Mud season is here, kind of, which means soon it will be SPRING! Why not take this opportunity to get your blog cleaned up and in tip top condition for efficient blogging trough the warm months.
Here are a few handy tips:
Update your About page
Have you won an award? Did your blog focus pivot slightly? Do you have changes in your life that could be reflected in your About page? What about that bio picture? Now is the time to get into your blog and fix those minor pieces of outdated information. Here are part one and part two of our suggestions for ways to set up your about page.
Link to older posts within your post
Do you see how in the previous paragraph I direct your attention to two links? Those are two other links within THIS blog that I want you to read because I want to be greedy with my readers. You can do this very easily. Simply highlight some text, click on the chain icon, and pop in the URL of a blog post from your blog, then hit enter and you’re done!
Upgrade your headlines
Take some time to practice writing headlines. Read the headlines on our homepage every day until you get a knack for what a headline should sound like. At the BDN we use headlines that clearly tell the reader what the story is about without spoiling the takeaway, use all lowercase letters except in the case of proper nouns and the first word of the headline. Use Co-Schedule’s headline tool to get better practice.
Clean up your language
Find an app that checks for grammar and spelling, use power words, and write a little bit every day, that is how you will sharpen your skills! I promise. Our favorite grammar checker is Grammarly, which you can get for free. You can also try the awesome Hemingway App.
Update your banner and matching social covers
We LOVE Canva. It is super simple to use and FREE, two awesome things for beginning bloggers. Tinker around with Canva while creating a new banner for your blog. Remember, the BDN blog headers are 1600 x 230. If you have questions then feel free to contact our Audience Manager who is happy to book a time to give you a coaching session.
By doing these few little things, your blog will be easier to read and look more professional and polished. Now, get cleaning!
🙂