Saturday, January 5, 2013

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  • check your static pages (About, Review Policy, etc) for outdated information.*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!

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.


18 comments:

  1. Right now I am working on Pages! I figure I am going to tackle one big thing a month :)

    Weekly Tasks:
    1) Backup --automatic but I do check to make sure that it is valid
    2) Sidebars-- checked!
    3) To-do list --checked and behind *sigh*
    4) Reader-- updated!

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  2. I'm actually... mostly caught up on this stuff. *looks around* *wonders if the elves came in and fixed it overnight* How the EFF did that happen? I'm almost NEVER this caught up, and I'm sure it won't stay this way lol. BUT! I did have to go and update my profiles elsewhere - I hadn't updated my GR about me in something like 2 YEARS *is embarrassed*

    Perhaps a good thing to go under "Misc:" would be going back to check on comments you left in places that don't email you responses? That way you can see if anybody answered, and maybe reply back.

    And now, I'm going to sit down and write up features. I think I have enough ideas to get me through May. MAY! This NEVER happens! :D

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    Replies
    1. Ha! Yay, you!

      Ooh. Good one about the comments.
      2013 is being GOOD to you, I see. Lol! WRITE IT ALL DOWN!

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  3. How's that coming along?

    *timidly* knock, knock, motherfucker. You know, if you want to open the door. If not, that's cool, too.

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  4. Uh. *looks away awkwardly* I decided I need to devote the rest of my afternoon to reading instead. Maybe tomorrow.

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  5. -Update review indexes (by author and by title) - DONE!
    -Update sidebar - DONE!
    -Cross post to GR, LT, and Pinterest - DONE!
    -Formatted my IMP posts for January and February - DONE!
    -Formatted my Month in Review post for January - DONE!

    I love this reminder. I look forward to the next one :)

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    Replies
    1. Holy smokes! Look at you go!
      I added a FB like box to my sidebar and I felt all accomplished. Lol! Now I feel like I should step it up and do MOAR!

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    2. I was motivated :) I was also almost 2 months behind on cross posting and updating our review indexes so it was time to get my ass in gear!

      I just added the FB like box to my sidebar.

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    3. I've been avoiding crossposting to Amazon all day. I'm so good with my GR reviews but everywhere else... EEP!

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  6. Awesome! Let me know if there are any burning items that aren't on the list!

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  7. Things I've done this time around:

    1. Updated review archives
    2. Added reviews to GoodReads and Librarything
    3. Responded to comments.
    4. Emptied out spam queue.
    5. Updated sidebars.
    6. Backed up blog.
    7. Responded to bloggy emails.

    This is going to be an awesome feature! I feel accomplished and stuff. :)

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    Replies
    1. Look at you go! I'm still making review templates for the books I'm going to read next week. *goes back to slaving away*

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  8. Ugh, crossposting! I'm so bad at this. Every so often I think of it and have to copy like a billion reviews over to Goodreads. It would be so much easier if I just did it regularly!

    Going to update my sidebar now...

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  9. I caught up on ALL THE THINGS! Updated the sidebar, updated some pages on the blog, drafted up my reviews that were written and sitting in Word (now, they just have to be scheduled for a day), replied to ALL email and put it in folders, updated my NetGalley, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook ... AND exported/saved the blog. Whew! This was an AWESOME idea, Kelly!

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    Replies
    1. Holy shizz, woman! I am impressed that you did it ALL! <3 <3 <3

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