TAKE THE #BLOGCHALLENGEDONE CHALLENGE! EASY WAY TO SUPPORT YOUR FAVOURITE BLOGGERS WRITING EFFORTS

#BLOGCHALLENGEDONE....what the heck is that? Before I explain, I would like to give you some of insight into my reasoning for starting this challenge. 

Ask any blogger why they started blogging and I think most will tell you they started a blog to write. It may have started as a journal, or to educate and inform, and for others to share something they are passionate about like travel, or food. The focus might be different, but the motivation is generally the same, they blog to write. 

I think the majority of bloggers will also tell you that writing, and researching, and maintaining a blog takes time, a lot of time. As the saying goes time is money, and if you are spending hours of your day writing, then you are probably not making money from it. So in order to continue to be able to write, and finance this time, many need to "monetise" their blog. It may be by brand ambassadorships, giveaways, product reviews, ads, or hosting twitter parties. This is a compromise of sorts, meaning no matter the way you monetise a blog, it generally means at least some of the focus will move from the writing to the monetising efforts. Sometimes the very necessary process of making an income, and supporting the blog crowds the posts that motivated one to start the blog in the first place. 

Hey, no judgement here, it is a necessary evil, and the events, twitter parties, conferences, and giveaways can be a lot of fun. I'm just saying it would be nice if readers read and commented on the posts that are personal, and meaningful, and reveal to the reader something about the blogger as well. Won't it be great if people commented not because it was a requirement for an entry into a contest, but because they enjoyed the post and they want to acknowledge the time and effort required to write and publish a regular stream of posts. 

So in that spirit I have started something I am calling BlogChallengeDone. The challenge is to read and comment on at least one NON-GIVEAWAY blog post everyday. Ideally from a blog you haven't visited in a while, and then tweet the link of the post, tagging the blogger, using the hashtag 

#BLOGCHALLENGEDONE.

EG: 

"I just read a fantastic post by @cantoncathy about travel  http://cathythinkingoutloud.blogspot.ca/2014/01/travel-tips-tidbits-tuesday-post-1.html?spref=tw #blogchallengedone "

I hope you will join in this daily challenge to support the writing efforts of bloggers, and in return I hope someone else will take the time to read and comment on yours. I ask that if someone shares your post in the #blogchallengedone hashtag, don't just say thanks, return the favour. Pay it forward and read, comment, and share someone else's post. Maybe we can get a movement going.

HAPPY BLOGGING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about blogging.