Crabbysbeach

The thirty day blog posting challenge is over, and I completed it. Thirty straight days of publishing in one blog  and the only badge, trophy, plaque, or ribbon I’ll get is the one that matters most. Proof.

Proof that I actually can stick something out to the end. Did I say the end?

Yes.

But, not the end of me posting forever. No way Jose. I’ll still be writing like a mad man, just not writing like a lunatic.

Because, in the last thirty days I published at least 50 posts, wrote and published a free report, created a newsletter, handled any number of requests, built four lenses, wrote a gazillion comments, help drink 3 gallons of tequila.

The beneficiaries of the challenge are the blogger and the blog.

The blogger begins a habit that is hard to break if they make it to thirty day mark. Not only is there the habit, but the author also learns the environment in which they post. There is also the added plus of getting their voice out there.

I think mine is getting hoarse.

The blog gets all the bennies of fresh content posted every day. We all know what Google thinks of fresh relevant content.

I want to express my thanks to everyone who watched to see if I would make it 30 days. And a special thanks to that kind soul who kicked me awake in time to write post 24.

You know who you are.

A very special thank you goes out to post number 29. Post 29, if it hadn’t been for you, I would never have seen 30.

I DID IT!

Day 30.

This is post number 29 in the 30 day challenge,

The post that no one will remember.

This is the transitional post.

Much like March in southwestern Ohio,

This is the post I’ll look past trying to see  April.

The slop of a late hard Winter coming to an end.

This is post 29.

28 posts saw me to March first,

But March 2nd will be full of accolades,

Even if March first had more to say.

Like the mud of early Spring,

Post 29 will be washed away.

Will I miss the lonely post 29?

A helluva lot less than I welcome Post 30.

Day 29

Just to let you all know that Kim and I are still working out details for the boostore and have a rough outline as to the look and operation of the store.

We have a template picked out and a plug-in installed that works well with the template. The plug-in is an e-commerce plug-in and we thought this would be great for those of us who wanted to sell our own ebooks.

Here is a rough outline for the operation.

• Amazon books and ebooks only to start with
• Categories will be general with possible sub-categories in the future
• The store will be set-up as an attachment to a group
• Every one who joins the group will be auto assigned as “Author” at the store
• Each book will have its own post
• There is a single Amazon product link widget style that we will use
• There will be a FaceBook Fan Page
• There will be a Twitter account
• I have three book review lenses that I will dedicate to promoting the bookstore
• I will handle general SEO set-up
• It will be up to the individual to promote their book recommendations

Please, if there are any suggestions, get them in quick. The Sun and Sand Season is nearly here and we want everyone to take advantage of that.

It is entirely possible that the store could be fully operational by one week from today, February 28th, 2010.

Day 28

I swear, just when I think everything is going great…it gets better.

Squidoo Music, the hot blog sitting over there sportin’ the Ray-Bans has a new partner, and this came about because of the British Invasion.

I noticed that all week, someone named Kelly had been visiting the blog and commenting. Then I get an e-mail from Bambi that said she was contacted by Kelly from Naxos of America. They want to work with us on different promotions as well.

Who is Naxos? Nobody really. Well nearly nobody. They just happen to be that world’s leading Classical Music label. That’s all.

Apparently the offer more than Classical, because Kelly was so impressed that she is allowing us to give away a new CD box set called, The British Invasion. And there will be more goodies in the future.

Look for a contest announcement on Sunday the 28th.

Hats off to the hardworking and dedicated team over at the Squid Music blog.  You are a shining example of what can be done. I realize that the blog now has 9 writers producing content everyday, and your success is accelerated for this, but you provide an inspiration to all of us.

Good luck to all of those who enter the contest. The Box set is a handsome looking piece.

Day 27

Today is another big day at Crabbysbeach as we welcome Squidoo Lensmaster a_willow and her Fresh Squid blog.

I’d venture to guess that over half of us at the Beach have been touched by Michelle in one way or another. I know I have been and continue to be moved by her tireless dedication to the quality of content produced at Squidoo.

There was a time that before my screen would refresh after first publish, Michelle was standing there, arms folded and foot tapping, pointing out my typos. And English is her SECOND language. Read the rest of this entry »