Bloggiesta 2015 - Wrap Up Post #Bloggiesta

 

Well Bloggiesta 2015 is over for another and whilst I didn't get everything on my to do list done, I did still have a productive bloggiesta and learned a couple things along the way. 

1. Write 3 - 5 reviews
   
   I didn't get as much reading done over the weekend as I hopped so I only wrote 2 reviews.  However that did put me up to date with my review writing so I was happy about that  :-)
   
2. Post 3 Reviews
   
   Again I didn't do much reading but I did manage to post 2 reviews and again am currently as up to date as I can be.
   
   Review 1: Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru by Tera Lyn Childs
   
   Review 2: Ash & Bramble by Sara Prineas
   
3. Post Blitz post
   
   This one I completed with a release week Blitz post and a chapter reveal
   
4. Schedule 2-3 weeks of Meme posts
   
   Alas I did not get even one of these scheduled :-(
   
5. Oganise my reading schedule for the October and November 
   
   This was a complete success with my review schedule now set out till mid November, complete (I hope) with time to read other stuff as well :-)
   
6. Prepare blogging schedule outline for October and November
   Nope - Not even started unfortunately but having my review schedule done will certainly help in getting this organised
   
7. Participate in 2-3 mini challenges
   This I managed, participating in:
   
   How to Build an Email List from Ashley at Nose Graze - getting more familiar  with my feedburner mailing list
   
   Clean Up Your Email from Aloi at Guiltless Reading - managing to get to inbox zero from 23000 emails
   
   
   How to Use Tweetdeck to Organize Twitter from Shannon at River City Reading   - This was the first one I did and I am so glad I did.  Finding using TweetDeck so much better than the regular twitter :-)
   
8. Participate in 1 twitter chat
   
   Very pleased to say that I made two full chats and the tail end of a third.  Much better than previous Bloggiestas :-)
   
9. Post a give away hop post
   
   This can be found here
   
   
   
   
10. Visit 10-20 blogs and comment on them
    
    This one I failed miserably at :-(
    
11. Follow at least 5-10 more blogs and 5-10 more bloggers on twitter, instagram and Goodreads
    I made a start on this one but not as good as I would like
    

What wasn't on my original list but I ended up doing was something I had been looking at doing for a while but it nearly led to disaster.

 

I decided to change my layout and in the process manage to lose EVERY SINGLE gadget from both my previous side bars.  I nearly had a heart attack.

 

In the end though it proved a blessing in disguise.  I now have only one side bar and as I have had to redesign it from scratch, not only have I learnt something but it is now much less cluttered and I have a few more ideas to add.

 

I have had fun this Bloggiesta, gotten to meet some new people and definitely think my blog is all the better for it.

 

Looking forward to Bloggiesta in 2016!

 

 



Bloggiesta 2015 - Sign Up Post and To Do List

It's been a couple years since I last participated in Bloggiesta  as I have a really bad habit of finding out about it usually after it has already started.  So this year it was great to find out about it early so I could participate from the beginning.  I have just been a bit disorganised about organising my sign up post. This is part of the reason why I need to participate in Bloggiesta in the first place :-P

So in August I decided its time to take my blog to the next level which means committing to more reading and reviews, more blog posts and getting more involved in the blogging community.  So in September I have been attempting to become more organised with my reading/reviewing /posting schedule.  Which makes it the perfect time for Bloggiesta.

Below I have put together just a few of the things I would like to accomplish during this years Bloggiesta

1. Write 3 - 5 reviews - Wrote 2
2. Post 3 reviews
   - Posted 2
   
3. Post 2 blitz posts - completed
4. Schedule 2-3 weeks of meme posts
5. Organise my reading schedule for the October and November - completed
6. Prepare blogging schedule outline for October and November
7. Participate in 2-3 mini challenges
   - half completed
   
8. Participate in 1 twitter chat - managed 2!! :-)
9. Post a give away hop post - completed
10. Visit 10-20 blogs and comment on them
11. Follow at least 5-10 more blogs and 5-10 more bloggers on twitter, instagram and Goodreads

The scary part is I could probably add more to that list but I will hold off for now and see how I go. 

Are you participating in Bloggiesta 2015?



