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What To Do With Your 10-Minute Blog Review

10 Minute Blog Review:
Next Steps

Joelene Mills

So you did the 10-minute blog review. How’d it go?

You opened your posts from this year, noticed which ones pulled the most weight, and maybe circled a few that made you cringe. You were very tempted to close the laptop and call it “reflection.”

But now you’re here, in the weird gap between “That was interesting” and “What do I actually do with this?”

This is where most people stop. Simply because the next step usually isn’t provided unless you sign up for the course or join the membership.

So let’s do what the sales page never does and give you the next step, no paywall attached.

Traditional online business advice loves big, complicated reviews.

  • “Do a full content audit.”
  • “Track everything in a spreadsheet.”
  • “Build a fresh strategy for Q1.”

That’s great if you enjoy spending your weekend colour-coding columns and pretending you’re a data analyst. But if you’re an introverted coach who already has a full brain, that kind of review just becomes another reason not to blog at all.

Your 10-minute blog review was the opposite of that.
It was quick on purpose.

The goal was simple:

  • Notice what worked.

  • Notice what felt good to write.

  • Notice what doesn’t fit anymore.

That’s enough data for a full year of better decisions.

You do not need a full rebrand, a 40-page strategy, or a brand-new “content system.” You just need to turn what you already saw in that review into a tiny plan for your next few posts.

Think of this as “using what you noticed,” not “building a strategy.”

Stuck What to Write?

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Turn Your 10-Minute Blog Review Into A Simple Plan

Step 1: Name What You Actually Found

Grab your notes from the review you already did. If they’re on a sticky note, even better.

You’re looking for three simple things:

  1. Hero posts
    These are the posts that did the heavy lifting.

    • People replied.

    • Someone booked a consult.

    • You heard “I felt so seen reading this.”

  2. Ease posts
    These are the posts that felt simple to write.

    • You didn’t overthink them.

    • You weren’t exhausted when you hit publish.

    • You didn’t need six days and seventeen drafts.

  3. Retire-or-refresh posts
    These are the ones that no longer match your offers, your ideal clients, or who you are now.

    • Maybe the advice feels off.

    • Maybe it attracts the wrong people.

    • Maybe it’s tied to an offer you don’t even sell anymore.

Write down 1–3 titles under each of those three lists. That’s it.
No more than three per category. We’re not building a museum. We’re building a short list.

Step 2: Decide What It Actually Means

Now, instead of asking, “Was this post successful?” ask better questions.

Look at your hero posts and ask:

  • What topic were they about?

  • Which offer did they connect to?

  • What problem were your readers trying to solve?

I’m willing to bet you’ll see a pattern.
Maybe your best posts are all about one core problem your people keep bringing to sessions. Maybe they’re simple how-to posts. Maybe they’re stories from your own life that connect back to your work.

Whatever shows up the most? That’s your audience quietly saying, “More of this, please.”

Look at your ease posts and ask:

  • What felt different when I wrote these?

  • Was I ranting a little (in a good way)?

  • Was I telling a story from my own experience?

Ease is not a sign you “didn’t try hard enough.”
Ease is a signal. It often shows you the format or angle that best fits how you write.

Then look at your retire-or-refresh posts and ask:

  • Is there a core idea here I still believe in?

  • If yes, could I rewrite it in a way that fits who I am now?

  • If no, can I just… let it go?

Not every post needs to be rescued. Some can just sit quietly in the archives and stop taking up mental space.

Step 3: Turn It Into a Tiny Plan

Here’s where people (and by people I mean me, before) tend to overcomplicate things.
You do not need a 12-month editorial calendar.

You just need a short bridge between “what I saw” and “what I’ll write next.”

Use your lists to create a simple, 3-part plan:

1. Refresh 2–3 hero posts

Pick your top 2–3 hero posts. Put them on your calendar for January.
When you revisit them, you can:

  • Update the intro to reflect where your reader is now.

  • Add a clearer CTA that points to an offer you still sell.

  • Tighten the structure so it’s easier to skim and act on.

Then share them again.
You are allowed to reuse good work. In fact, you should.

2. Plan 3 new posts based on what worked

Look at the topics your hero and ease posts covered.
For each one, ask: “What’s the next question my reader would have after this?”

You might get ideas like:

  • A follow-up “okay, now do this” step

  • A post answering the most common follow-up question you hear

  • A real-life example or case study that shows the idea in action

Turn those into three simple working titles. For example:

  • “What To Focus On After You [Core Result or Insight]”

  • “Common Questions I Get About [Topic from Hero Post]”

  • “A Real Client Story About [Topic] (And What We Changed)”

That’s your next month or two of content, right there.

3. Pick one metric to watch next year

This is where Clarify meets your sanity.

Instead of tracking everything, choose one sign that your blog is doing its job. For example:

  • Replies to your posts or emails

  • Consult / “Fit Check” calls that mention your blog

  • People referencing a specific post on your intake form

Your job next year is not “post more.”
Your job is to keep writing the kind of posts that make that one thing happen more often.

If you only have 20 minutes

TL;DR: Pick one hero post, jot three notes, plan two follow-ups, and drop them on your calendar.

Maybe you’re reading this thinking, “Cool, but I’m not doing this for every post I wrote this year.”
Fair. You don’t have to.

If you don’t have the time (or brain space) to go through your whole review, just pick one post and do this:

  1. Choose one hero post from your review.
    The one that got replies, consults, or “this is me” messages.

  2. Write down three quick notes about it:

    • Why do I think this worked?

    • Which offer does it support?

    • How did I feel writing it?

  3. Brainstorm two follow-ups:

    • One idea to refresh this post (tighter intro, clearer CTA, updated story).

    • One new post that would be the natural “next step” for someone who loved it.

  4. Decide when you’ll use them.
    Plug the refresh and the new post into your next month of content. Rough dates are fine.

That’s it. One post, 20 minutes, and you’ve already turned your review into an actual plan instead of a nice thought.

Not “new niche.” Not “rebrand.”
Just using what you already learned in 10 minutes to shape what you write next.

One calm, practical email every Monday.

One calm, practical email every Monday.

Quiet Start is a short, practical email for introverted coaches who want their blog to quietly bring in clients again.

No trainings. No calls. No pressure to be everywhere. Just one calm, practical email you can read with your coffee and turn into a small next step for your blog and business.