15 Things To Do Before You Publish

Publish a post once ready. I always remind this to myself since I forget things so easily and ended up having a lot of notes and yet, that doesn’t help at all. To solve this problem, I list down the most important things I need to do before publishing a post.

15 Things To Do Before You Publish

I did some “research and brainstorming” to what should be considered before publishing a post. I’ve come up with these 15 questions.

#1. Did I preview the post?

Some might say this is a “no brainer” but for me I believe this is absolutely important. Especially when you write your blog post to a word document, Google Docs, Evernote or any other platform formatting may cause some issue when you paste it on WordPress. Also, you need to make sure that when you add affiliate links to your post  they should look fine and not cluttered.

#2. Did I add a featured image?

Definitely add some eye catching image that is totally related to what you’re talking about in your post. You can personally shot photograph or get some pretty sleek free photos.

MUST READ: 30 Places To Get Free Stock Photos

#3. Does this bring any value to my readers?

You know your audience well. Check your Google Analytics to check what posts you wrote before generated more leads and comments. And thus, continue to write posts that will help your readers in a way.

#4. Is this informative or useful?

Related to #3 above, it is important to write “serviceable content” or those that teach readers how to do something. For example, you can make a Step-By -Step Guide on something you really knew or recently learned.

#5. Did I add relevant links?

That time when I added a relevant link to my post, it generated more traffic than what I usually get. Besides, you work hard to generate content even if that is an older post, once it is related to your new post feel free to add it in and see how it goes.

#6. Did I add any subheadings?

Let’s accept it. People are busy. They don’t have time to read every single word so adding any subheading will help them to understand what are you really talking about. They scan content and see if it answers their problem that they are trying to solve, if they didn’t see that in you’re post they will leave.

MUST READ: 23 Kick Ass Blogging Tools To Use Now

#7. Tag appropriately

I knew some people who add tags like crazy. I did the same thing few months ago and I’ll be very honest with you – it did nothing for me! Change your tactics and just add 3 to 5 tags that is relevant to your post.

#8. Add Call To Action

So you’ve already created an amazing content, then you are able to spark the interest of your reader now what? If you will not add any CTA then your reader will go away! Decide what you want to focus on : is it growing you’re email list? more social followers?

#9. Re-read the post for errors

As a blogger, you have to be your own critic. What I personally do is to read my post out loud when it is in preview mode and start checking some errors on grammar, spelling etc. I am using Hemingway from my list of blogging tools which is really amazing.

#10. Edit the permalink

Having a long permalink will not help you in any way so better add your keywords to this area. As you can see in the image above you can just tick Edit to change your permalink.

#11. Add any image or video to your post

To keep the interest of your readers, it is important to add an image that is related to what your talking about in your post. Be sure to add any credits if you downloaded the photos from a different website.

#12. Will this new post generate traffic after a few months?

This is something that I am currently working on in my blog. This means that you should start creating “rich contents” to make it fruitful even after months of publishing. Be unique, take time to write your post and focus on quality over quantity.

MUST READ: 40+ Blogging Resources I Can’t Blog Without

#13. Use short paragraphs

Ask yourself – when you see a blog that is high loaded of paragraphs, will you keep reading? I bet you answered No. Make it readable and interesting! Use at least 2-3 sentences in every paragraph. You want you’re readers to engage in your content so don’t make it difficult for them to read.

#14. Hook up the reader’s interest from the first sentence

I find this very challenging to be honest. Why? Because if you will let all the juices came out right from the first sentence or paragraph of your post then you might think that the reader might go away right?  I tested this out from my Psychology Hacks post and it did well.

#15. Clickable Title

This one and #14 is the key to getting your reader’s interest. Make your title irresistible, clickable and relatable. Make them think that they need to read more. When you create stunning titles that catches the eyes – make sure you are able to prove to your reader that what they are expecting is actually in the post.

PIN THIS FOR LATER!