Bloggiesta Goals and Updates

For more information, check out Bloggiesta

So this is my VERY first time participating in Bloggiesta. I am looking forward to it as I am in the process of redesigning my blog at the moment so I see this as a way to help me to continue moving forward with it.

To Do List:

1) Catch up on the reviews I have pending 
2) Work on the Index Pages I keep putting off to help add organization to my blog
3) Continue to develop my thoughts on features I have in the works (this is something that will be brainstorm on paper/Evernote more so than physical changes to my blog. Does that count??

4) HOPEFULLY participate in the Twitter chat

5) Visit my fellow participants

6) Take a look at the mini-challenges and participate in the one or two of the ones that work for where I am at this point in time

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Since I am late in the game signing up, I am going to use this as my tracking post as well. :-)

Progress:

Saturday's Progress

• I participated in Amanda's mini challenge--see below
• I joined in on the Twitter Chat and had a lot of fun! I also got a lot great tips and met some great new bloggers :-D
• I have visited 10 new bloggers today to cheer them on and see what their blogs are about
• I cleaned my desk--was not on my original list but it was much needed. I had a hectic week at work and my desk was a disaster after it. It was way too distracting to be productive
• I wrote two reviews.

Sunday's Progress

• Working on reviews (rough drafts being written out at least)
• Reading Challenge update posts scheduled (2 done thus far)
• interacted with fellow participants--> love doing this
• took a bit of a break to doing some reading
• worked on some menu updates (still have some more changes pending)
• Indexes--biggest undertaking that is STILL in progress
• Downloaded Pocket--loving it thus far!! I already use Evernote and combined with Pocket, I feel even more inspired and organized. :-D

Overall Thoughts:

Since this was my FIRST Bloggiesta event, I was not sure what to expect going into to it. I am pretty pleased with what I was able to accomplish over the two days. I still have things left I want to do and I still want to get more reviews written, but I will get caught up. :-)

I know one thing is for certain--this definitely will NOT be the last time I participate in a Bloggiesta event. If you have never participated in one of these events, I highly encourage you to visit Bloggiesta to see if you can make one work within your schedule.


Mini Challenge #1: Amanda at On a Book Bender

Her challenge is having us consider our blog branding. There are questions for us to ponder, broken up into sections. 


Name:

Question 1: How well does your blog name reflect what your blog is about?

My blog name is Love. Life. Read. For me, it does reflect what my blog is about because to me, reading is a fundamental part of my life. It is a HUGE part of my life both in my occupation (I am a librarian) as well as my home life. Reading has always served as a way to escape from life, to learn, to connect with others and more. So for me, my blog is about loving life through reading--Love. Life. Read.

Question 2: Create a tagline.

I do have a tagline: Enjoying Life One Book at a Time

Question 3: Look at the name you use to leave comments. Change it to reflect your brand.

I adjusted my profile name to say Stephanie @ Love. Life. Read instead of having my blog name in parenthesis. Subtle change, but I feel it has a bit more ownership to it. 


Appearance:

Question 1: Do you have the same picture on your social networks and blog?

I did not but now I do. I tweeted Amanda to ask about placement and she quickly responded to my questions. Thanks Amanda! 


Question 2: Is the picture of you or an avatar?

The picture is of me. :-) I hate getting my picture taken but it is what it is. 


Personality:

Question 1: What do people expect from YOUR blog? (If you don’t know, write what you WANT to be known for.)

I hope people will get to know me for my reviews, my Let's Talk About It posts (I have a lot of these in the works), my bibliographies (again in the works) and author interviews. 


Self Promotion:

Question 1: Look at  your Twitter timeline. What percentage is self-promotion versus interaction posts?

Probably 35% was self-promotion at the time I was looking (Saturday night, late)


Question 2: Write a tweet self-promoting your latest post.

Love stories with intrigue? What about Magic? Then I bet you will love @HeidiRKling Spellspinners series --> http://bit.ly/19UTSRR