7 Things you need to do before you hit publish on a blog post

If you want your blog to grow then there is so much more to simply smashing out some great content and adding in some cool photos.

In fact, as I am learning, there is a lot more to do that just write, check and hit publish!

1. One of the most important things to do is to create a good heading! This is what will draw your readers in and ultimately decide if they click through to your page. Write a few possibilities down and see which ones would make you click through. You heading also needs to contain your main keyword, so use that as your starting point to create the heading.

Mandy had a great post a few days ago “Is the alternative your child dying?“. It makes you want to click through to read the post doesn’t it? You aren’t really sure what it is about so you want to go and see!

I had a post titled “I wore red lipstick, you won’t believe what happened next.” It got loads of views because it wasn’t my normal style of heading and people wanted to see what happened next. So think about your headings!

2. Add an image, preferably one that can be added to Pinterest easily especially if your post is one you want to pinned, like a craft post or a how to. Canva has a Pinterest option you can use, its super simple to add your image and chose your layout, the sizing is all done for you! Chose a good image,not one that is blurry or out of focus or really has no real point to it. I am very visual so good images make a big difference to me in a post!

3. Select good keywords. Chose 3 keywords that you want for your specific blog post and make sure you use them, obviously without being too obvious. Try, if possible to also chose a keyword that is specific to your blog in general. This isn’t always possible, I can’t use the keyword “parenting” in every single one of my posts but if I can I do add it in. Keyword Planner can help with this!

4. Try to add links that link back to your older blog posts. I mentioned this is in my lessons from ProBlogger post. It encourages new readers to read older posts and also gets readers to hang around your blog for a while, which is what you want. Make sure the posts you are linking back to are good posts and update them if need be.

5. Add your categories and tags! If your categories are used correctly you could get a reader who enjoys your post click through to the whole category to read more so make sure your categories are relevant and that the posts in each category are relevant to that specific category.

6. Make sure each post has visible share to Facebook or Tweet buttons. You can also add in a little bit at the bottom of the post that encourages people to share and follow you. Shares and tweets is what we all want so make it easy for people to do that.

7. Add a question or call to action. This encourages people to comment and is great to create engagement on a specific blog post. Make sure you interact with your readers once they have commented, they have taken the time to leave a comment so take the time to acknowledge them.