Blog Housekeeping! - Getting started

A few weeks ago, I asked if you, my lovely readers, would be interested in a series of posts dedicated to helping you keep up with the little housekeeping issues that often get pushed to the side. So, here we are. Doing just that.

All of these won't apply to everybody. If you already have a system in place for handling certain things (review requests, updating your archive, etc), great. Don't feel the urge to change it. This is more of a reminder to do the little things than anything else.

I expect this feature to evolve as we go, so if you have any suggestions about things that YOU'D like to see or things that continually get pushed to the side on your blog, shout them out.

Without any further ado... here we go!

Update:

• review archive - are you responsible for sites other than your own? Don't forget about those. (I co-run Free Books Need Love, Too! and while I'm great at updating the archive here, I have a tendency to forget that one.)
• sidebar - check for buttons or links for events that have ended. Have any new events coming up? Now's the time to add them.
• blogrolls -  clean 'em up!
• crosspost - do you crosspost to Amazon, B&N, Goodreads? Don't forget to add your reviews to Netgalley for those ARCs.
• check your static pages (About, Review Policy, etc) for outdated information.*
• review your profiles* - when was the last time you updated your Goodreads or Facebook profiles? Is everything up to date?

*I figure that checking your pages and reviewing your profiles aren't something you have to do very often. Apply as needed.

Get ahead:

• Are there any memes or features that you participate in? If you have a few spare minutes, draft out your posts -- even if you don't schedule them now -- so that you have less to do later. (I participate in Top Off Tuesday and Clock Rewinders - ToT is scheduled through the end of February and CR is drafted through the end of February. It makes my weeks SO MUCH easier to have them ready and waiting for me when the time comes.)

Misc:

• respond to review requests and other bloggy emails - this may be me-centric. I tend to respond to review requests in batches.
• check your spam folder - legitimate emails can sometimes slip through, catch them now.
• check the spam filter on the blog - get rid of the spam! save the legits!

Did you do everything that applies to you? Good stuff. Now...

BACK UP YOUR BLOG!

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Leave a comment and tell me what you want to see in the next post (tentatively scheduled for 1/19) or what you updated this time around. Have some tips or hints to keep others on track? Now's your chance to share the love.