Get Your Blog Ready For 2013

Image from The Graphics Fairy

The past few weeks have been busy with the holiday prep, family visiting, and the whole clan being ill at one moment or another...so I am sorry I haven't been blogging about blogging lately... I am glad to see the world kept spinning, the world didn't end, and the sun is still shining!

Recovering from illness is not easy, and I totally avoided blogging (except for a few inspirational favorites like Dreamy Whites and , and of course, it's still not over because winter is barely beginning. Because of feeling a bit stale, I thought now would be a great time to refresh our memories about some very needy and purposeful tasks that should be happening on our blogs.

I hope the following prompts will help you blog with purpose, joy, personality, and vigor in 2013!

Be Yourself - Remember who you are...look back at some of your posts from the past year, and enjoy yourself. You're blogging because you love it right? Pick out a few of your best posts and repost them for your readers to find too.

Back It Up - Okay, I will never stop mentioning this...save yourself a huge headache by saving your work. Back up your blog onto your computer and save in the Cloud or on an external hard drive. That way if the worst happens you will have this weeks saved file. (Do this weekly if you blog daily).

Update (browsers etc) - You should be using the current version of your browser. This will also save you with things like viruses and other baddies.... Update other items on your computer that you've been neglecting, like Adobe, new versions of your apps etc.

Decorate (make it pretty and you'll love it) - If you've been blogging awhile and never treated yourself to a professional blog design, well, it's about time to try it. Start small by trying a banner/header first, then go for a complete pro design...you can find these all over the web...follow links when you find a design you like...or ask friends who they use.

Make button code by following our simple code tutorial or by using PicMonkey.com

Make a Plan/Focus Your Energy - What do you want to accomplish in 2013? Do you want to write more? Post more frequently? Blog about certain subjects? Make a list and check it more than twice, create a list and save it to your desktop background and this will remind you throughout the year to stay on track. Make your own list or print out our weekly planner
page.

Photography - photos and images are so important, they are the joy you input into your blog work. Treat yourself to a new camera, a photography class, or learn a new PS technique...
Read this great article about Finding Props for your blog photography and an earlier series on the same blog (about food blogging but great info nonetheless!)

Happiest of New Years To All Our Readers! Holla!