Frequently Asked Questions

-1. What is National Blog Posting Month?

Essentially, it's a group of people who have committed to updating their blogs once a day for an entire month.

0. But why is it called National Blog Posting Month if it happens every month?

The whole thing started off as a goof based on National Novel Writing Month, the challenge of which is to try to write an entire novel during the month November. Not everyone can commit to an endeavor of such magnitude, though, and so National Blog Posting Month was born. However, after doing a November NaBlo for a couple of years in a row it seemed that a lot of people had found their momentum and wanted to keep going into December and beyond. So now NaBloPoMo is something you can drop into any month of the year, though November is still the biggest month, and is the only month when members donate prizes that are then given out randomly to other members who posted every day in November.

1. Great! I'm now an official member of NaBloPoMo. Do I have to post here on the NaBloPoMo site every day, or on my own blog?

Most people prefer to post on their own blogs but if you don't have a blog of your own yet you should feel free to do all your posting here on NaBlo.

2. How do I get on the blogroll?

Members will see a "Submit Link" sub-tab under the Blogrolls tab. Click on it and follow the instructions. The blogroll is updated daily until around the 5th of every month, at which point I sort of stop bothering since I figure most people who have committed to daily blogging for that month will have signed up by then.

4. How do I win a prize?

November is the big free-for-all giveaway month, with prizes donated by NaBlo members and awarded to randomly-chosen bloggers who have managed to post every single day that month. Click the Prizes tab to see what's been offered in past years!

5. How do I donate a prize?

Send me an e-mail with a description of the prize you want to donate and a link to a photo of it, if possible. If it seems to be something that would appeal to a fair amount of people, I'll put it on the list along with your name or pseudonym and blog URL. (Complete instructions can be found by clicking on the "Prize Guidelines" sub-tab under the Prizes tab.)

6. Do I have to use the monthly theme to get on the blogroll?

The monthly theme is totally optional, it's for people looking for a little more structure for their posting. Sometimes limits free us to think in new ways. You will always find the monthly theme near the top of the left column of the main NaBlo page.

7. The Flash badge provided by the Ning network doesn't work on my blog. Do you have any HTML badges I can use?

YES. Click on the "HTML Badges" tab and you'll find some there, with instructions on how to install one onto your blog.

8. It's called "National" Blog Posting Month, does that mean I have to be in the United States to participate?

Heck no! We're a global community that has joined together for the camaraderie that only comes from endurance blogging.

9. My cat died/my boyfriend asked me to marry him/I just spent the night in the hospital and I missed posting for a couple of days. Can I just post a little extra this month to make up for the missing days so I can still be eligible for the prize drawing?

First of all, I'm so sorry/congratulations/I hope you get well soon. Secondly, no. If I let you skip a couple of days then I'd have to let everybody post whenever they felt like it, and that would defeat the whole purpose of NaBlo which is to get you to sit down and write something every day. If there's one thing I've learned from all this it's to post as early in the day as you can. You'll catch more readers that way (most blog reading gets done at lunchtime), and you won't have to worry about posting something lame after work when you're tired, or accidentally forgetting to post at all.

10. My blog is not public, only people I've given permission to can read it. Can I still be on the blogroll? Can I still win a prize in November?

You can totally have a private blog and still be on the blogroll and be eligible for a prize. If I end up choosing you at the end of November I will send you an e-mail to ask if I can have permission to check and see if you posted every day during the month; when I'm done you can revoke that permission and enjoy your privacy knowing that I would never abuse the privilege of having briefly been granted access to your online thoughts.

11. I live in Spain/New Zealand/on a distant planet with really good WiFi -- do my posts have to conform to a U.S. time zone to be considered "official" each day, or do I just post according to my local calendar and time zone?

Post according to your own time zone. Most blogging platforms will give each of your posts a unique timestamp that you can set to reflect your local date and time, so just keep it set like that.

12. I just found out about NaBlo and it's after the first of the month. Is it too late to join and be on the blogroll?

Not at all! You can join at any time and submit your link when the blogroll is open (see question #2, above). The only month where starting late might matter is November, when you won't be eligible for the random prize drawing if you haven't posted every day from the 1st to the 30th. But there's always next year.

13. How do I get my updated blog posts to appear on the main page?

You have to cut and paste your blog posts from your outside blog into your profile page here on the network to get them to appear on our main page. Go to your profile page and scroll down and look for the link that says "add a blog post." You can paste in your latest post from your outside blog and it will show up on the main page of the network until it gets bumped down by newer posts from other people.

14. Okay, I added a blog post, but then I got a message that it was "Awaiting Approval." What gives?

All blog posts are monitored simply so that spammers can't come in and post a bunch of Viagra ads (or worse) to the main page. It's my goal to approve posts as quickly as possible, but if you post overnight you will have to wait until morning until you see your post on the main page.

Other questions? Suggestions? E-mail them to nablopomo@gmail.com.