15 steps to take when publishing your blog post.

Whoever said blogging was easy, clearly had no clue what they were talking about. First of all, you need to write content that sounds appealing to readers and then you need to make sure it connects with them on a personal level, and on top of all of that, you have to make sure you use the correct structure and have NO grammar mistakes. There is so much to think about before and after publishing your blog, so many opportunities for mistakes and so many ways that you may look unprofessional. But with these 15 steps to take when publishing your blog post, these things will no longer be a problem.

If you are a blogger or have ever written a blog then you can probably relate, but the fact that you are here reading this post means that you are ready for change and improvement. You have taken the first step to make your blog writing easier and more professional.

Here are 15 Steps to take before and after publishing your blog post

Before publishing

1. ATTENTION-GRABBING HEADLINE

If it isn’t obvious, your heading is the utmost important part of your blog. Your headline determines how many readers you will attract. This is what grabs the readers’ attention and gives them the urge to read your blog.

But how do you know if your heading is catchy? Here are a few things to take note of while creating your heading :

Keywords: one of the most important things for your heading is to boost your search engine optimization. This can easily be done by adding keywords to your heading.
Specifics: When it comes to a heading, readers don’t want to read unnecessary words. Your heading must be straight forward and tell the reader exactly what they can expect to read in your blog post
Offering value: In your heading, you need to give your readers solutions to their problems and make sure they know that they will gain value from reading this post.
If you follow these three things when creating a title you will see a higher click through on your posts.

2. USE HEADINGS AND SUBHEADINGS

These are two things that will make or break your post. If you think about it… Have you ever looked at a blog or any text for that matter, seen that it’s too long, and decided that you’re not going to read it? I know I have.

This is why headings and subheadings are so important. It allows us to break up the content and unclutter it. This helps readers easily see what your post is about and encourages them to read it.

3. CONNECT YOUR BLOGS

This is something that a lot of bloggers lack or just don’t do. Connecting your blogs is when you mention a topic that you have previously written about and link it to your new one. Why is this necessary? Well, not only does this give your search engine optimization a boost but it also encourages readers to stay on your site longer which in the end is what you want.

4. INCLUDE VISUALS

These days visuals are everything. Most of us look would rather look at visuals than read a chunk of text. This means that if your post has visuals the chances are good that your readers will stay and engage longer. Visuals can be videos, images, infographics, and gifs. This simply adds an extra layer to your content and intensifies your blogs.

A great app that I use is Canva, what a game-changer this is for social media and it makes adding visuals a pleasure.

If you would like to learn more about Canva click HERE.

5. ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE AT THE END OF A POST

Ending your post with a question has many advantages. The question you ask should be well thought out. The main reason is that this question will make your audience feel valued and let them know that they are heard and that their opinion matters.

6. BOOST YOUR IMAGES FOR SEO

The first thing to keep in mind when adding a picture is your theme and overall color that reflects your brand.
An easy way to make sure you have a consistent theme is by creating templates for your blogs or pins.

Now you have to ensure that your image is ready for SEO, this is not as difficult as it sounds. All you have to do is change the image title to include KEYWORDS. Then you must also make sure to add an alt text to your images. An alt text is like a short description. Lastly, don’t forget to add a pin description to your pins.

Here are some more tips on SEO: Melyssa Griffin,12 Tips about SEO

7. ANALYZE YOUR WORK

Okay, I know this is something you learned in school when you first started writing essays and your thinking “Duh, obviously!”
But this is such an important step that I feel you can never hear it too many times.

If you have mistakes in your blog it can easily turn people off and make you look unprofessional.

After publishing

1.PIN TO APPLICABLE PINTEREST BOARDS

You’ve already added a pin description, now all that’s left is to Pin them.

So now you need to pin your pins onto relevant boards, you should add a mixture of pins from your blog and a few from other people. Also if you are a part of any group boards, you must remember to share your pins there as well. This could be done manually or you can use a popular Pinterest scheduler – Tailwind. This app allows you to easily circulate your older content.

2. UPDATE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT NEW POSTS

Promoting your post on Pinterest is just not enough. There are so many more platforms that you can use to ensure more views. For example, share it to your Facebook page and groups, create stories for Instagram and Facebook, tweet about it on twitter and post it to LinkedIn.

3. CREATE INSTAGRAM STORIES

Instagram stories make a big impact. They allow you to connect with your audience and get them engaged in ways that other platforms can’t. You can ask them questions, give them updates on your blog, and show behind the scene progress of your work.

4. POST ON FACEBOOK GROUPS

Facebook groups are like small communities where you can promote your blogs, not only that, you can get direct advice and feedback from your audience. You can even collaborate with other bloggers and gain new clients.
Just remember to choose your groups consciously, make sure they are active, and that you are fully committed to the group.

5. EMAIL YOUR COMMUNITY

This is just a suggestion that I’ve found that helps my blog posts. What this entails is sending weekly emails to your lists with blog updates and extra content.
This creates an opportunity to get people that haven’t yet seen your post to check it out.

6. RESPOND TO COMMENTS

Have you ever commented on a post and not received a reply? You kind of feel let down in away. As a result of knowing how it feels, you can remember to respond to all your comments to build a good relationship with your audience. Responding to comments will also boost your engagement.

7. CHECK YOUR GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Checking your google analytics should become a habit. Every month you should check to see which posts received the most views. This will show you a pattern on what content your audience is most attracted to. With this information, you could easily improve your blogs.

8. IN 2 OR 3 MONTHS, UPDATE YOUR BLOG POST

Every day we improve, change, and grow so this means that the blogs you write today are not the same as the ones you wrote a few months ago.

This is why it is important to constantly update and upgrade your blogs to reflect these changes. This entails simply making sure your blogs are SEO friendly, checking that your content is up to date and that your visuals are current. I know it sounds like a lot of effort to update your blogs, but it’s worth it.

There you have it, 15 steps to take before and after publishing your blog post.

Do you have any specific steps you take after publishing a blog post to ensure maximum visibility?

15 steps to take when publishing a blog post