As the year comes to a close, it’s hard to not take a look back at what we’ve accomplished, individually and collectively, in the past twelve months. The internet and online communities are a constantly changing source of inspiration: Occupy Wall Street caused a 217% increase in mobile sharing; GigaOM recently published an article on how eReaders and self-publishing are changing the landscape of journalism; and WordPress even covered some of the top news stories that were written up by the amazing bloggers on WordPress.com.

As the writing, social media, and blogging landscape changes, I’m sure your methods and goals for blogging have changed as well. The Daily Post started with the idea of helping bloggers to post daily or weekly and get past any hurdles that may prevent you from hitting “Publish.”

When you do something once a day, or once a week, your skills improve dramatically. I recently came across this Kickstarter project from a fellow who started making an illustration a day and is now on his 1000th drawing. What new skills have you developed as a Daily Post participant?

Next year, inviting contributors to post on your blog or conducting an interview with a fellow blogger, local entrepreneur, or even a friend with a neat project is a great way to bring new audiences to your blog. You may also consider publishing some of your blog posts as a book. (Don’t forget, you’re in great company!) There’s lots of new themes available in our Theme Showcase, how about a fresh look for you blog to get you excited for the new year?

Another fun way to take a look at your growth this year is to post a recap. There are plenty of articles on the end of the year blog posts. Some of my favorites are writing about your best posts of 2011, which posts you feel didn’t get enough appreciation, and what you learned in the past year.

I’d love to hear in the comments what might have prevented you from blogging as often as you could have or any tips you’re looking forward to learning for next year. That’s what we’re here to help with!

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  3. In 2011 I began linking my posts to Facebook and to a local online magazine. The Facebook links have made me pay much closer attention to my lead paragraph. The little bit that shows up on the link had better get their attention if I want people to bother to click on the link.

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  5. I joined the challenge to blog once a day and mostly met the goal. I counted up and I was just 13 blogs short. It emphasized to me the slip of one day a month. I thought about doubling up to catch up, but I truly have tried to make each blog meaningful and decided against it. I will accept the challenge in 2012 and this time not fall short. The daily blogging, meanwhile, has improved my writing and let me find a voice. For this I am thankful.

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  7. I took the challenge and then started school full-time, which hindered my regular postings. I noticed that when I posted regularly my readership increased, and when I dropped off I’d have to start winning back those readers all over again. I want to try again this year…is there another challenge in the wind?
    And, what really impressed me was the daily reminders I received from WordPress – always thought provoking. A feat in and of itself!

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  13. The number one hurdle in me being able to blog as often as I’d like is my job, ugh! At times (too many times), it is an all- consuming pit that sucks up my time, energy, and inspiration to write. That being said, I am going to try and think of ways to move past that feeling so that I can blog at least twice a week (starting off with a small goal at first). It would be great if you could suggest time management tricks and tips for blog writing, along with anything that can aid in zapping the negative energy that is sucking at ones creativity.

    I’m hoping that I will be able to get a different job in the year to come, or get some writing work that will help ease the pain of being where I am currently at. Until then, any advice/suggestions to blog more will be appreciated 🙂

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  14. So far so good. We’re closing in on year end and I have posted every day. It hasn’t been easy. At times I had to write a few posts ahead and set them to post because I knew I’d be out of town and in an area where there was no internet accessl,..yes, such places still exist!

    Then my brother got sick and I spent the better part of two months helping take care of him until his passing which also made it hard to write but I made a commitment so I pushed through it.

    I thank you for the push. I found it extremely difficult to post every day but I also found it extremely rewarding and realized I can accomplish a lot more than I thought possible. I have now posted over 700 posts in less than 2 years!

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  15. I didn’t blog once a day or even once a week. I found I was distracted by trying to write in multiple places, and actually wound up not writing as much as I had hoped. I also became rather distracted with life;perhaps, even a little overwhelmed. Sometimes writing is cathartic for me; at other times, writing exposes the mirrors I am reluctant to look at. I am hopeful the next year will be more fruitful — in terms of writing and in terms of looking at the things that make me nervous, uncertain, and scared. I am also hopeful that I will grow as a person and writer. I am definitely going to take up the challenge again in 2012. I think it’s important, and your post reminded me that 1)sometimes and perhaps often nearly always it is the journey that teaches us the most, and 2) successful failures teach me to continue pursuing dreams and creating my reality.

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  17. I like this blogging world because it has a depth to it that other social media lacks. So I guess I am curious as to why posting once a day or even three times per week is a goal that is encouraged. I love to read blogs and I’m finding the posts worth reading are the posts worth waiting for. I’m not sure how many blogs I am following at this point, but my inbox fills up each day. Like anything in life if I stay on top of it I’m fine, but miss one day, say Christmas, and I am faced with a sorting delemma.

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    1. Interesting point – posting every day is an excellent way to get more practice, but you want to make sure your posts have quality. It can certainly be a balancing act.

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  18. I’m working on time management to become my best friend.

