Prepping Your Blog for 2017
This post contains affiliate links which help GInger & Co.
I always love writing these posts because it gives everyone a chance to freshen up a blog or add something extra to it. Over the next week, I’ll be spending my time with family and friends, but also stealing a little time away to put some new changes into Ginger & Co. Since G&C’s birthday is like January 11th, I usually wait until then to push forth anything big changes (mostly because it’s more time), but January is always a great time to start over. Today, I’ve got a list of things you can do when prepping your blog for 2017.
On Your Blog
- Update your theme (here’s an updated list with some of my favorite themes ever)
- Rewrite your “About me” page
- Take new pictures to use on your blog and social media
- If you’re feeling ambitious, update all your blog images so they’re the same style (This is a major work in progress for me)
- Redesign your sidebar (Love + Color has a fabulous post about this)
- Revamp your home page (or a “start” here page)
- Make a resources page
- Create an opt-in for your email subscribers (Convertkit works wonderfully with this)
- Create a blog mission statement for 2017 and what you want to accomplish
- Check your posts for broken links (start with your popular posts)
On Social Media
- Make sure your bio matches on every platform
- Set up a new social media schedule (using Buffer or Hootsuite)
- Set up a Pinterest scheduler (like BoardBooster or Tailwind)
- Make a Twitter list of favorite bloggers
- Start making graphics for Facebook and Twitter to go with your posts (it looks so much nicer)
- Pick three platforms to really dedicate your time to
- Change your profile picture and your cover photos where applicable.
- Join a weekly Twitter chat, it’s a great way to make friends and connect online
The new year is a great time to really evaluate what’s working and what isn’t. Even if you only do a few of these things, they’re all great stepping stones to making sure that 2017 is a better year for blogging than 2016 was. Life’s all about progress, right?