What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate?
About oh, nine years ago-ish (in 2012), I started #MondayBlogs. I wanted an obvious way for bloggers (any blogger, any subject except porn because yuck) to connect on a specific day of the week to share our blog posts. It’s grown exponentially more than even I had ever hoped (ten to fifteen thousand tweeps participate weekly, generating over 20,000 tweets!).
People send me messages and tweets about how it has helped their blog writing, traffic, and even social media followings. Others say, not so much. They don’t feel enough people RT them and feel slighted.
Let’s deconstruct.
BASICS
What IS #MondayBlogs? I created this hashtag (and Twitter handle @MondayBlogs) to hopefully be obvious that it’s about BLOGS on MONDAYS. Most people get it. Some don’t. They see the hashtag and add it to:
- Porn pictures
- Pictures of office equipment, cats, or a bowl of soup. Often all at once.
- Statements about how Mondays suck.
The majority of tweeps, however, DO understand that it’s for sharing blogs on Mondays, as I intended and for that I’m grateful. There are really only a few basic rules:
- Use the hashtag #MondayBlogs in your tweets IF you’re sharing a blog post and if it’s on a Monday
- Share ANY post except book promotion!
- You don’t have to write a post specifically for Mondays (and you can post any day you want — just don’t use the hashtag except on Mondays); then you can share it on Mondays with the hashtag.
For example, you can write a post on Wednesday and still share it for #MondayBlogs, on Mondays. If you share it on Wednesday, don’t use the #MondayBlogs hashtag because it’s Wednesday. #doh
- Generously retweet others throughout the day. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
- We love books as much as the next person, but not for #MondayBlogs. Use a different hashtag.
And that’s it.
HOW TO TWEET
For the folks who seem to do the best (get the most RTs), I find a theme: they have learned the art of creating intriguing headlines. This is a blogging basic that honestly, some folks never really get. I recommend using the free CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to ensure awesome headlines!
They also generously RT others, read and comment on others’ blogs. A great blog post headline should ask a question, provide tips, create interest, be hilarious. The headlines that tend to not garner as many RTs (and this is based solely on my completely unscientific observations):
- Have ‘I’ in them. People read to see WIIFM (what’s in it for me), so shift your paradigm. Instead, add ‘you’ to the headline.
- Say ‘My new poem about my dog.’ I’m sorry, but unless you’re some famous rock star or celeb with a cute purse dog, does anyone really care? (and I write poetry, so I get it. Not about my dog, though. I don’t have one).
- Repeated rants, particularly about politics or religion (unless, as I say in a RachelintheOC.com post, your book or job is specifically related to those topics).
- ‘Here’s my latest blog post’ is always a big snore. Learn how to write GREAT headlines here.
- BUY MY BOOK! is a big no-no and we will call you out. Those are the rules. Don’t like it? Don’t participate.
Let’s talk about what TO do to get more RTs. Here’s an example of one of my most popular tweets:
How to Create Pre-Launch Buzz for Your Book Right Now by @BadRedheadMedia https://buff.ly/2Dhf9EO #Writers #Writing#BookMarketing #Books #MondayBlogs
It has several key components:
- The hashtag. On a Monday (I say this repeatedly because people tweet with the hashtag any ole day of the week and I can’t possibly keep up with that. The reason Monday is in the hashtag is obvious. My only real concession is that I do start RTing late Sunday nights on the @MondayBlogs stream because it’s already tomorrow in Oz and Europe)
- A title that creates interest and is branded (The bossy redhead is telling you what to do)
- A shortened link (if you don’t know what that means, look it up)
- Hashtags that are quite specific. This helps any kind of writer (and that’s my demographic) know that this post is for them.
- It’s not ME or I focused.
- It’s short, 280 characters or less, meaning easy to RT without any editing at all.
- It’s not about book promotion.
Anyone can write a great headline, and do all the things I mention above. This isn’t tricky or secret. Check your headlines here with this free headline analyzer!
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Anyone who has a blog, a vlog, companies sharing tips, journalists, and publications, poets, whomever! As long as you’re not sharing nakey pictures, anything unlawful, or hate speech, we will retweet you.
