A while back, I had been scrolling through some old posts on the blog, and I was surprised to see how cringe-worthy some of my old posts were and went "how did I ever write this crap". We all have those posts from long ago that we're embarrassed about, and frankly, some that we'd rather not let readers see. So what should we do with them?
Keep written material as drafts.
If we're really uncomfortable about them, take them off the blog and keep them as drafts. Old posts are a great way to see how much you've improved since the beginning of blogging. Don't delete unique material you've written, such as reviews. Sometimes I love looking at old posts to see improvement and how far I've come. I remember looking through some old reviews of mine and just feeling mortified at every sentence I've written. I did get a pretty good laugh out of them, though.
Delete the "copy paste" posts.
Over time, we will start having too many posts to keep track of. If we really want to keep our blog tidy with meaningful posts, delete those copied and pasted book blasts/blitzes and cover reveals. I usually skip these on blogs, because they're just things copied and pasted and it essentially just acts as an advertisement on blogs. We don't really get to know more and see the person behind the blog, we just see text about a book that we don't know if we'll be interested in because there aren't any thoughts or a review about it.
Leave old posts on your blog.
Sometimes it's great to leave reminiscences of our writing style from the beginning! People who read your blog can go back to see the past self you were in resemblance to the person you are now. The more meaningful posts we have on our blogs, the better. We get to know so much more about the blogger and connect with them.
What do you feel about old blog posts? What do you do with the old cringe-worthy posts on your blog?
Cringe-worthy as it may be, I just leave my old posts as it is. If anyone actually goes back and reads those posts, they'll be able to notice the growth and development over the years. ^_^
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly enough I haven't gone back and deleted/removed any of my posts (though I've often wanted to when they are so very cringe-worthy!) I often use old reviews to remind myself of the book more than anything so even the ones that weren't good enough to be posted are still there for me to see :)
ReplyDeleteEnchanted by YA: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/sunday-post-1.html
I actually recently went back and deleted so many cringe-worthy posts. For future reference though, I'll just turn them into drafts because in a few years I think I would like to see how far I've come. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Olivia!
~Cari @ My Addiction: Books
I recently went back and unpublished A LOT of old posts. Not because of the content, but because I got a new design and suddenly all my old posts looked like a bit of a mess.... I might republish someday though.
ReplyDeleteI love the cringe-worthy posts on my blog! It shows how much I've grown since I started blogging! :) PS. Have you read Winter, yet?
ReplyDeleteI have some cringe worth posts, as well! I can never be bothered to delete them (hehe, I'm lazy) However, I loved reading this, it was so insightful!
ReplyDelete#lovebooks http://hashtaglovebooks.com/
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ReplyDeleteI enjoy cover reveals and blitzes but, with the exception of excerpts, I make it all original. I don't like using the copy and paste ones because I am picky about formatting. Great thoughts!
ReplyDeleteMegan @ Ginger Mom & the Kindle Quest
They bring so much memories, the good ones and the bad ones.
ReplyDeleteLove reading old post. It brings so much memories. So, if I were to choose whether to delete it or not. I wouldn't.
ReplyDelete