Sep 1, 2014 / Blogging U.

Blogging 101 and Writing 101 are Back!

Create your dream blog, or establish a writing habit. The party starts Monday, September 15.

Getting your new blog off the ground, or ready to jump-start a flagging site? It’s your lucky day! Registration is now open for the next rounds of Blogging 101 and Writing 101 — they start on Monday, September 15.

Note: These are the same challenges we ran earlier in the year, offered again so new bloggers can give them a try. For those looking for something new, more 201-level writing and blogging challenges are coming over the next few months.

Blogging 101: Zero to Hero

My blog has gone from being dull and plain to having widgets and all this shmancy tech stuff, and from having almost no followers to having a loyal following now!
— MicroGalactic

Blogging 101 is a month of bite-size blogging assignments that take you from “Blog?” to “Blog!” At the end of the month, you’ll have a blog you’re proud and excited to publish — and that others are excited to read. Here’s how it works:

  • Assignments fall into three broad categories — publishing posts, customizing your blog, and engaging with the community — and are designed to build on one another.
  • We’ll post a new assignment here on The Daily Post each weekday at 12AM GMT. Each assignment will contain all the inspiration and instructions you need to complete it. Weekends are free time (but we’ll suggest some ways you might want to spend it).
  • Participants will have a private community site, the Commons, for chatting, connecting, and seeking feedback and support. Daily Post staff and Happiness Engineers will be on hand to answer your questions and offer guidance and resources.

On Day 30, you’ll have six (or more!) published posts and a handful of drafts, a customized theme that reflects your personality, a small but growing audience, a good grasp of blogging etiquette — and a bunch of new online friends.

Writing 101: Build a Blogging Habit

Writing 101 is a write-every-day challenge designed to help you create a writing habit, publish posts that mesh with your blog’s focus, and push you as a writer. Here’s how it works:

I haven’t written this much in quite a while, nor had as much fun. The assignments are challenging and interesting.
— Meredith’s Musings

  • Each assignment has two parts: a Prompt and a Twist. Prompts are the topic for the day; twists are exercises that stretch your writing chops. Use them however you’d like: respond to the prompt, and ignore the twist. Try the twist, but write on your own topic. Use both.
  • We’ll post a new writing assignment here on The Daily Post each weekday at 12AM GMT. There are no weekend assignments — you’re free to expand on a weekday post, write something unrelated, or (gasp!) spend some time away from your blog.
  • Participants will have a private community site, the Commons, for chatting, connecting, and seeking feedback and support. Daily Post staff and Happiness Engineers will be on hand in the comments to answer your questions and offer guidance and resources.

Publish what you write if you’d like, or just use the assignments as private writing practice. Either way, the regular writing and community feedback will get you in the habit of writing and help you hone your voice.

Registration

Blogging 101 and Writing 101 both kick off on Monday, September 15. (And if you want to do both but are worried about keeping up with two challenges, don’t worry — they’ll both be offered again. We highly recommend one at a time.) Fill out this quick form to register:

Thanks for your interest! Registration is now closed, but both challenges will be back again later this fall.

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  1. The problem some people may be encountering when getting the untrusted site is trying to register with the survey link without going to the original page. You have to go to the actual website first and then register. I hope someone didn’t already say this. Sorry if it’s redundant. Always thankful for WordPress courses. They are fun and you meet so many cool people:-)

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  2. Again the problem is going to the Take the survey link on the window that comes up to view the blog post. You have to go to the original blog post to register. At least that was my experience.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You’d have to submit the form twice to register for both, although we’d recommend trying one at a time — you can always give the other one a go in the future, they’ll both be offered again.

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  14. I’m a newbie to blogging and would love to do this but can’t even figure out how to register. I clicked on the survey link but it gave me a certificate error?

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  17. Even though I’ve been going through the Writing 101 prompts on my own, I’m going to formally sign up for the class so others can push me to keep writing (and so I actually continue with the prompts). I look forward to being part of the little community the class will start.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. im planing to write my blog in spanish and bilingual maybe in the future. Can i participate in writing 101 if my blog is in spanish?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Just use the form embedded right in this post. Alternatively, change the “https” in the link to “http” — your browser is getting tripped up on the s.

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  25. I don’t seem to find the registration form… How do I register for both classes? Am. Photographer based in Nigeria and would really like to get a handle on blogging. I’d really appreciate the help I’m sure to get here. Thanks

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    1. The form is embedded right in the post you just commented on — just scroll down.

      If you want to register for both, you’ll need to fill the form out twice, but we highly recommend sticking with one. Perhaps try Blogging 101 to get a handle on blogging, and then take one of the photo challenges we’ll be doing later in the fall.

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  26. I think I’ve already register for Writing 101, but I didn’t get “welcome e-mail”. Is there something wrong?

    Um, can I register for Blogging 101 too?

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    1. Nope, there are no automatic welcome emails when you register. You’ll get a welcome with detailed instructions closer to the start day.

      You should be able to fill out the form again to register for Blogging 101, but we really recommend sticking with one. Both challenges will happen again, so you can always try the one you missed later.

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  27. Blogging 101…Yes please! I’ve had my blog for a month and there is a lot that I still dont know how to do. So looking foward to this 🙂

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    1. If you want both, you need to register twice — the form will only let you choose one. But we highly recommend sticking with one; doing them at the same time is a recipe for overwhelm.

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