Armchair BEA 2015 – Day 3 – Blogging 101 #ArmchairBEA

Posted May 29, 2015 by Julie S. in ArmchairBEA / 8 Comments


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Blogging Q&A
Blogging 101. All kinds of tips and tricks to get you started or keep you going. Talk about ARCs, reviewing in general, web design, etc.  What blogging platform do you use? How do you network? What are some of your favorite web designs?  Or maybe you want to talk about your own blogging journey, and how you got to where you are now. Either way, we want you to share your knowledge with the rest of the community!

 

Julie Review Avatar   Julie:

Woa, this sure is a broad topic huh? Blogging 101 can be a whole series, not just one post. I’ll just touch on a few general topics on blogging and our journey, and maybe the discussions will spark some ideas for future individual posts.

I’ve been blogging for many years, with a really long break of sporadic posting and non-updating. When we started this blog, I got to re-learn and see what I remembered, and that motivated me to make changes to my personal “lifestyle” blog that had been neglected for a long time. Chapter Break has always been on WordPress, and I’m a big fan of that platform. We started on the free server before moving to self-hosted after 6 months of blogging together. I love all the plugins that WordPress lends itself to as well as the lovely themes! I love the theme we’re using, Tweak Me by Ashley of Nose Graze. We were able to customize EVERYTHING.

Networking as a book blogger is a lot of fun, because you can go to author events and pass out your contact card (or bookmark) and people don’t really look at you funny because they get it, that’s why they are there too. Commenting on other book blogs and interacting on social media is a great way to make blogging friends and find fans of your own blog. Meeting someone who loves the same books you do is a fast way to make friendships.

ARCs – well that is kind of a delicate topic in my opinion. When I first started I wanted ALL THE ARCs, but then I realized I had to read and review them all. I quickly found I bit off more than I could chew, and had to be more selective. Also, I found it awkward to review a book negatively and then have to share that with a book tour, publicist, or author. So I stopped accepting review requests and found freedom in reviewing whatever it was I wanted to read.

I’m sure there’s so much more to say on blogging, but this is probably enough for now.

Rose review avatar   Rose:

Ummm…. what ^^^^^^Julie^^^^^^^ said.

Lynnpic avatar Lynn:

Yeah. What Julie said!
For me, it was easier to join an already started blog. I didn’t have to start from scratch and do all the work. I just had to step in when Julie and Rose didn’t have time. That was a lot easier for me than staring at a blank page with no ideas.
What surprised me most about blogging was how much is done in advance. We can write a post and then schedule it for days or even weeks later. That’s helped a lot with managing my time. I can work on posts when I have free time, which may not be every day.
I’ve also be exposed to other blogs through our blog. And I’m reading more of those posts on line. I’m still not up to commenting, yet, but maybe I’ll get there eventually.
And kudos to all the bloggers out there who do everything on their own.

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Posted May 29, 2015 by Julie S. in ArmchairBEA / 8 Comments

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8 responses to “Armchair BEA 2015 – Day 3 – Blogging 101 #ArmchairBEA”

  3. Ramona

    And you’ve done such a wonderful job, ladies 🙂 I love your blog – it’s got the best quotes, super interesting discussion topics and lovely reviews. Applause! Applause! Enjoy your weekend! 🙂

  4. Daniela Ark

    funny this week I’m posting my Part II about the my experience as a new blogger. About hosting in WordPress and The plugins I found helpful: The Calendar and the spam blocker! Can’t live without them Thanks for posting Julie!