the end and then got so busy that I didn’t get to post my last 2 days of articles. (one is written, the other is started – LOL.) This challenge helped me get started and I intend to keep blogging.
Lynn, I’m happy the list was helpful. I certainly learned a lot during the challenge – things that probably would have taken longer for me to discover if I blogged less. The key is to keep it up! It’s easy to let it slide – but a blog post doesn’t have to be long to be interesting or helpful. Let me know how you’re doing! See you at the next challenge!
So happy to see you here at Lisbeth’s blog, Lynn! And I hope you’ll give some serious thought to getting on board with the next 30-day blogging challenge coming up in the fall.
Please continue to re-visit here — I met Lisbeth during the 30-day challenge and she’s a fabulous writer and an extraordinary human being.
Hugs to you and Rick,
Melanie
Melanie – thank you so much for the kind words! They mean a lot!
Lisbeth ~
I would be tickled pink (or whatever your favorite color is!) to be a guest author on your blog.
And don’t worry about the crickets. They go hand-in-hand with a beautiful warm, balmy summer night.
Happy to accept your invitation,
Melanie
Love your list, Lisbeth!
#11 jumps off the page at me. From a blog owner’s point of view, it’s really discouraging to spend time reading other people’s posts, leaving your mark behind, and then hearing nothing back from the author. Some bloggers use an automated “thank-you” message to send out to their commenters. To me, it’s a bit impersonal, but receiving some kind of response is better than no response at all.
Of course, there are those blogs that get 100′s of comments every day so it would be impossible for the author to personally reply to each one.
#1 is a hard pill to swallow but a realistic fact of blogging life. What’s worse, though, is to be a guest blogger and have absolutely no one read your post. Talk about crickets!
I’m happy that you decided to put the 30-day blogging challenge on your radar.
Melanie
Thanks so much, Melanie! Having the “luxury” of not 100+ commentors on each post, I can respond.
I’m glad parts of my list resonated with you. This was a great learning experience and I appreciate the opportunity to be part of it. Interested in guest blogging once or twice? I’d like to bring different viewpoints to this space and I love the way you write and think. 
Let me know. And I’ll do my best to make sure that the crickets stay away. Thank you for reading.