10 Things to do Before You Publish That Next Blog Post

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

When you sit down to blog, do you have a method? Even if you like to write creatively and let your ideas and thoughts flow, if you are blogging for your business, there are a few things you need to do for each blog post. This checklist can help you turn average blog posts into marketing tools that can help your business grow.

Ask Yourself “So What?”

When you come up with an idea for a blog post, ask yourself “So what?” Why should someone care about the topic, what will the post add to the broader conversation about the subject and why would it make a good addition to your site? Answering these questions can help you decide if the idea is blog worthy and help you flesh out your thoughts.

Consider Your Audience

As you form ideas for your post, keep your audience in mind. Before you even begin writing, define your audience and ask yourself what it would want to get out of the post. Then, as you write, fill this need.

Write a Clickable Title

In an age where people are overwhelmed with online content, your posts need to stand out. Many people skim through blog post titles or social media posts, clicking on the ones that most interest them. Knowing this, you need to create titles that entice readers to click on them so they will read your post and visit your site.

Include a Call to Action

Calls to action add value to your blog posts and will be dependent on your audience, your business and your marketing goals. You can borrow one of your business’ overall calls to action or one from your website. Or, some blog posts may have their own, unique call to action depending on the purpose of the post.

Check for Keywords

Depending on the length of your post, it should include two to three keywords that you want your site to rank for. Do some research and carefully choose your keywords. Then, naturally include them in your content. Do not force or overuse keywords.

Edit, Edit, Edit

After you have written the first draft of your post, edit it carefully. Look for spelling and grammar mistakes as well as for messaging. Make sure the post delivers what it should to help you reach your goals and that it includes a call to action.

Add Links to Other Posts and Site Pages

Adding links that go to some of your older posts or to pages on your website can increase your search rankings. Internal links can also decrease your bounce rate and encourage your readers to spend more time on your site, which makes it more likely that they will respond to your calls to action and become customers.

Add an Eye-Catching Image

The Internet, and especially social media, is becoming increasingly visual. Add a picture that helps illustrate your point and that will grab someone’s attention. Depending on your post, screenshots or diagrams could help your reader better understand your content and break up large bodies of text.

Create a Crawlable URL

You probably chose your domain name very carefully, considering your business, your branding and the domain’s SEO capabilities, so why not do the same for your blog post URLs? A URL that includes keywords can help search engines crawl your site more easily and help you rank for those keywords.

Assess the Formatting

The last step to creating the perfect blog post is to assess the formatting. Make sure headers break up large sections of text, pictures are placed well and that big sections of text are broken up into smaller paragraphs. These things all make your post easier to read, which can help your blog get more readers and more traffic.

As you develop your blog, you can use this checklist to make sure each of your posts is in line with your marketing plan, boosts your site’s search rankings and helps your business be successful.