Four Things I've Learned from the Blogathon

Blogathon, day 29. 

Tomorrow will be my last post before my blog goes on hiatus for the month of July, and I have to say I'm ready for it. I've learned a few things from the blogathon, including: 

1. I’m glad I took on the challenge because I’m a believer in trying new things and stretching yourself. I would have never blogged for 30 days straight had I not publicly committed to. 

2. That being said, I hate blogging every day. Every morning I woke up, thinking, "crap, I have to blog today." I'd much rather blog once a week, on Mondays, the way I have for several years (with an occasional mid-week post thrown in here and there). 

3. Blogging does not sell books. At least not mine, and that was my primary purpose in doing the blogathon. Yes, I've been averaging more than 200+ hits/day on the blog. But my book sales have been lower in June than in March, April, or May--months when I blogged four times/month. Significantly lower, in fact. Why? First, I figure that many of my readers already have my books. (Yay! And thank you!) And I theorize that readers (at least some) are willing to read a blog for free--yet unwilling to shell out money for a book on the same topic I blog about. And by blogging so much, I think I'm devaluing my books, and what they offer, which makes for fewer sales, not more. Not good. 

4. Blogging every day takes too much time. It took time away from pitching ideas and working on assignments--and it took time away from my family, too. It made me run late almost every morning as I tried to get it done before my day started in earnest, and stressed me out almost every day.  

So while I'm glad I did it, I will not be doing it again in the near future. I will, however, be offering a one-day only special offer tomorrow to celebrate the end of the blogathon. Make sure you tune in! 

**What books am I talking about? 

Well, there's Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, a freelancing classic that helps both new and experienced writers boost their bottom line. 

If you're a new freelancer, get up to speed fast with Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, which is aimed at brand-new freelancers in search of their first clips.

And if you want to add ghostwriting to your repertoire, you'll want Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, which shows how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field--even if you haven't ghostwritten before.