There are certain things I try to remember to do before I hit “Publish” on my posts. But life is busy and my memory is getting worse so I’ve made myself a checklist.
Perhaps it will help you, too.
Update: Some of these things I now do using the Yoast SEO plugin. It reminds me to add the meta description and think a little about keywords and social media sharing. I have found it so useful to have in the edit screen of my blog.
Before I Post Checklist
Text
- Spell check – with the spell checker and with my brain
- Read for sense and flow
- Check grammar
- Format headings
- Add links to previous posts?
- Add links to sources or other blogs?
- Check text alignment
- Finish with a question?
- Check that you’ve used keywords, especially in the title (Thanks, Mary)
- Consider using synonyms in the text, so the post will show up in more search engine results (Thanks, Birgit)
Pictures
- Check sizing
- Add formatting?
- Add title?
- Change link to source (if not my own photo)
- Link to a previous blog post?
- Add alt title
- Select featured image
- Make sure one image is great for pinning to Pinterest
Other
- Add custom meta description (this gets pulled to Facebook)
- Add tags
- Add category
- Add custom meta description
- Publish or Schedule?
- Pick Schedule date and time
- Preview to make sure looks right
- Add custom meta keywords
- Add keyword to the title?
What about you? Are there things you always do before you publish a blog post?
Related: Here’s my Checklist for After I Post
Great little, yet thorough, list! Thanks for sharing! I will probably start doing something similiar now!
Thanks, Winter. It started as something for myself but I thought it might be useful to other bloggers too.
I think a checklist is a great idea! You might want to add an item to think about keywords. Did you add keywords to the article and particularly is it possible to work a good keyword into the title? (It helps with SEO.)
Your blog is really cute by the way; I love crafty stuff and want it back in my life!
Oh, forgot that one! Thanks, Mary! I’m going to edit right now so it will be there too.
Thanks Tonya! Might have to print this & tick it off. Still getting my head around blogs!
You’ll get there, Ang. There is lots to think about but blogs continue to change all the time so you don’t have to know it all to get started. You can add stuff as you go along and learn more.
I do most of those things but hadn’t really thought about it!
I suppose I just gradually added more bits and pieces as I learnt the value of them – and now the list is a bit long!
I hit publish and then seem to do all those things 🙂
Sometimes I do, too, Connie. Thank goodness for the ability to Edit!
Thanks for sharing this list. – I always have the feeling I forgot something when I hit the publish button…
I also think about using synonyms in the text, so the post will show up in more searchengine results.
Good idea, Brigit. I’ll add that to the list.