Showing posts with label 2021 reading challenge. Show all posts

2021 Challenges: September Update

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

September was another busy. Both of my kids went back to school after the long 3 month summer break. It's always a bit of a struggle to get back into routine after so long. I am not liking my 7am wake up call every morning that's for sure! Been testing how many times I can hit snooze before it means we're in panic mode to get us out the door on time 🤦

September was also my birthday month. I am now 41 years young. Unfortunately my health problems continue to cause trouble... including on my birthday. I just can't catch a break.

I do have good news to share though. I hit a new PB for views to this site. In September I had 47,138 views 🥳🥳🥳 My previous PB was set in July this year when I hit 44,880. I am so happy with the growth of this site over this year and feel motivated to keep improving it. Thank you to all of you that read my posts here 💖 Please leave a comment with any suggestions of topics you'd like me to cover.

The Blog Audit Challenge 2021

The September Challenges were focused on readability.

I already do all the things listed in the tasks for September but I am going through older posts to make sure they are optimised for readability too.

The Social Media Audit Challenge

For this challenge I'm concentrating on social media. The September focus was on YouTube.

My YouTube channel is already set up with my branding and this year I have been getting into the habit of scheduling my videos in advance to make sure they publish every Tuesday.

I also already embed my videos in my blog posts. What I have been working on most is sharing my videos on my social media platforms. I've not been great about doing this in the past but I've been improving over this last month and have seen a small increase in subscribers to my channel.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

The Clock Reading Challenge

I created the Clock Reading Challenge as I thought it would be fun and not too difficult to complete.

Books read this month:

7- Sword of the Seven Sins by Emily Colin - Amazon - Goodreads

The A to Z Reading Challenge

Next up is the A to Z Reading Challenge.

Books read this month:

I- In Between by Jenny B. Jones - Amazon - Goodreads

Net Galley TBR Reading Challenge

This is a new reading challenge I'm introducing with the goal to read as many books from my Net Galley TBR as possible by the end of this year. I will be ticking the books as I read them.

Currently reading:

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood (page 168/275)

Love Life by Nancy Peach (33%)

You might also like: Ways To Book Blog Without Breaking Your Bank

How did you do with your September Challenges? Are you taking part in the Blog Audit Challenge or the Social Media Audit Challenge this year? Have you read any of these books? Join the conversation in the comments section.

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2021 Challenges: February Update

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

February was a shorter month and a bit slower than January. I'm still quite happy with my progress with my various challenges though.

The Blog Audit Challenge 2021

The February Challenges were focused on the legal aspects of blogging.

1. Check for disclosure statements on your blog posts

I've been going through my older posts and making sure they have my disclosure statement including in them. I wish I'd been better at doing this in the past. Time consuming updating them all but needed.

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

2. Create/Update your Disclaimer page

3. Create/Update your Privacy Policy page

4. Create/Update your Terms and Conditions page

I personally have one page for all of the legal disclaimers for this site so I only have one page to update. I've been making a few small tweaks here and there to make sure it's current.

The Social Media Audit Challenge

For this challenge I'm concentrating on social media. The February focus was on cleaning up our online presence.

Task 1: Make a list of all your online accounts. Delete any social media profiles you no longer use.

Guys and girls, I still had a MySpace account 🤯

I remember back when social media was just starting to take off and new sites were popping up all over the place. Of course, I thought I had to sign up for them all 🤦

Task 2: Visit each of your remaining social media profiles and try to look at them as an outsider would. Is your brand clear? What vibe are you sending out? Is your account verified? What do you think could be improved? Is your information up to date?

For the most part my branding is consistent across all my social media channels. All sites are verified/claimed.

Twitter - This is where I'm most active. I'm on here most days.

Facebook - I've not always been consistent posting to my page in the past but I'm trying to be better. I've started scheduling more posts to make sure I have regular content posted to my page.

YouTube - I'm trying to post new video content on a more regular basis. My goal is to have a new video uploaded to the channel every Tuesday. I'm also adding more diversity to my videos (in recent years I've only really been posting my book reviews) to be more in keeping with my overall brand. This means I'll be doing more videos with content related to books and blogging on the channel.

Pinterest - I love this site! I'm on here most days too. I've recently been trying to create several alternative pins for each of my blog posts and been experimenting with video and gifs too. I definitely want to improve on here.

Instagram - I've not been very good at uploading regular content here but I want to improve and becoming a more active member of the Bookstagram community again.

LinkedIn - I added an on-brand banner to my profile (something I'd somehow skipped doing in the past) and updated my profile photo. I plan to post content here on a more regular basis from now on.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

The Clock Reading Challenge

I created the Clock Reading Challenge as I thought it would be fun and not too difficult to complete.

Still nicely on track for this challenge.

The Clock Reading Challenge February Update

Books read this month:

2- Between Two Thieves

The A to Z Reading Challenge

Next up is the A to Z Reading Challenge.

A slower month this time round but still made progress and ticked off another couple of letters.

A to Z Reading Challenge 2021 Feb Update

Books read this month:

Q- Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin - My Review- Amazon- Goodreads

B- Between Two Thieves by Solomon Carter - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

You might also like: Exploring Audiobooks: Where To Find Free Audiobooks

How did you do with your February Challenges? Are you taking part in the Blog Audit Challenge or the Social Media Audit Challenge this year? Have you read any of these books? Join the conversation in the comments section.

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This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

2021 Challenges: January Update

The first month of 2021 is already behind us which means it's time to check in with my progress report for January.

Before I jump into my progress with the various challenges I'm doing I have some awesome news to share with you all though...

This website came in 5th place in the category Best Review Site in the Critters Annual Readers Poll 2020! I'm honoured and truly appreciate each and every one of you that voted for me 💓

And now on to the challenges...

