10 Posts You Need to Read Before the End of the Year

It can be so easy to slide into holiday mode too early at this time of year (trust me, I’m struggling with it from time to time myself!) but the desire to clock off can be a good motivator to end the year well. I love a fresh start come January 1, so I tend to double down in December and get shit done.

I’ve been thinking about how I want to end 2016 both personally and work-wise, and after Natalie’s post yesterday, I decided to gather together the reminders and advice I’m using to head into a new phase, and to share them with you.

I also find that I end up doing some kind of blog audit (stay tuned for that one!), looking back over what I’ve done – both good and bad – and I love setting goals for the months to come. I’ve got some cracking ideas and I almost can’t wait to get started. But first things first!

How to get the words written: 10 tips for writers | Allison Tait

Yo, these things are not going to write themselves. And yes, life gets in the way, and often we can’t be bothered, or we have writer’s block, or we’re hamstrung by a crushing lack of self-esteem. But the words need to come out, and Allison knows how to get them out. If you don’t, you need to read this.

“Writing is not convenient” – BOOM!

The five words you need to hear when you feel like you’re not good enough | ProBlogger

This is for all y’all who are waiting for perfection before launching. STOP IT!

How will you know when you’ve reached financial success? | Smart Passive Income

I think this is a great question to ask yourself at the end of every year – especially ones where you think you didn’t hit the dollar goals that you wanted to. How much are you looking for really? Were you actually more successful than you think? Next year could you actually be satisfied with less? How are you measuring success? Take a pen and paper, this one will need some soul-searching.

3 growth-hacking strategies for bloggers to quadruple their blog traffic without SEO | ProBlogger

This was such a popular post, and with good reason. Everything comes down to content and the usefulness of it. We can’t all rely on SEO, as we’ve already learned, but boy do we need to create the right content and get it in front of the right people. This is an excellent start.

The complete guide to not giving a f*ck | In Over Your Head

One of my favourite blog posts of all time, this is one you especially need to read if you’re struggling with self-doubt. It is solid life advice and I give it often. I think everyone should read it, it will honestly make that much of a difference. Find some time before December 31.

How to start a blog | ProBlogger

If you’re still on the fence, can I take this opportunity to push you? NOW IS THE TIME. I bet you’ve been umming and ahhing for way too long now. Get it started, regardless of how many posts you have or what design tweaks you want to make, JUST START. Then you’ve got a brand-new project to start the new year with. Go on.

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How to publish remarkable content every week even if your time is limited | CoSchedule

I am pretty obsessed with CoSchedule for blogging, both as an editorial calendar and a social auto-scheduling platform. We use it here on ProBlogger, and I also have it over on my blog too. They spend a lot of time researching what bloggers and content marketers need and not only creating posts about it, but creating functions in CoSchedule also. It’s constantly evolving and so is their info – this post is pretty on point.

A powerful exercise inside Google Analytics to set you up for a successful year of blogging | ProBlogger

Once again, Darren takes us through his extensive systems for success – this one is to do an audit of your blog to find out how to make it even better for the coming year. Capitalising on what already works, it’s genius!

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5 easy ways to step up your food photography | The Sugar Hit

I’ve always admired Sarah’s camera skills (and her food!) and her tips for solo bloggers without a huge team and without vast amounts of technical knowledge are pretty spot on. Love the links to other bloggers with great aesthetic too. Now I’m hungry.

5 ways to make your blogging life easier | ProBlogger

You hear me bang on about this constantly, but it is solid advice to work smarter, and not harder. Blogging is hard work, and the easier we make it on ourselves to create and share the best content we can (and earn a few bucks), the better. Pick up some good habits for the new year!

Now hurry up – the end of the year waits for no-one!