Yes, book reviews are FINE as long as you’re a book reviewer or blogger or reviewing someone else’s book. If you’re sharing a fabulous book review of your own book, that’s a no-no (Why? it’s self-promotion. Sorries.)
Once again, if you tweet about your book promotion, we will not retweet you and will ask you to remove your tweet.
CONNECT
Why bother? It’s a great way to grow and connect with READERS, other authors, and bloggers!
I follow every single person who used the hashtag properly (I’ll not be following the porn people) and you can do the same. This is a wonderful way to connect with other writers and bloggers, as well as grow your following in an organic way. As authors, our focus should be on readers, but because this is a blog meme, the focus is on connecting with other bloggers.
I’ve met so many incredible folks these past few years of #MondayBlogs, and I can’t tell you how many new followers and readers I’ve gained because of it. More importantly, I’m reading some incredible writing and that’s always inspiring for my own work. Like anything on Twitter, I find it takes some time for people to notice your presence and RT you.
I cannot promise others will RT you, but I do my best to keep up and RT as many as I can throughout the day, skirting around the Twitter limits by RTing from several different accounts. Shhhhh.
KARMA
Like I tell my kids, you get what you give and you give what you get. Twitter is an interesting social media channel — it grows and changes daily based on current events. What does this mean? Some posts will resonate, others won’t. Don’t take it personally — just try again another week. At the very worst, you’ll have created a blogging schedule for yourself and met some cool peeps, right?
Good luck, and if you have any questions or suggestions, I’d love to hear them! If you have tried it and don’t feel it’s worth the effort, no hurt feelings here. My advice (on anything social media-related) is always this: don’t go in expecting anything. Give and you will receive…eventually.
#MondayBlogs is a great way to plan your blog posts, be consistent, connect with readers and other bloggers, and develop relationships. Let us know what you think!!
For a more detailed plan on developing your book marketing, purchase Rachel’s new book,
The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge now on Amazon!
Readers’ Favorite Silver Award Winner!
The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge — award-winning guide, available now!
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Really useful tips and comments, I intend to start regularly using Monday blogs in the New Year and hope that it will help to connect with more people in my particular sector. Many thanks for sharing!
It definitely will. Please do join us.
Post any day as you normally would — just share on Mondays using the hashtag.
thanks so much!
Hi Rachel,
I have nominated you for the Sunshine Award and part of the rules are to leave a comment on your blog letting you know. I think people can benefit so much by reading your blog this year and participating in #MondayBlogs. Thank-you.
http://www.gagasgarden.com/2014/01/sunshine-award/
Happy New Year to you and your family,
Susan Fox
thanks so much, Susan! Most appreciated 🙂
This is great! I put it on my calendar so I’ll be automatically reminded to post and RT others’ posts every Monday. I’ve been looking for some new people to follow on Twitter to diversify my stream, so this will be great. Thank you!
Wonderful! Please do join us — any Monday. thanks Jenni 🙂
Love this!! The next two weeks I’m swamped with other commitments, but I bookmarked to come back to in a few weeks. What a great idea!
Have a wonderful new year!
Trisha Faye
terrific — it’s a wonderful way to connect with bloggers of all kinds. I hope you can join us 🙂
Great idea and good advice. The wonderful Amy Good just introduced me to #Mondayblogs and I hope to participate in the next round.
Hi Rachel, love that idea of the Monday blogs. Mondays are like the most unlikely day for me to take care of my blog. I hope at least to repost 1 link or photo per Monday using the hash… thank for the idea… Happy new year!
Thanks so much! I hope you join us.
You can post any day you’d like — just share on Twitter on Mondays with the #MondayBlogs hashtag. Make sense? You can also schedule in #Mondayblogs tweets using Hootsuite or some other scheduling app.
Hope that helps 🙂
[…] What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate? […]
Glad I saw your tweet with the breakdown of #MondayBlogs! I’m in. 🙂
I think #Monday Blogs is fantastic. You’ve done a great thing. I also posted early by two hours Sunday night, but it was almost midnight. I love reading the blogs before I re-tweet them. I am gaining new blogs to read plus new information. It’s not necessarily about my blog, although it does seem to be helping. I just thought you should know I appreciate it. Also the second specific hash tag is a great idea. So thanks again. 🙂
Thanks so much, Crystal! I’m so glad you’re loving it.
