Spring 2015 Bloggiesta: Blogging Advice from Book Bloggers International

Welcome to the Spring 2015 Bloggiesta!

Not familiar with Bloggiesta?  Check out their website.  In short, it is an event that happens four times a year and allows bloggers to clean up and improve their blogs.  Who doesn't need that?!?

Today, it has been requested that bloggers share the best advice that they have received about blogging.  Here at Book Bloggers International, we (the minds behind BBI) thought we would all take a few moments and share our advice with you here.  Without further ado, we present to you our advice . . .

Becca of I'm Lost in Books

The best blogging advice I ever received was to not be afraid to be original, to be creative. I am this person already but I grew up thinking I needed to fit in and not rock the boat and keep the status quo. I decided to take this blogging advice and run with it, and it has proven to be invaluable. I do what I want, I create my own ideas of what my blog and blogging should look like, and I don't let anyone tell me I am doing it wrong. There is no right or wrong, there is only the same and different. I would much rather be myself on my blog - putting a piece of myself into my reviews, creating my own features, showing other bloggers love instead of viewing them as some sort of competition. Luckily for me, these things work for my blog and it makes me happy because I am myself.

Caro of A Girl That Likes Books

The Best Blogging Advice I've ever received is: don't do it for the clicks. In other words, if you are going to be blogging, reviewing, etc, do it because you enjoy it and you have things to say. Don't become a slave of the clicks and the page views. Don't freak out because the first month (heck, the first year) your blog doesn't have a ton of followers; it takes time to find your own voice and your own style. Don't be discouraged by a low traffic week, or month, keep doing it for yourself.

Tasha of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books 

When I was first blogging on Xanga, years before I started a book blog, I ran across some great advice from a fellow Xanga blogger who was insanely popular on the network. In a post about how she got so popular, she added a paragraph at the very end titled, “What to do when you get hundreds of comments.” It thought it would be about how she managed to maintain that level of popularity, but it wasn’t. Her advice? Turn off your computer. Leave your phone. Go outside. Ignore your email for at least 24 hours. Play with your kids, go out to dinner with your significant other, hang out with your friends. 

Even though I’ve never received even close to a hundred comments on a post, that piece of advice has stayed with me. Basically it’s saying that whenever things in the blogging world seem overwhelming, take a step back. Gain some perspective on what your blog really is and why you started blogging in the first place. Being a successful blogger isn’t about spending all your time on social media or email, or stressing about popularity, it’s about supplementing your life with something you enjoy doing.

Tif of Tif Talks Books

The best blogging advice I ever received is twofold.  One, be yourself.  Find your own voice and use your imagination.  Don't try to be like all the other bloggers out there.  Do something different.  Stand out.  And, your readers will come to you.  Second, be realistic.  If you have a busy home life, don't burn yourself out by trying to post every single day or multiple times a day.  If blogging is your hobby, make sure to keep it fun and enjoyable.  Try to be consistent, but don't push your limits and ruin the desire.

Now that you have heard our advice, it is your turn to share your's!  What else would you add?

Mark Your Calendars: Bloggiesta

Hey everyone! I’m here to tell you all you need to know about a blogging event called Bloggiesta. It’s a four times a year blogging marathon where we get together online with other bloggers to make and work on our list of blogging goals. The best thing about the event (besides networking with other bloggers of course) is the mini challenges that participating bloggers post on their blogs which teach the rest of us how to do some fun blogging tasks.

But first, you may be interested in a little back history. Bloggiesta started around 2009 I think, when Natasha from Maw Books Blog decided she had a ton of blogging tasks that needed doing. She thought, wouldn’t it be fun to see if others wanted to accomplish some blogging business too and everyone could get together one weekend, online, and work on their blogs with each other. She named it Bloggiesta and created a mascot (Pedro) and a graphic and a motto and all sorts of things to make the event fun. She ran it twice a year for a couple of years but then she had a baby...and stopped blogging... and Bloggiesta languished for a year or more.

At one point she asked for volunteers to get it started again, so that’s when Danielle and I (Suey from It’s All About Books) took it over and got it going again in March of 2012. That was such a fun and well received come back! We’ve made a few changes since then including the additions of mini events, and Twitter chats. Danielle’s life then got crazy and so now I manage the event with the technical help of Jessica from The Bluestocking Society.

Now that you have a little background, here are the basics about Bloggiesta:

We have “main” Bloggiesta events in March and September (usually the third or last weekend of the month) and “mini” events in January and July (also third or last weekend of the month.) The main events now last four days, Thursday through Saturday and the mini events are just the two day weekend.

Everyday of the events, we host a Twitter chat which is always a lot of fun. This past event we had themes for each chat, which worked out really well.

During the main events, we have 15 to 20 mini challenges which can help bloggers with blog basics, technical things, design help, organizational tips, or simply inspire you with lots of blogging ideas. We also have challenges that help people get out and meet other bloggers.

And that’s it! We keep the event simple and really try to focus on spending time working on our blogs and networking with others doing the same thing.

Here are a list of links if you are interested in learning more:

Bloggiesta Main Website

Twitter  (during events we use the hashtag #bloggiesta to find each other)

Facebook Page

Google+ Community

A list of past mini challenges (that’s the other great thing… these challenges are always here so you can actually work on things whenever you want!)

Email: bloggiesta AT gmail DOT com

The dates for future events are:

Summer 2014 Mini Bloggiesta:  July 19-20

Fall 2014 Main Bloggiesta: September 18-21

We welcome any blogger who wants to participate! At the start of each event, we’ll have a sign up linky, which simply asks participants to link up to their goal “to do” lists. We hope to see you there!

Bloggiesta Challenge: Book Blogging Heroes

Bloggiesta has arrived and the team here at Book Bloggers International is joining in the challenge fun! What is Bloggiesta, you might be asking? It’s a blogging fiesta! where bloggers get together for the weekend to work on their blogs, eat Mexican food, and wear sombreros (sombreros optional). If you want to join in—and you know you do—just visit the Bloggiesta site for more info and to sign up.

Now onto the challenge...

One of the best ways to help in building an audience for your own blog is to network with other bloggers, whether it may be in commenting on other blogs or interacting via social media.

Book Bloggers International also brings those connections to you, highlighting book bloggers around the world in one general location. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we highlight a different blogger, either through a set of interview questions or through a guest post. We also bring you different blogging tips once a week to help bring you resources that can assist you in your blogging world.

For this challenge, we want to focus on this networking. And because networking can occur in a variety of ways, we have a couple of options for you for the challenge . . .

Option 1: Using our tag cloud on the right OR the Bloggiesta participant list, find three (3) bloggers that are new to you and comment on their blogs. When you have completed the challenge, come back here and let us know who the three (3) lucky bloggers were in the comments section. If you choose to write a post about your new blogger friends, then feel free to link up in the linky below.

Option 2: Write a post featuring a blogger that has influenced or impacted you in your own blogging. Share with your readers how they have influenced you and don’t forget to let them know that you have chosen them. When you have completed the challenge, come back here and leave us the direct link in the linky below.

Choose one option or the other OR do both! The point is to network and help spread the blogging love. 

If you want to get in on the action here at Book Bloggers International, we are currently accepting feature submissions. Simply visit How To Be Featured and we will be in contact with you soon!