Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

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Introducing the League of Extraordinary Bloggers!

League of Extraordinary Bloggers logoI connect with a ton of great people on Twitter, Facebook, and here on Cool & Collected, and many of these fine folks run blogs and web sites of their own. I thought it would be great if we all got together and helped each other out… I present you with “League of Extraordinary Bloggers” [working title.]

Here’s how it will work…

Each Monday, I will announce a different topic here on Cool & Collected. For example, let’s say the first week’s topic will be the character of Snake Eyes from the G.I. Joe franchise.

Any blogger who wants to contribute to the weekly topic would write up an article about the specified topic (Snake Eyes) and post it on their site by the following Sunday. Once the article is posted, send me an email or DM with the link.

On Monday, I will put up a post of my own about the weekly topic (Snake Eyes) on Cool & Collected, and at the bottom of the post, I will write a sentence or two for each participating blog, pointing readers to those sites. At this point, I will also announce the topic for the next week.

Every blog that contributes to the weekly topic, should add their own excerpts and links to some or all of the other contributing sites, using Cool & Collected’s list as a guide. This is optional, but the more that people do this, the more traffic will be generated for all of us. (You can not simply copy and paste someone else’s list because that could adversely affect your, and their Google rank.)

Sample blog ideas

Whether you’re a writer, illustrator, photographer, you could approach the topic in any number of ways, such as:

  • Memories about the character
  • Action figure review
  • Character history/bio
  • Comic book or movie appearances
  • Fan fiction
  • Original photos or illustrations
  • Podcast
  • Etc.

Benefits to your site:

1. You will gain an increase in traffic. Once you write up your post, I will add a link to it here on Cool & Collected, and then other contributing sites will add links to it as well.

2. You will gain new readers. When you increase your blog’s traffic, you will also introduce new people to your site. If you are posting informative blogs consistently and your visitors see this, they will find reason to keep coming back.

3. You will gain new links back to your blog. These links will increase your ability to get traffic, not only from the participating blogs but also from the rest of the internet as well, thanks to the search engines.

4. Fresh ideas! Sometimes as a blogger, it’s difficult to come up with an idea of what to write about. By participating in the League of Extraordinary Bloggers you would get a new idea to consider each week, and will hopefully see an increase in your traffic due to the increase of inbound links you will receive.

So, who’s with me?

A blog post can be a well-researched thesis or it can be a snapshot taken with Instagram. I’d love to see a bunch of you contribute to this project and soon enough, we will surely rule the world! So, who’s with me? Add a comment below and be sure to include your email address, and I’ll let you know when to lift your pencils and begin.

UPDATE:

As of September, 2014, the League has shut down. We had a lot of fun, but the idea has run its course. Read more here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. I would love to do this but my commitment to it will have to be scattered until May when I am done with grad school. Love the idea and would love to try to be as involved as I can.

    CT

    Reply

  22. I’m here. And the party can begin.

    Great idea, Brian. I will definitely participate. Like CT, I may be scattered here in the beginning of the year but I promise to do as many as I can.

    🙂

    This should be fun.

    Pax

    Reply

  27. Do you have to post each week? I’d like to try, depending on the weekly topic and how much time and energy I have each week. I write about all kinds of stuff on my blog, but sometimes am strapped for ideas. I might like to try this, if I can do it as often as I choose.

    Jamie

    Reply

    • You can absolutely pick and choose the week’s you want to contribute. As long as we get a fair number of “entries” each week, this league idea will be able to continue. We’re starting off on a pretty strong note in this first week! When you do take part, just make sure to drop me an email or comment on the week’s topic post with the link to your blog entry.

      Reply

  40. Hey, I’ve been reading the league’s work for the past month. It’s wonderful stuff and has become my new regular morning read. I would love to get in on this.

    Reply

  45. Hi there! Sounds great, I’d love to be involved. I’m a self-professed “specified geek” so I might not post on all topics (i.e. I only found out who Snake Eyes was two weeks ago) but I’d love some extra prompts for blogging and to stretch my imagination/creativity! Can’t wait for Monday 🙂
    Ben from Canada

    Reply

  48. I dipped my legs into the blogging pool recently, I don’t have a lot of experience, but I’m game for this idea if you’ll give me a shot!

    Reply

  52. This is easily one of the greatest ideas I have ever read. I would love to contribute. This is exactly the kind of forum I have been searching for. I’m so excited…..HAZA!!! (clearing throat)….sorry about that last part

    Reply

  56. I am a brand new blogger. I am willing to try this, and I want to follow it on my blog. 2 questions . . . How do I follow this so it’ll show on my blog? and in addition, How do I get followers? No one has even visited my site yet!
    Bloggie,
    Anastasia

    Reply

    • I don’t even know what you’re asking with your first question, but the second one is easy to answer — just write, and write, and write some more. Oh, and try to make it interesting. 😉

      Reply

  57. This sounds like a fantastic idea! I’ve just started my first blog, a comics and pop culture sort of thing, and I’d love to join up with some like-minded writers. Sign me up!

    Reply

  59. I’ll do this. Actually it’s about time someone created something like this. There’s a ton of this type of crap in other blogging communities, but I haven’t seen any in the nerdy/pop culture/toy/grown ass manchild community.

    Reply

  72. So, I’m curious about this. Primordial Badger has his site and has joined up. I guest blog on his site and would like to do some of these as well. Would we count as two entries or one entry?
    Sammantha

    Reply

    • I don’t see why you can’t enter twice, but your chances of winning are the same. 😉

      Just be sure to add a comment with the link to both articles. have fun!

      Reply

  77. I couldn’t find a badge code to copy and paste. Have you thought about doing that? This way people just copy and paste the code into a widget or gadget on their site.

    Reply

  82. I would like in… 🙂

    But I will wait until next week as the topic this week, being… writing about your experiences in the league would be hard not yet being in or having and experience of the league… but next week… I am down!!

    Reply

    • Sure, you can start with this week’s challenge or next–or any after that! Just be sure to add a comment with your URL to the topic page so that I know you posted an article.

      Reply

    • Absolutely! There’s always room for one more, just write a response and add a comment to the weekly topic page when your article is up.

      Reply

      • Hi Brian.

        So…a friend of mine was looking for my WordPress blog and found yours instead. He pointed me to it (I had no idea we shared the same blog title, should I do something about that?) and I LOVE it! It’s fantastic. I’d love to join the League but am worried that it’s problematic since we are both Nerding Out. Can I join the cause??

        Cheers,
        Logan

        Reply

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