This time last year I was facing a daunting time, I was working a full time job, helping my friend out by working as a Christmas temp and I had to post for 25 days solid; does a challenge get bigger than that? This year I do not face such a challenge, I am back to just my normal job and a bit of Blogmas on the side.
What is Blogmas?
Blogmas is basically an advent calendar of blog posts. There is a new post everyday and it is typically a bit of a mystery to your reader, like an advent. I find reading other bloggers Blogmas gets me excited for the overall event. For 25 days (including Christmas day) I write a blog post either about Christmas or about how the year is coming to an end. Blogmas creates a good time for reflection and celebration. Plus it gives me a good excuse to take the final week of the year off from blogging.
Why am I Doing Blogmas for a Second Year?
Good question, after last year I'm not sure why because it wasn't easy. It took up basically the only free time I had and I did not see an incredible growth in views, in fact I think it is too much content for such a busy time of year. Most people simply do not have the time to look at it but I just loved doing it. Christmas is my favourite time of year and I do want to mark the occasion on my blog, one post doesn't seem enough. I feel like Blogmas is a true celebration!
Even though Blogmas was hard to keep up with and at times I just wanted to give up, I am still so proud that I managed to get it all done. The feeling alone from completing a Blogmas is worth doing it again. Plus I do not worry about views or such, I reached my only target for the year back in July so anything on top of that is a bonus. I just love writing and really that is why I am doing Blogmas again.
What Did I Learn From Doing Blogmas Last Year?
In previous years I have thought about doing Blogmas but it only ever dawned on me during November which is way too late to even consider trying to tackle that amount of work. I now know that Blogmas is all about prep. For the most part I had finished and edited most of my blog posts before December started, so all I had to do each day was give them a quick read over, link my previous post and schedule them. I actually start working on content from August onwards. It starts off slow because I have to admit I'm not in the festive mood in August but it definitely picks up in November which is when I try to get most of my Blogmas work done.
When I am working on Blogmas, I find it is incredibly important to keep all of my ideas organised and to keep a record of how I am getting on. I create a table with each day listed so I have an idea of: how many ideas I have, whether there is enough for almost a months worth of content. I also have an idea of the days I am missing content and also how much I have written. At times it can feel like you are getting no where with all the work but it is great for motivation to be able to see how much you have actually done. I also use the schedule to make sure I have the start of the month completed so I wouldn't start out in a blind panic of a lack of content.
Coming up with blog content is hard normally but when you are writing to a schedule and around a specific topic, it is even more difficult. When I first sat down last year I had no idea what to write about so I had a look at what some other bloggers were writing about and a lot of people include Blogmas idea posts in their Blogmas. They are handy for giving you ideas, you probably didn't even consider.
The most important thing I learnt last year is not to expect a massive growth in traffic and do not put too much pressure on yourself, it is supposed to be a fun challenge around the holiday season. At the end of the day if a blog post isn't ready, it isn't ready. If you were thinking about doing Blogmas but you're not prepared, I've got to say, you might be too late on this one. However, to everyone else who is attempting it, I say good luck and enjoy it! Blogmas is not easy and I have mad respect for anyone wanting to give themselves the challenge.
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