What Did I Learn During April A-Z?

Kaupō Beach Park, O'ahu, Hawai'i (February 2017)

April A-Z 2019 is finally over and it's time to do a review. I have to admit I am somewhat disappointed by this year's A-Z. I had a lot of fun editing throwback images, but I do wonder how much my lack of enthusiasm played into the results I saw on my blog. Normally, in April, I see a lot of growth, but that didn't really happen this year. I'm a bit at a loss of what to do differently next year? Do you have any thoughts?

My favorite pictures from this year:
1. V: Venice, Italy
2. F: Paris, France
3. K: Key West, FL
4. A: Asheville, NC
5. W: Washington DC

Posts that Received the Most Visits?
1. A: Asheville, NC
2. B: Big Sur, CA
3. C: Montréal, Canada
4. E: Porto Venere, Italy
5. D: Potomac Tidal Basin in Washington DC

Posts that Received the Most Comments?
1. A: Asheville, NC - 6 comments
2. C: Montréal, Canada - 6 comments
3. B: Big Sur, CA - 5 comments
4. K: Key West, FL - 5 comments
5. O: O'ahu, Hawai'i - 5 comments

What went well?
1. Commenting on 300+ blogs!
2. Getting 26 pictures edited for the challenge.
3. Truly thinking about travel – why I do what I do, how it has affected me, what I will do differently in the future, what you all should be aware of.
4. Because Google+ is no more, it was easier to share my blog posts on social networks.
5. Blogging ahead.

What went badly?
1. Blog numbers went down.
2. I managed to kill analytics halfway through the challenge. 😔
3. Realizing Bloglovin was blocking views from my blog. 😳
4. Google+ is no more.
5. Gif images show up blurry on twitter.

What can I do next year to improve?
1. Actually write a travel story. Prepare multiple images for each post. Write about topics that interest my blog readers.
2. Sign up for the challenge earlier.
3. Start preparing in January, if not earlier.
4. Use SEO properly.
5. ??

If I were in charge of A-Z, here's what I would do differently…
1. Use a website for people to sign up and list their blogs, like you did two years ago, in 2017.
2. Alternatively, everyone could sign up with their email and the google doc with the list of participating bloggers could go out after the deadline has passed. So, maybe email everyone the complete list one day after the deadline.
3. If people participated the year before, drop by and write a note on their blog that sign-ups have begun for April A-Z.
4. Create awards for A-Z. People could come by the A-Z website and vote on their favorite posts during the A-Z review. This will encourage bloggers to keep participating during the duration of A-Z as well as encouraging well-thought-out posts.
5. Maybe create a link-up each day on the A-Z homepage?

A • B • C • D • E • F • G • H • I • J • K • L • M • N• O • P • Q • R • S • T • U • V • W • X • Y • Z

So, dear friends, are you happy that April A-Z has come to an end? If you participated, share your review post with me in the comments below! If you didn't, would you consider participating in the future?