Sign-Up For the Blogging From A-Z Challenge, April 2013

READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE SIGNING UP.  THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES MADE DUE TO YOUR FEEDBACK FROM LAST YEAR AND YOU HAVE ONE SHOT TO FOLLOW THE NEW DIRECTIONS.  THE LIST WILL SIMPLY BE TOO LONG FOR US TO FIX THE MISTAKES THAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON'T READ ABOUT THE CODES.  DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?  SORRY FOR SHOUTING, JUST IT'S BEEN A ZOO...AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO MISS OUT.

Are you a blogger? Do you want to build your blog audience, find new blogs to follow? This opportunity is your best chance!

Today we begin the sign-ups for the Blogging From A-Z  Challenge April 2013!

As a quick summary in case you've been offline for four years... this challenge was started by Arlee Bird of Tossing it Out. He was celebrating a milestone on his blog, and thought that this challenge might be a fun way to do so. This is the fourth year, and the hundred or so participant list from 2010 grows by leaps and bound each year. Last year over 1700 participated!


Rules are simple. On April 1^st, post about something that starts with the letter A. On the 2^nd, something on B, and so on. You get Sundays off^t. Whatever style blog you have, this is a challenge you can do! Some freestyle it (like I did my first year) some go with a theme (a lot of folks did that, and I tried that last year - much easier, so I'm theme-ing it again this year). Whatever your style, you'll fit in fine. So sign-up on the linky below, grab the badge from my side-bar, check out the other co-hosts and follow them (also in sidebar) and start planning! April will be here before you know it!

One more thing, don't freak out about having to visit everyone. All we ask is that you visit five new blogs a day, starting with the one after yours on the list. Five! That's totally doable, and by the end of the month, you'll have met at least 150 new blogs!  Of course, the more you visit, the more traffic you'll get, so challenge yourself.  Set a goal of what you can reasonably do and then go for it!

I'm not going to go into more details here, because The Challenge has its own blog chock-full of info. Lots of tabs. Answers to all your questions. It's HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you follow Blogging From A-Z Challenge April 2013! and read all the posts. Following by email is a sure way not to miss a thing!

Between now and April we will have tips and hints, introductions to your co-hosts, and lots of other good stuff to get you ready for the marathon in April! 

Due to feed back from previous years' participants, this year you have the OPTION of adding a category to your blog from the following list.  LET ME STRESS OPTION.  For example, I'm a writer, but I don't write about writing, I just write.  At Life is Good you'll find poems, embarrassing stories, Swedish lessons (that was last year's challenge), memoirs, fiction, fictional poetry..it's me practicing writing.  You never know what you're going to get...

That's also how I like to approach visiting new blogs.  Where in the world will I land?  However, that's me, not you.  This challenge is all about you doing your thing on your blog.  we offer guidelines.  The only hard and fast rule is that if your blog contains adult content code (AC) then you are REQUIRED to categorize yourself as such.

IF you're going to pick a category, choose wisely.  Once it's up there, there's no changing it.  Put it in CAPITAL LETTERS, IN PARENTHESES just like in this list. Or go nude, like a good Swede.  No category.  See who shows up...

1. WRITING :(WR)
2. BOOKS:(BO)
3. FILM :(FM)
4. PHOTOGRAPHY:(PH)
5. GARDENING:(GR)
6. CRAFT:(CR)
7. ART:(AR)
8. MUSIC:(MU)
9. CULINARY :(CU)

10. LIFESTYLE:(LI)
11. FASHION:(FA)

12. PERSONAL:(PR)
13. SOCIAL MEDIA:(SO)
14. GAMING:(GA)
15. EDUCATION :(ED)
16. POLITICS:(PO)
17. HISTORY:(HI)

18. SCIENCE :(SC)

19. HUMOR:(HU)

20. TRAVEL:(TR)
21. MISCELLANEOUS: (MI)

22. ADULT CONTENT:(AC)

So without further ado, I give you the sign-up list!  wHICH IS NOW FOUND UNDER THE TAB ABOVE LABELED AS SUCH.