Your Blog Post Publishing Checklist
What to do before & after you hit publish on your post
So you've just spent hours writing a killer blog post that you know people are going to love. To make sure your time isn't wasted, there are a few things you should do before you hit that publish button:
BEFORE PUBLISHING:
- Create a square thumbnail image for your post
This can be used for your sidebar & related posts thumbnails, as well as Instagram
- Create a Pinterest optimised image for your post
735px by 1102 px
- Create a Twitter post optimised image for your post
1024px by 512px. You can add this to your tweets, but this size also makes a good header image too.
- Double check all links go to the correct URL
- Re-write image Alt tags for SEO
'Get your free blog post publishing checklist here!' will show up rather than 'checklistpic.png' for people who might disable images when viewing.
- Make sure your post's keyword/phrase is prominent
Don't 'keyword stuff' but make sure the phrase you want to be found for in Google is in your post title, summary and content.
- Edit your post's metadata summary
If you don't write your own custom excerpt, Google will grab the first text it finds on the page.
- Add a question or Call-to-Action at the end of your post
What do you want your readers to do after reading your post?
Your post is now optimised perfectly for the internet! But now what? Here are some great free ways to get your content noticed once you've published your post:
AFTER PUBLISHING:
- Post to your Facebook page
- Schedule to Facebook for 2 weeks & 2 months' time
- Post to relevant Facebook groups
But don't be spammy, be helpful!
- Post to Twitter with your Twitter optimised image
Tweets with images are more engaging!
- Schedule to Twitter for 2 weeks & 2 months' time
You can use Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or Buffer to do this.
- Add post URL to your Instagram profile
- Post your thumbnail image to Instagram
Use relevant hashtags to gain exposure, and be sure to mention that the link is in your profile.
- Pin to relevant Pinterest boards
Post to your own related boards, or post to shared boards on your topic
- Share post to LinkedIn OR write a snippet post with a link back to the original
You can share your post as a status on LinkedIn, or you can write your own post! I like to write 1/2 the post and then link back to my own blog so that people are encouraged to visit my website to find out more.
- Post to relevant Google+ communities
Even if you don't have a Google+ blog/business page, chances are you have a Google account! Join communities, participate in discussions & post your articles.
- Post to relevant Subreddits
Get a Reddit account and get involved in Subreddits that are in your niche (there are some VERY niche subreddits...)
- Submit to Stumbleupon
Create a Stumbleupon account and submit your post. But remember to submit & stumble on other articles around the internet too so that you're not being spammy.
- Submit to Digg
- Add your post URL to your email signature
This could add some intrigue for your contacts - you never know!
