{"id":1771,"date":"2017-01-17T03:45:29","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T03:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/10-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-publish-a-blog-post\/"},"modified":"2023-09-04T22:22:38","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T04:22:38","slug":"10-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-publish-a-blog-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socamom.com\/w\/10-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-you-publish-a-blog-post\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Publish a Blog Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since I started blogging, I have had friends and family members ask me how to do it.<\/strong>\u00a0 How do you \u201cblog?\u201d There\u2019s a lot to it, but here are ten things that you should ask yourself before you hit \u201cpublish.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This post assumes that you have a platform that is desktop and mobile friendly (Blogger, Squarespace, WordPress), social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), and an idea of what you plan to write about.<\/p>\n

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  1. Does this post belong on my blog?<\/strong> Sometimes I sit straight up in bed, grab my notebook or laptop, and start writing.\u00a0 It will be perfect and interesting and timely\u2026 and so wrong for my website.\u00a0 Ask yourself if it is something that your readers are expecting from you, or if it is something close to what your other posts are about.\u00a0 If not, see if any of your blogger friends who write similar pieces to yours are looking for a guest post.\u00a0 There may be another place for your writing to live\u2026 just not on your blog.<\/li>\n
  2. Have I created a keyword rich, interesting, truthful, clickable title?<\/strong> So many posts are shared based on the title alone.\u00a0 When it comes to successful blog posts these days, it is all about the share and the retweet, so it is important that you have a title that drives people to not only read your content, but to share it \u2013 possibly without reading it.\u00a0 You also don\u2019t want to alienate people by having a title that is interesting, but misleading.\u00a0 Make sure that your title actually tells people what your blog post will be about.<\/li>\n
  3. Have I read this post out loud?<\/strong> If you are like me, you have read your posts to yourself over and over, but rarely read them out loud.\u00a0 When you read your post out loud, you can catch typos and grammatical errors.\u00a0 Your brain will automatically do a spell check and an autocorrect for you when you read your post to yourself, but that isn\u2019t helpful when you actually need the changes to be typed.\u00a0 Reading aloud, and even printing it out rather than editing on screen, will help you catch any issues that spell check, and your eyes, might not catch.<\/li>\n
  4. Did I include photos that will create interest when I share the post on Facebook and Twitter?<\/strong> Sometimes you never know which photo Facebook , Twitter, or LinkedIn will choose to display when someone else shares your link.\u00a0 Make sure that every photo that you use will get people interested in the content.\u00a0 You can also test out your sharing buttons and see what photo each platform chooses when your content is shared.<\/li>\n
  5. Have I written a meta description that is Google and social share friendly?<\/strong> On most platforms, you can write a description of the post and save it as your \u201cmeta description.\u201d\u00a0 Search engines truncate these after about 150 characters, and depending on where it is shared, it may be cut off sooner on other social media platforms.\u00a0 Make sure the first few words accurately describe your blog post, because that might be all you get.<\/li>\n
  6. Have I included or created a Pinterest friendly image?<\/strong> There are times when your content will resonate with people so much that they want to save it and share it on Pinterest.\u00a0 Great Pinterest images either are stunning in their own right (jaw dropping scenery, a great closet, phenomenal landscaping, a beautiful hairstyle) or have words across the picture to describe your content (recipe name, post title, tutorial description).\u00a0 Pinterest is important for driving traffic, so don\u2019t forget to have an image that will encourage people to pin your photos and share your content.<\/li>\n
  7. If my platform allows affiliate links, have I included them where appropriate?<\/strong> Affiliate links serve two purposes \u2013 to help your reader learn more about the products and services that you mention in your post, and if they buy the product or service, to generate extra income for you.\u00a0 Your amazon links can end up being the gift that keeps on giving.\u00a0 Take time to create useful links for your readers, and increase your chances of making some extra money on your writing.<\/li>\n
  8. Have I made all my links \u201cno follow?\u201d<\/strong> What are \u201cno follow\u201d links and why do you need them? Long story short, they are just links. Google, in essence, ignores them.\u00a0 The search engine doesn\u2019t follow them, and the link is only a link, rather than a signal to Google to follow it as a link that your website trusts or endorses.\u00a0 When I link to content within my website, I use links that are not \u201cno follow,\u201d because I want Google to recognize that the content is related to the link and vice versa. To make your link \u201cno follow,\u201d add a rel=\u201dnofollow\u201d attribute to the <a> tag, or choose the \u201cno follow\u201d option in your link creator on your platform\u2019s editing page for your blog post.<\/li>\n
  9. Have I given the proper credit for the photos that I have used?<\/strong> There is no easier way to get yourself into trouble than using photos or content that doesn\u2019t belong to you, but sometimes, you have permission, or the photo is in the public domain.\u00a0 Either way, if the photo isn\u2019t yours, it is important that you tell your audience where you got it or who took it.\u00a0 It is also a good idea for you to know where the photos came from.\u00a0 Searching for a type of photo in Google, downloading it, and using it without permission or knowing what type of license under which you may use the photo could be a big problem.\u00a0 Make sure you give credit where credit is due.\u00a0 Sometimes I even credit myself to deter people from using my photos without my permission.<\/li>\n
  10. Have I included a disclosure about your relationship with the brand if this is a sponsored post?<\/strong> The FTC requires that bloggers disclose their relationship with brands that compensate them for posts, before any links to the brand.\u00a0 You also must disclose that you are including affiliate links before the link.\u00a0 It is a good practice to put the disclosure at the beginning of the post, and at the end of the post to be on the safe side.\u00a0 For details on disclosures, visit the FTC website here. https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/tips-advice\/business-center\/guidance\/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking<\/a>\u00a0Related reading:\u00a0FAQ’s About Sponsored Posts: What They Are and Why Bloggers Write Them<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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