Bloggiesta! Time to Tackle the Blog Work
It is Bloggiesta time, my friends, and I have my coffee, my snacks, and my long list of “I will get to it eventually” blog tasks ready to go. If you are not familiar, Bloggiesta is a quarterly long weekend where bloggers commit to spending dedicated time doing the unsexy back-end work of running a blog. Cleaning up code, fixing broken links, updating templates, learning new skills. It is the digital equivalent of putting on grubby clothes and finally cleaning out the garage.
My Goals This Bloggiesta
I am being realistic this round, because I always overpromise on Bloggiesta and then guilt-trip myself when I do not get to everything. So here are the things I genuinely think I can knock out this weekend.
Broken Link Audit
I have been blogging long enough that a good chunk of my older posts are studded with broken links. Author pages have moved, indie bookstores have rebranded, even some publisher pages have evaporated. I am going to run a link checker on the last two years of posts and at least patch the most egregious ones.
Sidebar Refresh
My sidebar is a graveyard of old challenge buttons, expired blog hop banners, and a couple of widgets that I think used to do something. I am stripping it down to what is actually useful right now: my review policy link, current challenges I am participating in, recent posts, and contact info. Everything else can go.
Review Policy Update
I have been meaning to update my review policy for ages. The current one was written when I was three months into blogging and has not aged well. I want to clarify what I accept (audiobooks, contemporary romance, cozy mysteries), what I do not (paranormal romance unless it is recommended by a friend, anything outside my reading wheelhouse), and how my disclosure language works.
About Page Refresh
The About page on my blog still says I have been blogging “for a few months.” Reader, it has been considerably longer than that. Time to write a proper About page that actually represents who I am and what the blog is about.
Categories and Tags Cleanup
I have somehow accumulated 400+ tags, half of which are duplicates (“audiobook” vs “audiobooks” vs “audio book”). I am consolidating, deleting the singletons, and putting together a tag style guide for myself going forward.
My Bloggiesta Strategy
I always try to alternate between the heavy-lift tasks (the broken link check, the policy rewrite) and lighter tasks (sidebar tweaks, picking new graphics). It keeps me from burning out around lunchtime.
I am also going to take advantage of the Bloggiesta Twitter chats and the mini-challenges. The community aspect is what makes this whole thing fun. Otherwise I am just sitting alone fixing typos in 2012 posts, which is not really anyone’s idea of a party.
Why Bloggiesta Matters
The truth is, none of these tasks are urgent. I could ignore them indefinitely. But cumulatively, they are why my blog feels a little tired sometimes, and why I sometimes drag my feet about posting. A weekend of cleaning makes the next quarter of writing feel fresh.
Are you joining Bloggiesta? What is on your list this round? Cheer me on, share your goals, and let us go.