Bloggiesta Sign Up Post - My To Do List

So I have decided to sign up for this weekend's Mini Bloggiesta event as I had already nominated January as my clean up and improve my blog month.  There are many things on to do list for improving my blog this month and below you will find just a few that I would like to work on during this event:

• Work Through the days of Parajunkees 31 days to Better Blogging and post on my progress
• Update my calendar of schedule posts, book release dates and all other important blogging dates I know so far
• Create a review policy page and a contact me page
• Write at least 2 reviews and read at least 2 books
• Participate in at least 2 mini challenges
• Update my layout

So those are the main things that come to mind to work on over this mini Bloggiest weekend however what I love about doing Bloggiesta is the opportunity to find new things that can be done to make our blogs better.

Have you signed up for Mini Bloggiesta?

Day 10: Email Signatures - 31 Days of better Blogging Challenge from Parajunkee.com

Your Task Today:

Your task today is to revamp your email signature.

So given I work in an administration role in real life where I am constantly on email and it is important to have a professional looking signature, this is one particular task that wasn't too hard. That being said, while I know to have a professional looking signature when I send an email, I have always just adjusted it as I sent the email depending on who I was emailing.

So today's task has given me good reason to finally make an actual saved default signature in Gmail that will now automatically be put on all emails I send. Unfortunately however I have not quite worked out how to save multiple signatures so I may still have to adjust every now and then depending on who I am sending to.

I would welcome any suiggestions or tips on how I can set up multiple signatures in Gmail

Do you have a default signature on your emails and for your blog emails?

Want to join the challenge? Check out Parajunkee's View for all 31 days of this challenge :-)

Setting my 2015 Blogging Goals & 31 ways to Better Blogging 2015

Welcome to 2015 on Realm of the Sapphired Dragon.  After a fairly inconsistent last 12 months, both in reading and blogging, I am back and ready to focus on building this blog over the next 12 months to make it bigger and better as well as getting my reading mojo back.

So I have set myself a few blogging goals (so far) for this year:

• Focus more on reading both for review and for pleasure and better balance between the two.  Last year between work and looking after my two year old, I found myself struggling to get any quality reading time and feeling guilty when i read for pleasure as I had a number of review books to get through.  This year I hope to plan my time better so as to be able to read review books and also read according to mood in between them when they don't necessarily correlate.

• More organised with regards to blog posts. Last year I tended to leave posts to the last minute so there were weeks where even simple meme posts did not go up as I left it too late.  My aim this year is to plan out at least a week or two in advance and take advantage of the scheduler in Blogger so as to be able to post more consistently

• Try and be involved in at least one blog tour every couple of months.  Depending on how this goes, I may up it to at least one per month.

• Get more involved (re-involved) in the Blogging Community.  Again, due to real life taking over, I have found myself not as involved in the blogging community as I had been previously.  I plan do this by participating in challenges on other blogs as well as  frequently visiting, reading and commenting at other Blogs.

In an effort to start 2015 on the right foot, I have decided to participate in Parajunkee's 31 Days to Better Blogging 2015

The aim of this challenge is to help develop and improve our blogs overall which in turn could potentially increase traffic, keep that traffic as followers or at least frequent visitors  as well as making us (hopefully) more organised bloggers.  While I am a little late to the party given it is already 3rd January, I plan to start tomorrow, 4th January but will definitely tackle days 1,2 & 3 sometime before the end of the month.

Each Day is as follows and I will try and post a short post each day updating my progress with each daily task:

Day 1: Let’s Get Commenting

Day 2: Time for Spring Cleaning

Day 3: About Me Refresher

Day 4: Top Commentators

Day 5: Friendly Feedback

Day 6: Planning Ahead

Day 7: Highlight Your Popular Posts

Day 8: Recycle Your Posts

Day 9: Social Media Checks & Balances

Day 10: Email Signatures

Day 11: Forums & Such

Day 12: Menu Systems

Day 13: New To Your Blogs

Day 14: Your Competitors

Day 15: Idea Journal

Day 16: The Buddy List

Day 17: Gals & Missions

Day 18: Social Network…Go!

Day 19: Change it up

Day 20: Reader Survey

Day 21: Blogger Love Note

Day 22: Check under the SEO Hood

Day 23: Pros & Cons of Blogging

Day 24: The Big Interview

Day 25: Blog Schedule

Day 26: Share a bit…

Day 27: Target Audience

Day 28: Contact Info

Day 29: User Friendly

Day 30: Brainstorm Time

Day 31: Put your blog to the test.

What are your reading and blogging goals for 2015?  Don't forget to comments and let me know and have a great 2015!