Dear Yakezie Gamma Class Challengers,
The Yakezie Gamma Class sign-up page is now live! I hope all of you have had a wonderful time getting to know your fellow Challengers and Members, while pushing yourselves to write consistent content on your respective blogs. The official Gamma Class window was from Dec 1, 2010 to March 1, 2011. However, it usually takes about 2 months or longer, depending on the class size and editorial calendar to publish all Member posts. Hence, those who’ve joined in April are also welcome to the Gamma Class. Everybody must go through a 6 month Challenge period to make everything equal.
It’s been great getting to know many of you during this time period and I’m sure you folks feel the same way. All of you have seen your blogs grow quickly thanks to your consistent posting schedule and selfless support of others. Our philosophy has always been that it is better to give than to receive and it is our culture that makes us who we are.
THE NEXT STEPS
As the Yakezie Network grows, it’s important that we don’t lose our tight knit sense of community. We made a decision when we first started to grow slowly for the sake of quality. This is why going through a 6 month challenge is so imperative. It takes time to get to know one another, and even after the 6 month challenge is over, we should still be looking to deepen our relationships with each other further.
Solid relationships are what makes things happen. As blogging and social media becomes more commonplace, you come to realize that your online social capital is a very powerful currency. People need to believe that you will do what you say you will do. By joining the Yakezie Network, you increase your social capital because we are a network that holds honor, service, and community with the highest regard.
A network is only as good as its members. Therefore, it’s important we have the best member blogs on the web. The word “best” can describe many things, not just how popular a site is. The best members are those who have an inherent drive to help others. They are kind at heart and willing to volunteer their time. The best members participate in leadership roles within the network. They embrace the opportunity to help make an impact. The best members are those who challenge themselves every single day with new goals and ideas. We don’t blame others for our misfortunes. Instead, we work to improve ourselves and go after our own dreams.
Our Yakezie Gamma Class sign-up sheet is a simple application which asks basic questions such as when you joined the Challenge, who you know who can vouch for you, and any feedback you may have. Anybody who has been actively participating in the Yakezie Network should have no problems filling out the application. If you do have some hesitation or holes in your application and still want to join, simply work harder to get to know more of your fellow Yakezies as you still have at least a month if not two. As an eventual Member yourself, you will want future Yakezie Classes to be great groups as well who’ve made an effort to reach out to you.
THE MEMBER POST PROCESS
Please fill out the Yakezie Gamma Class sign-up sheet by Sunday, July 24. We will go through each submission one by one to upgrade your account to “Member” status. Once you have Contributor status, you will then be able to upload your Member Post. We aim to start publishing Member Posts by the week of July 25, intertwined with other content until the last Gamma Member posts are finished. We will publish the posts generally in order of when a Challenger first joined.
In your Member Post, you are free to write whatever you want that describes you best. Some of us talked about our life goals. Others talked about our family upbringing. Still others discussed what makes us tick and what our long term goals are. All we want is to get to know you even better. We highly recommend taking time reading all Yakezie Member posts to get to know existing Members better and find inspiration in your own writing.
After each Member Post is published, you will systematically be added to the Yakezie Network List as an official Member and can then switch to a Member Badge. And as an official Member, you will also be able to gain access to the Private Forums.
We’re all excited to have you as part of our family. Please sign-up here! Please read and answer all questions truthfully and thoroughly. Feedback is greatly appreciated as well. If you fall between the gray area of joining, but have successfully reached your Alexa rank goal, feel free to sign up and we will review.
Note: If you would like to join the Yakezie Network, the Yakezie Delta Class window to join is April 15 1, 2010 – September 1, 2011. We are considering capping the Membership to 150 of the best personal finance and lifestyle blogs.
Feel free to e-mail me or any of the existing Members for help. Thanks everyone!
Regards,
Sam
I’m excited to meet the new class. I’ve seen some bloggers rise to the top and really embrace the ‘selflessly promoting others’. It’s great to have those enthusiastic members join the Yakezie!