I sort of fell into starting to RT on Sunday night because I realized that hey, time zones! It’s already tomorrow in Australia and I don’t want them to feel left out, right? lol. I’m happy to do it. I love the community and if it helps writers write more, I’ll be thrilled.
Thanks once again Rachel, every time I come back I take away a little more!
Hi there!
Traffic on my site it insane this morning! Thank you!!
excellent! I’m so excited — it’s fun to take an idea and see the results. Thanks SO much for sharing that, Lori!
[…] when They Who Shall Not Be Named (now blocked and reported) decided to claim that they created #MondayBlogs. Was I offended? No, I was furious. Sometimes it’s worth standing up for our intellectual […]
[…] when They Who Shall Not Be Named (now blocked and reported) decided to claim that they created #MondayBlogs. Was I offended? No, I was furious. Sometimes it’s worth standing up for our intellectual […]
[…] Facebook, G+, and LinkedIn have the most groups, I’ve found), blogging (participate in #MondayBlogs — share ANY post, retweet others. On Mondays.), guest blogging, interviews. None of this […]
Awesome idea and tips! Can’t wait for tomorrow to arrive to try it out for the first time.
Jessica
Visions of Other Worlds
great idea, I’m in! I love twitter and I love blogging, it’s like a yummy oreo cookie now…!
I’ll give it a bash, might be tricky on the ‘not about me’ and ‘not a rant’ though….as that’s my blog’s theme lol
[…] What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate? […]
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I am looking forward to joining up on #mondayblogs Thanks for the opportunity to help share. I write a daily blog and have been doing it for a year and a half now. It is always great to find new ways to share.
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This is a wonderful idea! Looking forward to participating for the first time next week and sharing some great articles with my readership!
[…] you are not aware of #MondayBlogs on Twitter you can read “What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate?” from badredhead media. It’s a great way to follow your favorite bloggers and meet new […]
Rachel: I was turned on to your #MondayBlogs this past weekend by a fellow blogger, who, incidentally, retweeted my blog post yesterday using the hashtag. After reading through her blog post yesterday at http://carrotranch.com/ I was drawn to review this post.
I appreciate your wisdom and most certainly plan on participating on future Mondays. I actively write three different blogs in three different themes (as time allows between all my paying free-lance gigs as a web media specialist). My travel blog, Less Beaten Paths (http://lessbeatenpaths.com) is picking up momentum in recent months and much of that is a result of the same process you note in this post.
Thanks for creating a real forum for us writer/photographer wannabes! Looking forward to participating and finding more fascinating blogs to read!
Cheers
David “Sumoflam” Kravetz
Lexington, KY
Glad to see Charli’s tweet about Monday Blogs and have cooked up something to link up with #MondayBlogs
Glad to have some fun 🙂
thank you Charli from Carrot Ranch Communications
xoxo
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The Snap of Fall Means NaNoWriMo! wp.me/p4jsV-qH @coolvstar650 #ArtKNB #pencape #NaNoWriMo2014 #MondayBlogs
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Thanks for this post, it really helped me get an idea for what I want to do with my blog. I wanted to share a lot with the world and because I’m new, I had NO idea how. Now I have an idea, inspiration and wise words to go by. Thank you so much 🙂
I only just learned about #MondayBlogs and am having such an adventure discovering new blogs this morning 😀
Thanks for creating this hashtag!
[…] “What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate?” […]
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[…] Monday’s I participate in the Twitter meme known as #MondayBlogs. It’s had a positive impact on growing my social media and spreading coverage of the stories […]
[…] “What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate?” […]
[…] also to those intrepid creators of hashtag days like #SundayBlogShare (@Suzie81blog), #MondayBlogs (Rachael Thompson, or @RachelintheOC), #wwwblogs (Barbara @chicaderock @womenwriterblog), and […]
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[…] “What Is #MondayBlogs and Why Should Bloggers Participate?” […]
[…] There are a few more rules that I’ve linked to here. Don’t worry, it’s all very simple. […]
[…] result. By scheduling a blog post to appear each Monday (at eight hourly intervals), and using the #MondayBlogs hashtag in the promotion, once again I received many re-tweets and my visitor numbers again shot up. […]
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Hi – I just discovered this on Twitter seeing the #MondayBlogs and want to participate. Thank you for the tips. Just one question – does the blog post have to be done on Monday or can #MondayBlogs be used for a previous post? I write book reviews and just did one on Saturday. Can I use this for that post or wait for another one to post on a Monday? Same question for my writing blog – I just write what’s on my mind about sports. I wrote an essay tonight, but have held off on posting until I hear about this. If only Monday posts can be used, then I will wait to post on Monday. I hope this all makes sense! I look forward to participating here.
