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

1. Update your theme (here’s an updated list with some of my favorite themes ever)
2. Rewrite your “About me” page
3. Take new pictures to use on your blog and social media
4. 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)
5. Redesign your sidebar (Love + Color has a fabulous post about this)
6. Revamp your home page (or a “start” here page)
7. Make a resources page
8. Create an opt-in for your email subscribers (Convertkit works wonderfully with this)
9. Create a blog mission statement for 2017 and what you want to accomplish
10. Check your posts for broken links (start with your popular posts)

[bctt tweet=”Ready to prepare your blog for 2017? Here are 17 things you can do to help you!” username=”gingerandcoblog”]

On Social Media

1. Make sure your bio matches on every platform
2. Set up a new social media schedule (using Buffer or Hootsuite)
3. Set up a Pinterest scheduler (like BoardBooster or Tailwind)
4. Make a Twitter list of favorite bloggers
5. Start making graphics for Facebook and Twitter to go with your posts (it looks so much nicer)
6. Pick three platforms to really dedicate your time to
7. Change your profile picture and your cover photos where applicable.
8. 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?