Just submitted! I am very excited!
For all of you challengers that have the opportunity to become a full-fleged member, do not shrug it off! It’s incredibly beneficial to your site! I became a member in February I believe, and it has been amazing! I’ve met some great people and learned a ton about how to become successful while blogging. Do everything you can to become a member! :)
So true! “online social capital is a really powerful currency”. Welcome gamma class! If you work hard, selflessly promote others, you WILL succeed!
Good luck everyone! I am happy to to help any challengers
Fantastic! I’m looking forward to seeing the next group of member posts. :)
Welcome Gammas! Exciting times. Wow, feels like just yesterday when I worked on my member post. Time flies when you’re having fun!
WElcome and a bit of advice; You receive a tremendous amount from the network when you contribute! Enjoy the relationships, forum and advice. Blogging is a hobby for most of us and the camradarie is amazing here. Welcome!
I joined Yakezie on June 17th 2011, so I am a delta class yakezie I assume. Till how long I have to wait to become member, provided my rank is below 200K by September 2011
Hi Mate, 6 month is the standard challenge period that everybody, no matter how big or small their site is. It’s about developing relationships in that time period and showing one’s commitment to the long term.
A good tip is to click on the sign-up page and see what questions are asked and work towards being able to answer them in this 6-month time period. Hope all Challengers do the same.
Best, Sam
Great, my funda is now clear. Cant wait to complete 6 months and go down below 200k
Welcome new members! It’s been fun getting to know everyone.
Hi there! I’m in the Delta class, so I look forward to meeting other challengers (Gamma and Delta), forging relationships and seeing how we all progress!
Welcome! So excited to have some new members aboard!
I’m on the tail end on the Gamma class and can’t wait to become a member! I have a little more to go until I complete a full six months and hope my alexa continues to drop. I’m already below 200k but I’m aiming for 100k! Woohoo! -Sydney :)
Welcome everyone!
Welcome to the new Gamma class!
Welcome and congratulations, Gamma Members! I look forward to reading through your member posts, and getting to know all the new members. It’s wonderful to see so many people are interested in joining!
Welcome and congratulations to the Gamma class. Since I also have a site that will become a member of this class, I can also say thank you to everyone for your kind words and support!
I just signed up for the Gamma class! I truly hope I become a member. It’s been 4 1/2 months now, so even though im down to 135k Alexa, I need a month and a half to go timewise.
You will have my application shortly. I still have some time to put in, having joined the challenge in April, but I look forward to moving forward with you all.
Welcome Gamma class!
Wooo hooo just sent in my app. Looking forward to it!
Just decided to take up the challenge, wish me luck!
Good luck Kyle! I hope to see you at the finish line come January, 2012!
I just submitted by form and am now ready to compose the member post. Being part of the Challenge has been so very rewarding that I am really excited to see what the future holds. Thanks Yakezie members and fellow challengers for making the last six months so enjoyable!
So, here’s a question. I joined early January but never got close to going under 200k, do I just… continue? Did I just fail miserably and am therefore kicked out (:p) or am I automatically still going to give it a shot for the next round? How does that work?
Good question! You can always be a Challenger and keep trying. As you joined in January, if you can breach 200k by end of August, you can still join the Gamma class.
All up to you man! What’s ur Alexa rank now?
I’m at 333,988 currently. I was halted at 350,000 for quite some time. Like Matt, life happens! I seem to be dropping again now. I think I will try to get there for the end of August, will be a tough one though! If I don’t make it I will go from there.
I’m in the same position as Andrea. My ranking paused for two months in the 300k range due to life happening, and I’m just now getting active in the forums like I should have been from the start. Alexa’s at 264k and dropping so I think I still have a shot at the Gamma class.
best of luck to all involved. i don’t get a chance to frequent the posts as much as i used to, but on my recent visits i have seen participation from brand new folks i haven’t seen before. glad to see the network growing.
Welcome to all of the Gammas!