The Blog Audit Challenge 2021

I decided to host the Blog Audit Challenge again this year after the success of last years event and the requests I got asking for it to be repeated.

You ask, I deliver! 💪😉

The January Challenges were focused on the competition and what sets us apart.

1. What is your Unique Selling Point?

Unique Selling Point (USP) is basically the reason why people should spend time on your blog. In my case, I aim to offer my readers valuable, useful information in an easy to follow format and to serve as a point of inspiration to help motivate others to try new ideas.

What sets me apart from the rest is probably one of the hardest questions to answer for most people. Maybe the fact that I'm constantly coming up with new ideas? I have way to many ideas! or maybe my unstoppable need to learn more and then share it with others?

I'd like to think my personality comes across in the blog posts I do. Whether it's in informational posts, collaborations, or book reviews.

2. Check out the competition

This part of the challenge offered a great opportunity to surf the net and spend hours scrolling through blog posts without feeling guilty about wasting time.

There are so many seriously awesome blogs out there!

3. Do a SWOT analysis of your blog

Strengths - I've been blogging for a long time and so have a good idea about how to blog. I know that my informational posts go down well, and that my opinions are valued by my readers. All this means I have a clear idea of the sort of content I should be putting on my blog.

Weaknesses - Whilst traffic to my blog isn't bad, I do still need to work more on engagement. I visit lots of blogs where the comment section of the posts is a real community event and that's what I want to happen on my own blog.

Opportunities - I'm really pleased with the opportunities available to me and my blog. I'm blessed to be able to work with excellent bloggers, publishers, authors, etc...

Threats - Time, or to be more precise, lack of time is a real threat to my blog. I have so many ideas for things I want to do, posts I want to write, collaborations with others... and no where near enough time to do it all.

The Social Media Audit Challenge

This year I decided to add yet another challenge, this time concentrating on social media.

The main task for January was to pick 3 people I follow on social media and to analyse what it is about their content that makes me want to follow their posts.

The one thing they all had in common was that they post photos of themselves. They offer a glimpse into their lives. I think this plays a huge role in making them "more human" and real. You get the feeling you know them.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

The Clock Reading Challenge

I created the Clock Reading Challenge as I thought it would be fun and not too difficult to complete.

I'm off to a good start having read a book for the number one and therefore adding my first book to my clock.

Books read this month:

1- One Tequila by Tricia O'Malley - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

The Clock Reading Challenge January Progress

The A to Z Reading Challenge

Next up is the A to Z Reading Challenge.

I'm off to a great start with this challenge too and have already ticked off several letters.

Books read this month:

A- A Secondhand Lie by Pamela Crane - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

O- One Tequila by Tricia O'Malley - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

Y- You Saw Too Much by Adam Nicholls and Jay Nadal - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

K- Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

S- Shopaholic on Honeymoon by Sophie Kinsella - My Review- Amazon - Goodreads

You might also like: Exploring Audiobooks: Where To Find Free Audiobooks

How did you do with your January Challenges? Are you taking part in the Blog Audit Challenge or the Social Media Audit Challenge this year? Have you read any of these books? Join the conversation in the comments section.

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My 2021 Reading Challenges

Challenges to help motivate my reading in 2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning, I get a commission if you purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Read the full disclosure here.

I find that taking part in challenges helps keep me inspired and motivated. In fact, I take part in a lot of challenges throughout the year. For example, I'm doing a different fitness challenge for each month of the year during 2021 (January is the squats challenge).

Challenges help keep me focused and so I always try to take part in at least a couple reading challenges throughout the year too.

For 2021 I've picked two reading challenges to participate in.

The Clock Reading Challenge

Hosted by me! #ClockReadingChallenge

Info Link: https://www.jolinsdell.com/2021/01/the-clock-reading-challenge.html

I've decided to create my own reading challenge this year just for fun. The goal is to read 12 books, each with a number from 1 to 12 in the title.

I got the inspiration from this Pin I saw on Pinterest:

The A to Z Reading Challenge

Hosted by Bookstacks n Golden Moms

Info Link: https://bookstacksngoldenmoms.com/2021-atoz-reading-challenge/

I've tried doing this reading challenge multiple times over the years and although I've come close several times I've yet to complete the challenge in full. I also want to get better about my participation in the challenge (not just the reading goals). This year I'm going to try and remember to upload my links to the monthly check ins and maybe try to conquer the mini challenges too.

Last year I tracked my progress with a list of the titles I read, up dating it on the graphic each month. This year I'm doing the same thing but instead of writing out the titles and author names I thought I'd post the book covers over the letters.

Maybe if I only have space for one book cover per letter I won't end up reading multiple books for the same letter like I have in the past... at least not until I have a book for all the letters. Worth a try. Also I think the collection of book covers will look much cooler ;)

If you're still looking for reading challenges to fit into your goals for 2021 I suggest checking out this awesome 2021 master list of reading challenges by GirlXOXO

2021 Reading Challenges: Challenges to help motivate my reading in 2021

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas for Book Bloggers

What reading challenges are you planning on participating in this year?

The Clock Reading Challenge

Making time to read more

I've decided to create my own reading challenge this year just for fun.

The goal: to read 12 books, each with a number from 1 to 12 in the title.

That's just one book for each month of the year so if you're looking for an easy reading challenge this is one for you!

The officially hashtag for the event: #ClockReadingChallenge

Where the idea came from: I got the inspiration from this Pin I saw on Pinterest:

Keeping track of your progress: I've created this graphic so you can fill in your clock with the book covers of the books you read. Hopefully at the end of the year your clock will be complete.