Blog Post Checklist: 5 Steps Before You Publish
Blogs are a great addition to any website. They have have the potential to increase website traffic, convert readers into customers, and build your authority in any industry. The best part is you can start free.
This article will help new and established blogs optimize each post. Save these steps and reference them before you create a new content or update old ones. This easy-to-follow format will have you blogging like a pro in no time.
1 - Identify your target audience
Before you write your first blog post, you need to figure out who you’re writing for. Who are you trying to reach? Who are your products and services designed for? This will ultimately determine what you write and how you write it. Nail down your target audience in as much detail as possible. Use these questions as a blueprint to help you figure that out:
Who do I sell to?
Who buys my product/service?
How old are they?
Do they have children/families?
What is their occupation?
What do they like to do in their spare time?
What are their values?
What are their pain points?
What problems do I solve for them and how?
Answering these questions will help you create what’s called customer personas or buyer personas. A buyer persona is a detailed description of your business’s ideal client. Knowing your buyer will ensure your content connects with people who will actually purchase your product or service.
2 - Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas
Once you’ve identified your target audience, start thinking about topics they want to read about. You can use Reddit, Google, Facebook groups, and any other place your clients hang out in order to learn…
what your clients are talking about
what questions they want the answers to
what tips and advice they’re searching for
what tips and advice will help them in life or business
All of which can be used for blog post topics.
A good idea would be to keep these topic ideas in a spreadsheet or notebook to reference as you build on your blog. Do market research like this on a regular basis to keep a log of fresh, relevant content ideas your audience will actually want to read.
3 - Use attention-grabbing headlines
Well-crafted headlines will use emotion, curiosity, information, or interest to encourage the audience to open and read an article. You can use Google search engine results see which headlines are already performing well. But no stealing here. And no clickbait. You want to avoid being flagged as spam. Your headline should be unique and fit your topic of discussion. Google favors relevant, unique content that is legitimately helpful to readers.
People are generally attracted to:
Top 10 style lists
How-To guides
Reviews and comparisons
FAQ’s
News on trending topics
It helps to brain dump a bunch of words related to your post and words you think will appeal to your target audience. Start mashing them together and see what you can come up with. I also use this thesaurus tool to find unique or powerful words for my headlines.
It’s okay to spend a little extra time here because your headline will be the deciding factor on whether someone clicks or scrolls past.
4 - Write value-packed content
Now that you’ve got the topic and headline, it’s time to start writing. Aim to provide as much value as possible. You don’t want to fill your post with fluff just for the purpose of reaching a desired word count. The length should be determined by adequate coverage of the topic. I typically write blog posts that are 1,000 to 2,000 words, but I also have shorter lists like this one. Focus on quality over quantity.
It’s also important to:
Cite outside information from websites of authority or industry experts
Check existing articles on the topic to see what’s missing that you could cover in yours
Add relevant keywords to your article
Break up longer paragraphs with bullets or numbers
Ask for feedback from others before publishing
Be sure to and edit your articles several times to check for errors in spelling, grammar, and flow.
5 - Sprinkle internal links
Internal links are links in your blog post that lead to other pages on your website. This helps Google understand your website better and it helps improve the user experience. Strategically placed links can bring readers to other blog posts, your products or services, or your contact page. It’s an easy way to encourage the reader to buy or connect with you.
For example, if you want more hands-on help with your blog, you can contact me here.
Wrapping up your strategy with internal links is the icing on the cake. All the steps beforehand have gotten them to visit your website and read your blog post. Internal links helps to convert these warm leads into customers and clients.
BONUS: Use social media and SEO
Once you create or update a blog post, be sure to share it to all your social media platforms. Sharing it to your Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn will help drive traffic to your new post and increase your reach and visibility.
It’s also important to include SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, to help your content rank on search engines. I use Keysearch as an affordable keyword research tool to find high volume, low competition keywords to use in my blog posts. You can also use something like Hubspot’s blog software. Find a program that works for your business and your budget.
If you’ve never used SEO best practices or you’re just beginning to learn, it can be a bit confusing. You can start with this article here to learn more about website SEO, alt text, and more.
Conclusion: Blog Post Checklist
Now you have a better understanding of the elements that make a good blog post. To recap:
Identify your target audience
Brainstorm sought-after topic ideas
Write attention-grabbing headlines
Fill the post with value
Use internal links to encourage contact or purchase
BONUS: Use your blog posts as part of your social media marketing. Share to your socials each time you create a new post to increase visibility and reach. Be sure to apply SEO best practices to show up on Google as well.
If you don’t have a blog yet and you’re wondering if it’s worth starting, check out this article that outlines the advantages and disadvantages of blogging. This will help you decide if it’s the right move for you.
If you enjoyed this post and would like similar content created for your website, contact me here. I offer done-for-you blog articles, analytics, and SEO content strategy to help you grow your digital presence.
