Blog Housekeeping Checklist For The New Year

How's your hangover?

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You've done the end of year round up post. You've set your objectives for the coming year.

Now it's time to do all those little housekeeping jobs on your websites to start the new year off clean and ready to face the world:

Copyright and Footer message

If you have a copyright message, or anything in the footer of the website that dates it, it's time to add the new year 2011 to it.

Avatars

I change my avatar every year, and I use the same one across the net. Are you using an old one? Would it be embarrassing to meet some readers for them to find that you're actually older or balder than you look on Twitter?

Now's a good time to put that right and stay up to date.

Prices

It's also time to review your pricing - for your products and your advertising. I've put prices up by a good chunk for advertisers on our travel blog, and I'll be amending all the relevant pages later today. They are only going up for new advertisers though, existing clients keep their pricing.

Profiles

Check all of your profiles on-line - you'll be amazed at how many you have. Is it time to update them to reflect where you are now? Perhaps to reflect your objectives for this year?

About Pages

Possibly the most important page on any blog. Check all of your sites, and make sure the about page is still accurate. Has the audience changed? Maybe the direction of the site has changed? Does it need a new image?

The new year is a great time to review your digital footprint and to make sure that the message all across the web is consistent and reflects who you are now, and what you're hoping to achieve in 2011.

I'm sure there are many other things we should be doing. What would you add?

Here are some more:

1/ Dealing with failure

2/ How to create and use a "Pull-together" list

3/ A lesson in affiliate marketing

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