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Year-End Blog Review: What to Keep, What to Cut

Year-End Blog Review

Joelene Mills

December is loud.
Your brain is tired.
And somewhere in your inbox, someone is telling you that you “need” to do a full content audit before January.

You know the one. Open a spreadsheet. Export reports. Colour code things. Question your life choices.

If that sounds exhausting, you’re not wrong. It is.
I am here to remind you, that you do not need a 42-tab spreadsheet to figure out what’s working on your blog.

You just need a quiet, honest look at what’s pulling its weight… and what isn’t.

This is Clarity season. Not “burn it all down and start over” season.

The problem isn’t your blog. It’s the noise around it.

If you’ve been blogging this year at all, even inconsistently, you already have useful data.

The problem is that online business advice keeps telling you:

  • Post more.

  • Be more consistent.

  • Create more “valuable” content.

  • Repurpose everywhere. Always.

It’s no wonder you feel behind. I know I did, when I followed the “more” system.

What I have learned and see over and over with introverted coaches is:

  • A few simple posts do the heavy lifting.

  • The rest are… fine. Background. Not a failure. Just not the star of the show.

  • And you don’t need to “fix” everything to have a blog that works.

The goal of a year-end blog review is not to judge yourself.
It’s to answer three calm questions:

  • What’s working?

  • What’s not?

  • What do I want to do differently next year?

That’s Clarity. No glitter. No rebrand. Just honest information.

Blog better, not louder.

Recent Posts

If you haven't actually done the review...

If you haven’t actually done that quick 10-minute review yet, start there first. I walk you through it step-by-step in this post: 10 Minute Year-End Blog Review then come back here when you’re ready to decide what stays and what goes.

Introverted coach relaxing on the couch with laptop and cozy socks, doing a simple blog post review for her blogging strategy.

You’re not starting from scratch

There’s a sneaky belief a lot of coaches and online business owners carry into a new year:

“Next year I’ll finally get my content system together.”

Which usually looks like:

  • New content calendar

  • New themes

  • New posting schedule

  • New “this time I’ll be consistent”, promise

All built from scratch. As if last year never happened.

That’s a waste.

Don’t do that, you’ve already completed the hard part:

You showed up, even if it was messy and irregular. You wrote things. You hit publish. Some posts landed. Some didn’t. Very normal.

Last week’s review helped you notice what happened.
This week is about using that information to make a few decisions:

  • What do I want my blog to do next year?

  • Which posts support that job?

  • Which ones are just taking up space or headroom?

This isn’t about being a “good” or “bad” blogger.
It’s about editing what you’re carrying into the new year.

Three decisions: Keep, Cut, or Tweak

Now that you’ve looked at your posts and seen what pulled its weight, you’re not starting with a blank page. You’re starting with a short list.

From that list, each post falls into one of three decisions:

  • Keep

  • Cut

  • Tweak

No more than that. No drama required.

1. What to keep

These are the posts you’d send a potential client today without cringing.

They usually:

  • Still match what you do and who you help

  • Reflect how you actually talk now

  • Point to an offer you still sell

  • Feel like, “Yes. This sounds like me.”

Those are your keepers.

Next year, they become:

  • Posts you reshare

  • Posts you link to from newer content

  • Posts you send to people on consult / Fit Check calls

You don’t have to write a brand-new “perfect” post every time.
You can let your best posts keep working.

2. What to cut

Some posts are just… done.

You’re looking for anything that:

  • Talks about offers you no longer sell

  • Attracts the wrong people

  • Gives advice that no longer fits how you work

  • Confuses people about what you actually do now

  • Makes you wince in a way that isn’t “aww, growth,” but “absolutely not”

Those can go.

“Cut” might look like:

  • Unpublishing the post

  • Archiving it if your platform allows

  • Redirecting it to a newer, better post on the same topic (if you’re comfortable with that tech)

You don’t need a noble reason to let something go.
“I don’t want this representing my work anymore” is enough.

3. What to tweak

Then there are posts that are almost there.

They’re not hero content, but they’re not hopeless either.

These usually:

  • Have a solid idea with dated examples

  • Still fit your current niche, but need a clearer angle

  • Need a better call to action at the end

  • Would be great with a tighter intro and updated links

Those are tweak posts.

A tweak is light:

  • Update the intro so it matches where your reader is now

  • Add a clear “here’s what to do next”

  • Fix any dead links or old offer mentions

15–30 minutes. Not a full re-write, not a weekend project.

Introverted coach relaxing on the couch with laptop and cozy socks, doing a simple blog post review for her blogging strategy.

The real shift: Stop carrying old rules into a new year

While you’re deciding what to keep, cut, or tweak on your blog, it’s also worth looking at what you’re keeping, cutting, or tweaking in your brain.

A few things you might choose to drop:

  • “If I don’t post every week, it doesn’t count.”

  • “Every post has to be super in-depth to be valuable.”

  • “I should talk about X because ‘that’s what does well on Instagram,’ even though I hate it.”

  • “If a post didn’t get a ton of views, it was a waste.”

None of that helps you show up as a real, grounded human your clients can trust.

Quiet, trust-building content is less about volume and more about fit:

  • Does this post reflect how I actually work with people?

  • Would I be okay if this was the first thing someone read from me?

  • Does it connect to something I still offer?

If yes, it’s worth keeping and supporting.
If no, it doesn’t need to follow you into 2026.

That’s Clarity too.

A simple way to wrap this up in under 30 minutes

If your brain is already half out the door for the holidays, here’s the smallest version of this you can do this week:

    • From your review, pick 10–15 posts from this year.
      Recent ones are fine. No need to dig deep into the archives.

    • For each one, answer one question:

      “Would I send this to a potential client today?”

      • If yes → Keep

      • If no, and it’s way off → Cut

      • If it’s close → Tweak

    • Make a tiny January list:

      • 3 posts to keep and reshare

      • 2 posts to lightly tweak

      • 1–3 posts to unpublish or redirect

That’s it. That’s your “What to keep, what to cut” plan.

No giant audit. No new system. Just a blog that feels more like where your business is now, not three years ago.

Your blog needs you to notice what’s already working, let go of what no longer fits, and stop dragging old shoulds into a new season. If all you do this month is take ten minutes to review your posts and make a few keep / cut / tweak decisions, you’re already moving your business forward in a quiet, honest way.

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.