Just like my shoes (or coffee drink) things change in the spring time. It’s time for getting rid of the old sweaters you never wore, bringing out the espadrilles and getting ready for a new season. The same goes for your blog and I know this first hand since I haven’t updated my About page in AGES. This made me realize how important doing a little blog spring cleaning was. Today I’m sharing my tips for cleaning up your site, social platforms and pitches for the new season.
Spring Cleaning Checklist For Your Blog
Your Profile Photo
Head to each of your social platforms and update them with a new photo. Something more recent, brighter and lighter for spring. It’s so easy to forget about this, but it is such a game changer to have this be representative of the season. If someone new comes to your blog and wants to learn about you and all of your social profiles has holiday photos of you and it’s April, people will think you’re not active on your platforms.
Update Your About Page
I’m 100% guilty of letting this one go for way too long. Your about page is usually the first page a brand will go to to get to know you. Make sure not only the photo is up to date but also adjust any content in that page. My about page was still referring to my outfits as my “Outfit du Jours” something I haven’t referenced in at least two years. Update with great photos, content and any new accomplishments. Check any and all other pages like your contact page, services page etc. You’ll want to make sure you’re creating a consistent voice across all of these.
Social Platforms
You may have updated your profile picture, but did you update your description? Do that, now. Make sure your email is easily available, your description matches your blog tag line and your location is listed!
Adjust Your Pitch
It may be spring, almost summer, for your normal friends, but as a blogger you need to be ahead of the game with your content. Start changing up your pitch for the season and any upcoming holidays you want to cover. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and even thinking about pre-fall should be on your mind. Get in front of brands and on their radar so when they’re ready to pitch new line launches for fall you’re on their mind.
Update Your Media Kit
This should really be adjusted every month to include any changes in your following, traffic or press. But if you include photos in your media kit (mine does, insert emoji with hand waving) replace these with some fresh ones! (p.s, how to make a media kit)
Popular Posts
I like to go through some of my more popular posts to make sure everything looks right. I like to review the top ones from the last quarter to make sure affiliate links are working and update any out of stock items or broken links with
If you were a blogger last summer, you better be pinning all those great spring and summer posts to generate some traffic. Pinterest is
Re-Connect & Get Back In Touch
It’s easy to get into a routine of following the same people, working with the same brands and so on, but I like to follow some new people every so often to get inspired and hey sometimes they’ll follow you back too! It’s nice to see some fresh faces in your newsfeed to switch things up a bit.
Update
To ensure a smooth running site, make sure all your widgets are updated and working properly. Plus, if you need some new widgets, here are a few of my favorites.
Get Organized
This relates to just about everything when it comes to spring cleaning, but when it comes to your blog, organize those categories. You can easily organize your posts in bulk on WordPress and this helps to ensure the right posts are showing up at the right time when readers are selecting “outfits” or “recipe”. It’s nice to just do a quick once over on your blog every season. Double check you’ve been tagging things correctly and just browse the archives from the last few months.