Fall 2013 Bloggiesta Wrap Up

Bloggiesta Fall 2013

It's a Wrap!!

Bloggiesta Master To Do List - revised and updated...

❏ write two reviews

❏ update Amazon/Goodreads reviews

❏ update link lists and archive lists"

❏ clean up labels/tags

❏ do two mini challenges

❏ change or fix one thing on your sidebar

❏ add a disclosure statement

❏ add a review policy page

❏ change one thing on your layout and/or look

❏ comment on other Bloggiesta participants’ blogs

❏ update challenges on challenge blogs

❏ add challenge page
❏ add a contact me page (near completion)
❏ add a ratings system explanation page
❏ update all current blog posts with new rating per policy 

10 out of 15 To Do's Done!  Not too shabby!

Truly, though I did not finish the entire list, especially that I didn't even attempt to tackle my huge list of novels to be reviewed, I accomplished so much more than I expected to and truly think I have a better blog because of Bloggiesta.

I cannot wait to participate again!!

Mark your calendars for Bloggiesta 2014:

 Mini Winter Bloggiesta: January 25-26

Spring Bloggiesta: March 28-30

Mini Summer Bloggiesta: July 19-20

Fall Bloggiesta: September 19-21

Bloggiesta Mini Challenge #2

Welcome to the "Master To Do List" Mini Challenge!

One of the suggestions we had after the last Bloggiesta was that perhaps a "master" or standard to do list be created; a list that includes all the basic things that we all seem to have on our lists each and every Bloggiesta. A list that newbies, or stressed out participants can just "grab and go" with!

I thought I could tackle that challenge and so here's what I've come up with:

A Bloggiesta Master To Do List!

❏ write two reviews

❏ update link lists and archive lists

❏ update Goodreads reviews

❏ clean up labels/tags

❏ do two mini challenges

❏ change or fix one thing on your sidebar

❏ add a page (about me, contact, policy, etc.)

❏ change one thing on your layout and/or look

❏ comment on other Bloggiesta participants’ blogs

❏ participate in at least one Twitter chat
❏ update challenges

Hopefully you all agree that this list is full of good basic Bloggiesta tasks that we almost all do every time this event rolls around. So feel free to snag this list and go for it. Add to it, delete something, etc., but go ahead and use it to jump-start your own To Do List.

And that is your challenge for this mini challenge! Grab the list and get working!

Bloggiesta Mini Challenge #1

Mini Challenge #1

How to Host a Giveaway

1. So the first step in creating a giveaway is deciding what you are giving away and why. Maybe it's a book you loved, you're contemplating joining a Giveaway Hop or you've been asked to giveaway an item via a Blog Tour.

2. Next, you need to figure out if you want to post it alone or tag it onto a review/interview or other type of post.

3. Then, you have to figure out who is sending it out and how to fulfill the prize. With publishers, they usually have shipping restrictions. If you want to ship it yourself, you are better off shipping locally within your country, or you can use a website like The Book Depository, which has free shipping to many different countries.

4. Once you have all that in mind, you set up the post. Make sure you include information as to how long the giveaway will last, where it can ship to and what the item is with a nice visual image to go along with it.

5. Add in how people will enter. I've used both Google Docs and Rafflecopter in the past for giveaways. You can also use a linky tool like Inlinkz, just make sure to hide your entries. All of these are free tools! Once you've set them up, just click on Source or HTML to add the code it generates. If this is overwhelming for you, you can also have people enter via the comments. Make sure to tell them what you expect – email address, etc.

6. Extra entries. Sometimes it's nice to get people to follow you on twitter, etc. Rafflecopter makes it easy to add in extra entries, but you can also include them in your instructions (leave links to what you want them to do – follow via twitter, etc) or add them to your Google Form.