What is a good checklist before you publish on your blog? I’m preparing some learning modules for a content marketing presentation and came up with this checklist of 10 items. Tell me what you think.
Here’s what happens, usually. You’re in a hurry, you write up a short post (300 words), hit publish, and then realize you’ve forgotten to write the headline… or select tags… or add any links or images!
Well, it’s easy to go back in and update your post… but what if the phone rings, you have a crises, you get distracted (this is my world)… and you’re stuck with an incomplete blog post.
Reminds me of going out of the house with your zipper undone…
So here’s my handy-dandy checklist to whip out before you hit publish…
- Pick the topic, find a hook, tip, trend
- Write 350-600 words (educate, entertain, engage, enrich readers)
- Format post (bulleted lists, etc.)
- Write headline (compelling yet clear, keywords)
- Add image
- Add links, including to your own previous posts
- Check grammar, typos
- Identify tags, categories
- Search Optimization, (use Scribe SEO, All-in-One SEO Pack, YARPP)
- Connect with social sites (use Sexy Bookmarks, etc.)I think if you can run through a list like this before you publish you’ll end up saving yourself time in the long run.
Many bloggers concentrate so much on writing quality content that they ignore the final steps, such as checking for common grammar errors (there/their; hear/here; your/you’re).
Or, they forget that keywords must be in place (especially in first paragraph), or, you should include at least one hyperlink per 120 words.
Or, they don’t bother formatting the post into short paragraphs, with keywords bolded, with bulleted lists, and add links to their previous posts.
These are all little things that make a big difference in the look and feel of your blog, and also make search engines work more smoothly to index your page.
What else needs to be on this list?
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Good formatting and spelling are vital in a blog post! They’re both simple factors to remember, but for this very nature they can be easily overlooked. I think that’s why it’s so helpful just to read over your whole post before hitting publish, even if you think there are no errors. It’s so easy to miss little mistakes, which may have big implications upon the readers, so those two extra minutes spent going over what you’ve written is well worth it.
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I also feel that asking someone to proof read it for you can help a lot too, especially considering you’ve already looked at it a few times and you’re not going to be as sharp to catch the simple grammar mistakes as someone with a fresh pair of eyes…If time permits (and you’re not on tight deadline), sleep on it and reread it the next day before publishing it. Both of these strategies have made a world of a difference to me…
Here’s what I do. I email it to myself, as I don’t author blogs in a browser. Upon receiving the post via email, somehow it’s fresh and I almost always catch mistakes. Similar to when you publish and find yourself reading as a subscriber, and not an author.
[...] Blog Checklist: 10 Items BEFORE You Publish…- Writing on the Web, July 14, 2010 [...]
[...] Blog Checklist: 10 Items BEFORE You Publish…- Writing on the Web, July 14, 2010 What is a good checklist before you publish on your blog? I’m preparing some learning modules for a content marketing presentation and came up with this checklist of 10 items. Tell me what you think. Here’s what happens, usually. Write 350-600 words ( educate, entertain, engage, enrich readers). Format post (bulleted lists, etc.). [...]
These are great and simple suggestions that everyone can do before hitting the ‘publish’ button. Remember that as soon as you hit publish your RSS subscribers are getting your first version. If you haven’t corrected or went over your blog and you hit send you’re too late.
In your second point you say to write 350 to 600 words. Uh oh… I don’t think you made it with this post. You might make the article “11″ items to hit the 350. ;o)
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