Hi Lance — post any day of the week, simply share on Mondays using the hashtag. Hope that helps!
Thanks Rachel! Just tweeted both of my posts with this hashtag! It worked! 🙂 Looking forward to doing this on many more Mondays!
[…] in action on social media, but the way W was dancing, I didn’t get the chance. In particular, #MondayBlogs, #wwwblogs and #LinkYourLife are all Twitter events I try to keep up with, but they will be there […]
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Wow, I’m so glad I’ve come across this post. On a sunday night! I will definitely be using the hashtag (properly). Thanks for the great tips on how to write a good retweetable tweet!
Hi Rachel- Just heard about your #MondayBlogs project through @JanetBarclay, who hosts a wonderful community for bloggers to share posts, blogger advice and more. I’m intrigued by the clarity and energy with your idea and will definitely be joining the fun. I’m a professional organizer, author and blogger…writing about organizing and life balance. I’m looking forward to getting to know the #MondayBlogs bloggers and sharing their fabulous posts. Thank you for the opportunity.
wonderful! looking forward to seeing you there 🙂
[…] What is #MondayBlogs? It’s a meme developed by a friend of mine, Rachel Thompson about six years ago in an effort to build blog readership. Learn more here. […]
[…] What is #MondayBlogs? It’s a meme developed by a friend of mine, Rachel Thompson about six years ago in an effort to build blog readership. Learn more here. […]
[…] What is #MondayBlogs? It’s a meme developed by a friend of mine, Rachel Thompson about six years ago in an effort to build blog readership. Learn more here. […]
[…] What is #MondayBlogs? It’s a meme developed by a friend of mine, Rachel Thompson about six years ago in an effort to build blog readership. Learn more here. […]
[…] What is #MondayBlogs? It’s a meme developed by a friend of mine, Rachel Thompson about six years ago in an effort to build blog readership. Learn more here. […]
[…] #MondayBlogs – this hashtag (written as I have typed it) is used on a Monday only to publicise your blog posts. The idea is you use the hashtag and then retweet other people who have done the same. To view those posts simply put #MondayBlogs in the search box and it will bring up everything for that Monday, latest post first. This is a great way to share, find new followers and find new people to follow. This hashtag can not be used for advertising products, selling books or anything else like that and is PURELY for articles of interest. Click the above link to find out more […]
[…] an advocate for sexual abuse survivors, Rachel is the creator and founder of the hashtag phenomenon #MondayBlogs and the live weekly Twitter chats, #SexAbuseChat, co-hosted with certified therapist/survivor, […]
Thank you for doing this!
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Your posts have been so helpful and instructive. Thanks so much!
Hi, Kathy! Thanks so much for visiting me and the wonderful feedback. Happy to help.
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[…] 18) #MondayBlogs […]
Hi Rachel, I’m glad Colleen reblog your post. I learn something new today. It’s Tuesday already, so I’ll keep in mind to tag #MondayBlogs next Monday. I bookmark your site.
Hi Miriam! So glad Colleen shared and you found out about #MondayBlogs! Please do make it a habit. You’ll see a lot of traffic the more you participate and share. x
Thanks for this in depth post about #MondayBlogs. It sounds like a great way for bloggers to network and I would love to participate, but I am a book blogger. Do book reviews and things like top five lists fall under ‘book promotion’ in this case?
HI Salem – sorry just getting to this now. Book reviews are fine as long as it’s not you sharing your own book reviews; that would fall into self-promotion/book promotion. Hope that clears it up!
This is great, Rachel, thanks!
Many thanks for this, Rachel, and for the associated links. I’ll be doing my best to join in this from today.