If you’re at all like me, making updates to your website is super fun…for like a week. After that, you’re just ready to be done. You make your final tweaks or hire someone to do it for you and then you’re all set to go. Your website supports your business perfectly and now you won’t have to touch it for several months or more.
But wait a second.
Especially if you’re a newer business owner you, your brand, and your business are constantly changing:
- Your voice evolves as you write
- Your blog and business goals change based on your experiences
- You learn more about your ideal clients, and
- You discover how to be more effective in this online space
But what about your blog?
If you take a second to think about it, I’m sure you agree that your blog should evolve right along with you and your business. As you learn and your business shifts, your blog should be right there to support it. After all, your website should be your best employee!
Don’t worry, I know it can be hard to identify when those changes need to be made. Let’s start with a few things that indicate your blog could use an update.
How do I know that my blog needs an update?
Your voice changed
Take a look at your old blog posts. Even just a few months is probably far enough.
Is that still the way you’d speak and write today? If not, you’ve found a good indicator that your website could use an update.
Now, I’m not saying you should go back and re-write all your blog posts. You definitely can, I’m not stopping you, but those aren’t the kinds of updates we’re talking about here.
If you’ve found that your voice has shifted, take a look at more high-traffic locations such as your:
- Homepage
- About page
- Contact page
- Services page
- Sidebar
- Above-the-fold calls to action
Do those areas still match your voice? If not, it’s time for an update.
Your ideal audience changed or you learned more about them
I’m constantly learning more about my ideal audience. Anything from what they need help with to the types of content they prefer. Discoveries like these have caused me to change direction and make important updates more than once.
For example, early on in my journey I discovered that my audience was far more interested in practical advice about improving their blog, rather than advice about creating an online presence for their business. After learning this, I created a new course, retired my old one, and made updates to my featured opt-in, footer opt-in, About page, services, and more.
Have you learned anything new about your audience lately? Maybe you’ve gotten more specific or learned how you can better help them. If so, are those high-traffic areas of your blog that we mentioned previously targeted correctly? You should consider everything from the wording to the specific offers you make.
Your products and services changed
If you’ve added, removed, or updated a product or service, odds are that you have some changes to make.
As I wrote about over on Wonderfelle, your website should serve as a path for your readers, leading from free to paid content that will benefit them directly.
If you’ve made any changes to a product or service, chances are that these paths also need an update.
Your business goals changed
Here’s the big one. If your business goals or your plan to reach your goals change, you 100% have some updates to make.
You’ve probably read it a thousand times (like here, here, and here), but every part of your website should support the goals you have set for your business. If your website isn’t working for you, it’s not worth having.
So if you’ve recently changed a goal or two, it’s time to get to work.
How to make updates quickly and easily
Updating your blog doesn’t have to be a long and painful experience. In fact, if you make updates regularly, it’s not likely to take you more than a few minutes each time. Here, I’ll share the process I use for updating my own website.
1. Add a monthly reminder
You can take this first step right now. Grab your iPhone, open up your Google calendar, or grab your physical planner and add a repeating monthly reminder to update your blog.
Adding this reminder is a great first step, but remember, it won’t do you any good unless you actually make the updates when the time comes! It’s easy to see the reminder pop up and push it off, but this process will be much easier each month if you keep up with it.
2. Do a quick cleanup
Besides setting (and listening to) your reminders, the first step you’ll want to take is to clean up your website.
Go through each page on your website to make sure
- Your goals are supported
- Nothing will distract readers from your content
If you need some more help with your blog cleanup, check out this in-depth post!
3. Check your voice
Your voice can evolve quite a bit within a month’s time, especially when you’re just starting out.
Make your way through your website, making sure your calls-to-action and high-traffic pages match your current writing and speaking voice. This consistency is what will catch your readers’ attention and help them become comfortable with you more quickly.
4. View your website as your ideal audience
Your website is in place to support your business and attract your ideal audience, right?
To make sure it’s effective, put yourself in their place. If a member of your ideal audience comes to your website, what are they looking for? What do they need your help with? What do they need to see to learn to trust you?
Take a look around to make sure everything you see is drawing them in, rather than distracting them or driving them away.
5. Revisit your paths
Each of your products and services should have a path leading to it from free content. For example you could have a blog post that leads to a workshop replay that leads to a paid mini course. Or a YouTube video to an email sequence to one of your introductory services.
Start by looking at each of your products and services. Do you have a path in place? Is it performing well?
Also think back to whether you’ve removed any products or services. If so, make sure any paths you previously had setup don’t lead to a dead-end.
6. Make sure your goals are supported
Last, make sure each of your goals are supported. If you still have to set specific goals for your blog and business, take a look at this post.
If your goal is to increase page views, are you making it easy for readers to browse relevant content? If you’re trying to grow your social media reach are you asking them to share posts? If you’d like to grow your email list do you have content upgrades on your blog posts and opt-in incentives in high-traffic locations?
Adding or removing a goal is where you’ll see larger chunks of work pop up, but trust me, putting the work in is completely worth it.
Do you keep your blog updated?
What about you? Have you made consistent updates to your blog in the past? If not, what are a few updates you see that are needed right now?
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