    When I first started my blog in 2009, the aim was to post twice a week, but that fell off pretty quickly when work and other issues got in the way. This postaweek challenge has enabled me to be (a bit) more disciplined. Next year, I aim to do better and find time to better promote my blog to gain more readers and commentators. In fact it’s more important for me to have something/someone to respond to than thousands of (only) silent readers. The daily post suggestions and articles about better writing have been very encouraging. Thanks, WordPress!

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  19. I started my blog 01/01/11 so I definitely plan some sort of ‘year in review’. My original goal was Post A Day but that didn’t really work with my blog’s theme/intent so I switched to Post A Week. I’ve also been participating in the Weekly Photo Challenges. I’ve been tossing around some thoughts on changes for next year (next week!!!) but haven’t made any final decisions. Interesting post, thanks 🙂

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  20. My blogging buddies and readers are my main source of inspiration. Without the postchallenges I may not have met them. They are all such a blessing and positive part of my life. 🙂
    The postaweek challenge and the photochallenge has helped me to keep my blog active even during times that I didn’t have anything to really blog about. I plan to continue to blog once a week and hope that you will continue to have the postaweek and photochallenge to help give us goals to reach for.
    Thanks WordPress, it’s been a great year. 🙂

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  21. Some negative comments were hard to accept, but it has learned me that not everyone thinks the same as I do.
    I love that I have discoverd lots of new blogs and made even some ‘friends’. Also receiving some review stuff is really nice and knowing that you can publish your own writing is great too.
    I just want to know what I have to do with negative comments. Do I have to delete them or just wait until there come more of them? It’s a difficult topic to me.

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    1. Negative comments can be tough, but should hopefully spark an interesting debate. If they’re not productive, it’s your blog and you’re in control of what content appears on it 🙂

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  22. I began posting almost daily in Sept. of 2010, but continued anyway, once the challenge arrived. I always was almost daily, largely because I live where Internet service is sketchy. I have found the intent of my blog to have changed over time. and am beginning a new site to take the overflow of ideas that are not on theme.
    One other factor is my obtaining a freelance writing position for a newpaper. To help me organize my articles, I have begun yet another site which will be a list of them in chronological order. Plan to surprise my boss with that, soon!
    I must say that several friends who found me from other blog services have switched to WordPress after seeing how mine looked and worked!

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  23. I have continued posting 2-3 times per week, the same as before the postaday/postaweek challenge. I am thinking of posting less frequently, only because of time constraints, but am hesitant to cut back because I don’t want to dissapoint my loyal followers. I’m also interested though in writing a novel, and would have more time to devote to writing for which I might actually get paid, if I post less frequently.

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  24. Hi. Are we doing post a day/week in 2012??? I found out about it too late last year and if we are doing it this year I would be ecstatic to participate!
    Thank you! —Tomte

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  25. I found a platform where one could everyday without fail able to express it’s feelings and thought—— though I joined late but no regrets after getting the positive response, will try my best to pour my feelings through the tool of words. Thanks for sharing your blog with us where we are able to globaly interconnected. Do carry on with “Daily Post”.

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  27. If one has done it for years and has experienced going down with platforms like “Yahoo 360” or “Live Spaces”, and after so many years WordPress isn’t still able to offer a bug-free platform for bloggers, simply because Microsoft owned WordPress-Open Source doesn’t fit well with Microsoft-products like IE9 – isn’t this a little bit frustrating? All that daily effort going with the wind?

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  28. My aim for 2012 is to get back to reading the blogs I follow regularly. This last month I have got terribly behind and I do enjoy reading everyone so much.

    My other aim is to finish our book: on that note I invite everyone to pop over and give me feedback on The Book category. You don’t have to like our book, but writing style feedback is greatly appreciated!

    I will keep writing much as I have done this past year. I almost made a post a day and I made more than 365, just some days have more than one and others have less. Some of this was caused by the legal battle we were fighting, so I excuse myself for those days.

    Erica – lovely to actually see you in person, so to speak – I’ve now connected the dots between your picture above and your support emails! 🙂

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    1. You too! I just noticed your picture and thought, “I recognize that person!” Congratulations on so much progress on your blog – more than 365 posts is quite a feat 🙂

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  30. I began blogging around mid-March, this year, talking about the wonders of the street carnival in Brazil. No expectations, just sharing experiences with family and friends back in the US. Didn’t take long to get spotted by PopPressed and Ecopressed… really cool! A few months later, I noticed the number of followers was always increasing (never going down, amazing!), being FP by mid-June did help with the traffic and building a strong network, and before I knew, I’d surpassed the 100-WP followers mark! Now, the travel/family/photoblog has been featured by a couple different social networks (moms, travelers, parenting, TCKs…), and, within less than 10 months of blogging, I’ll be crossing the 250th post off my list! The continuous inspiration from WP, especially, from the Weekly Photo Challenge, plays a huge part of my improvement as a blogger! From a part-time worker, mom of 3 (all 6 and under), researcher and wife, finding time to share our life experiences and impressions with other readers is definitely a pleasure and an honor! I’m grateful for all the fantastic bloggers, photographers, travelers, expats and readers I’ve ‘met’ over here… Their comments, suggestions, questions, keep me going… they keep me writing… “if you write it, they will come…” Thanks for the opportunity & greetings from sunny Recife, Brazil! http://3rdculturechildren.com

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