For most bloggers, December is the month where traffic starts to nose dive.

After all, it is the holiday season.

It’s a time to reflect on the events of the past year, and spend time with loved ones.

With traffic nose diving, you could publish less content towards the end of December – especially considering your posts may not get the traction they deserve. Makes sense, right?

But that doesn’t mean you should stop working on your blog entirely.

So what should you do with all of that extra time?

There are plenty of tasks you can get done.

Maybe you’ve been putting off a blog redesign, or you need to update some old content. Whatever the case, December is the best time to work through these tasks.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Run a content audit

Look back through your old posts and see how well they’re performing. Start with the high traffic posts and figure out what you can do to improve them.

Maybe there are some broken links you can fix (use this tool to check and follow these tips for adding redirects if you use WordPress), or some information needs updating. You could add some vivid imagery or improve the formatting.

2. Give your blog a fresh look

I don’t recommend changing your blog’s look frequently, but it’s worth doing every so often.

You could just update your blog’s branding, get yourself a logo if you haven’t done already, and tweak your blog’s colors to make sure they match up.

3. Remove unnecessary clutter

Are there any widgets or plugins that you don’t need? Maybe you’ve got a link to a blog directory in your sidebar that is doing nothing for you or you’ve got some plugins you installed ages ago but never ended up using.

Now is the time to identify what you need and what you don’t – simplicity is key.

4. Prepare for the next phase of your blog’s evolution

If you looked at Blogging Wizard in 2012, you’d notice that it was so different to how it is now.

Not just from the perspective of the design, but also the topics I talk about and how I write. I’ve been known to cringe while reading my old content.

Sometimes it makes sense for us to pivot our blog’s in a slightly different direction; maybe we need to be more specific about who our ideal audience is, or maybe we need to adjust our content plan.

As much as you plan out how your blog will take shape when you first launch, you’ll always learn more after you launch, which is why we should always keep our minds open to the possibility of changing things.

For example, when Matt Cox and I launched Purcus back in June, we knew we wanted to put an entrepreneurial spin on personal development.

But, six months later and we’re already planning to pivot the blog to focus on helping solopreneurs to streamline their business (and their life).

The great thing about this change is that we are being far more specific about who we want to help and how we’ll help them.

So be mindful of the direction you want to take your blog, and don’t be afraid of changing things up – it could make all the difference.

5. Orientate yourself ready for the new year

If you don’t have a plan for your blog yet, now is the time.

Even if you have a plan, it’s still a good time to sit down and evaluate how well it’s going, and what you can do to take things to the next level.

Maybe you want to focus more on building an email list, or drive more traffic to your blog – whatever the case; a bit of extra focus will do wonders for you over the next year.

6. Pick a topic you’ve been planning to learn and dive in

What I love about blogging is that, there’s always something else to learn, but this isn’t something just for the holidays.

The best way to give yourself an advantage is to keep learning. You could pick a topic each month and learn everything you can.

Maybe December will be Copywriting, and January will be social media strategy.

7. Add a new monetization strategy to the mix

Could you earn more money from your blogging efforts? Yes! The easiest way is to add a new monetization strategy.

You could start work on a product/course or try your hand at freelance blogging.

Becoming a freelancer is a great way to step up your income and to leverage the skills you’ve learned as a blogger – Elna was able to earn a full-time living as a part-time freelance blogger within six months (read about it here).

If you want to get started as a freelance writer or get some new clients, check out Jobs4Bloggers, it’s a new project I’ll be launching next year.

8. Optimize your approach to writing blog posts

Blogging can be time-consuming, but there are plenty of tools out there that can help you get more done in less time.

These tools will help you get started, and these tips will help you to stay motivated.

9. Stockpile some content ready for next year

This is a personal favorite.

Sure, you can’t do this with time-sensitive content but for more evergreen topics it works well.

Get some content written up, and schedule it for the New Year.

This way, you’ll have more free time in January so you can spend more time promoting each of your posts.

How will you prepare for a new year of blogging?

So, now you’ve got plenty of ideas about how you can prepare for a new year of blogging.

Most importantly, make sure you take some time out over the holidays to recharge!

Now it’s over to you – how will you be preparing for your next year of blogging?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post How To Prepare For A New Year Of Blogging appeared first on Blogging Wizard.