When it comes to starting a blog it can sometimes be a lonely experience…
You are dedicated to writing great content full of helpful information that you know your target audience will love.
But how do you get the best from every one of your blog posts?
More importantly how do you reach the people who really want to read what you have to say in your blog?
Well that’s what I’m here to help you with. I have put together a few guidelines that if followed should significantly increase your blog posts reach.
Blog Post Checklist
1. Blog Title
When writing a title for your blog post you need to give it some serious thought. The title is your headline, it is the thing that will make people decide if they want to read further or just pass on by. Try and keep your title short and to the point. Always include your main keyword within your title in order to improve your posts SEO. If you are struggling to come up with a title you like try Portents Content Idea Generator for some alternative and often amusing suggestions.
2. Content
Ensure the main body of your post is easy to read. Minimise paragraphs to no more than five lines. keep sentences short – twenty words or less is recommended. Use plain English – this is no place to show off your grasp of the longest words in the English language. Break your text up with sub-headings – this not only makes your readers experience easier to take in it also makes your post look more interesting.
3. Images
Be sure to include one featured image and one image, chart or graph every 100 – 150 words at the very least. Humans are visual creatures and an eye catching feature image will get their attention, images, charts and graphs within the content will help to keep them reading. When you upload an image ensure that it is not too large in terms of data size so that it will load quickly. Don’t forget to fill in the alt attribute box for your image and be sure to include your keyword’s in the description.
4. SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimisation. Basically the better your SEO the more chance your blog post will have of appearing higher up in search engine rankings
There are a number of things you can do to improve your SEO.
Make sure your main keyword/s is included in your title, in the first paragraph of your post and used often throughout your post.
Ensure your post is at least 500 words long as search engines like a decent amount of content.
Include alt attributes in the images you use so this will display in the event of your image no loading.
Also write a short meta description and include your keyword/s. The meta description is the text that appears under your main title in search engine results.
5. Links
Try and include links in your post whenever possible. Link to external sites as well as directing people to relevant places on your own website or other blog posts they may find interesting. Including links also helps with your SEO.
6. Credit Your Sources
If you have done research for your blog post or have used quotes or content from other places, be sure to give credit to your sources. This will not only give credibility to your own content it will also show your readers that what you are saying is backed up by reliable sources.
7. Social Sharing
When you set up your blog be sure to have social sharing buttons available from the start. This gives your readers the ability to share to their chosen social platform with just one click.
8. End and Publish
Finally end your post with a question to your readers in order to encourage comments. Alternatively present a call to action related to your post i.e. download your free guide here.
The final thing to do before you publish is to proof read the whole thing. If you need to make changes do so, then proof read the whole thing again to be sure it is all as it should be.
Post Publishing To Do List
1. Share and share again
Once you have published your blog post the first thing you should be doing is sharing to every social media platform that you have a presence on. Don’t stop there though, post to all relevant groups and communities also. Do this everyday for the first week in order to reach as many people as possible. Try posting at different times in order to spread the reach of your blog post. If you have a presence on Pinterest or Instagram then create an eye-catching image to go with your post. Better still create a story board to get more attention. The optimum size for a Pinterest image is 1000 x 1500 pixels. Instagram is 1000 x 1000 pixels.
2. Respond
Respond and reply to ALL comments (good or bad) on your blog posts. After all even bad feedback if it is constructive can help us all learn and improve.
3. Develop Alternative Content
Explore ways of turning your blog post into alternative content. For example you could record a verbal mp3 version for download from your website. If you are intending to post on a regular basis why not consider turning your post into a podcast? Maybe get in front of the camera and record a video to post on YouTube with links back to your own website.
4. Revive old posts
Don’t think that just because a blog post was done two, three or four months ago that it has served its purpose. Go back over your old posts, update and improve them if necessary then give them a new lease of life by re-sharing and re-formatting.
You can use the Revive Old Post plugin to do this for you If you have a WordPress based blog.
If you have found this article useful please leave a comment below, alternatively if you have your own tips or advice please feel free to share.
Want your own Blog Post Checklist? You can download one FREE here.
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