Blogging isn’t easy. There’s so much to learn. And things are changing every single day. As bloggers, we work really hard to get our posts ready for publish. Whether we are creating recipes or crafts, styling outfits, curating great information or whatever it is….we work really hard right up until we hit publish. But before you let the world see your hard work, let’s make sure your post is ready to go! Check out these 11 Things that you need to double check prior to publishing your post!
ONE: Did you proof-read your post?
Go back in and double check that everything is spelled correctly and that you are using the write words instead of the wrong ones. See what I did there??
TWO: Do you have a call to action at the end of your post?
This can be a question that you ask your readers or add in a Pinterest widget or add in an email sign-up form. All of these are calls-to-action.
THREE: Have you tested your links?
If you have links in your post, I highly recommend that you test them all.
FOUR: Do you have a Pinnable Image?
Make sure you have something that people can pin from your post!
FIVE: Do your photos have actual titles and ALT Text?
Make sure your photos don’t say IMG00055. Google reads Image code and let me tell you…no one is searching for IMG00055. So make sure you change your photo file name. Also, get in that ALT Text. The Pinterest “Pin-It” button pulls your ALT text before it pulls your picture file name. Tell a story with your Image ALT Text. Think of it as if you were describing your post to your best friend.
SIX: Is your Post Title & Post SEO-friendly?
Make sure you have a keyword or keyword phrase for your post and make sure that is somewhere in your title. Do you have the keyword or keyword phrase being used throughout your post? It doesn’t have to be in every single paragraph, but you want to include it at lease 2-3 times in your post.
SEVEN: Is your post sponsored in anyway?
If it is, make sure you disclose that fact to your readers. Your disclosure must be clear, concise and conspicuous. It cannot be hidden and it cannot be at the very end of your post. At the very least, your disclosure MUST be before your first outbound sponsored link (or affiliate link). I HIGHLY recommend that you disclose at the very beginning of your post. I know you probably think that will kill your post when it goes out to RSS feeds…but let me tell you…the FTC is the real deal. And they get their panties in a wad if they think a consumer is being duped. No lie. So make sure you are disclosing properly. Read more about FTC disclosures here.
EIGHT: Do you have any Internal Links to yourself?
Link to yourself when you can. Have a similar post, share it and then go back to that particular post and add a link to your new post. Self-promote your previous posts as often as you can within your own posts.
NINE: Add relevant Affiliate links.
If you have a craft post, add affiliate links to the tools you were using. If you write a book review, add an affiliate link to the book. REMEMBER to disclose that your post has affiliate links. Your disclosure must appear before the first outbound affiliate link. I recommend you place your disclosure at the top of your post. (You can see mine at the top). ALWAYS DISCLOSE!! And read all about why you should disclose in my #bloggingedumacation post about the FTC Disclosure Guidelines.
TEN: Do your outbound links have the “open in a new window” code attached to them?
I highly recommend that those links going elsewhere (meaning not within your blog), open in a new window when they get clicked. Add this code at the end of your link: target=”_blank”
Here’s an example: <a href=”http://pinkheelspinktruck.com” target=”_blank”>Pink Heels Pink Truck</a>
ELEVEN: Have you No-Followed your Sponsored or Affiliate Links?
Any link that you either got paid to insert or that you might make money from (Affiliate), those links need to have the No Follow code attached. This is what your No Follow code should look like: rel=”nofollow”
Here’s an example: <a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://pinkheelspinktruck.com/”>Pink Heels Pink Truck</a>
So now that you’ve gone through the list, pin it to Pinterest or Bookmark it so that you remember this for next time!!
Want more of my #bloggingedumacation?? Check out my podcast: Boss Girl Creative!
(Where I Party)
Great tips, Taylor! I never knew the significance of the “ALT Text field”–now I know to fill it in and why! I also hadn’t thought to go back to the posts that I link to from a new one, and link back to the new one. (That seems so obvious now!) 😉 Enjoy the look and feel of your blog, by the way.
Great post and I was happy to admit that I do most of them. I have been putting my disclosure at the bottom sometimes. How do you get it to go at the top and not show up in the preview or have SEO pick it up?
Love these reminders! This is a great check list to print out to double check that you have covered all your bases before hitting publish! 🙂 Saying hello from the Monday inspiration party, and I am so glad that I did! 🙂 I am off to read your posts on how to make money blogging!
Cathy
Thanks for that list it is very helpful. I was never sure when to use the ‘no follow’ you have helped clarify that.
These are great reminders. I often forget to include an image. Especially on more personal type posts.
Thank you!! These are such great tips for any blogger! I am so happy that I click this post over at Mom 2 Mom Monday Linky party!
Great tips! thanks for sharing! saving this post to keep them in mind! 🙂 Have a great week! x
Great tips Taylor! I need to work on making sure I always have a call to action in my posts. I always forget that part!
I cringed at the use of write in #1, but then I saw what you did there. 🙂
And #5 is something most people don’t do enough of. By correctly adding the Title, Alt-Text and Description you can help promote your posts so much better on Pinterest. Most people just click pin and don’t take the time to edit the text, leaving it IMG00055. Then someone else does a search for “blogging tips” and guess what, the pin with the text IMG00055 doesn’t come up!
Saw this on Lou Lou Girls Link Up
Thank you for the tips! I am new at blogging and navigating the steep learning curve. Some of these I have not done at all, but will start doing. Others I found out the hard way and had a lot of backtracking. Thanks! Visiting you from All Things Thursday.
Great tips! Thanks.
Thanks for the great tips! I definitely have some things to work on.
Saw this on Over 50 Feeling 40 link up.
You have such a beautiful blog! I think this list is so concise and needed. I think that testing all of the links once a post goes live is the most important! That has burned me before…
Woah! This was actually super helpful. I am going to keep this list handy (:
Super awesome tips! Love learning all I can!! Thanks.
These are great tips! Pinning to share!!!
I love this post! Thank you. Super awesome helpful tips.
Taylor You have given readers some valuable advice, especially the disclosures. I found you at #pureblolove nice to meet you and your blog!
These are great tips for the newbies and good reminders for those that have been around for a while! Will be sharing on my Facebook page and pinning as well.
Thank you for the great tips. I learned several things from them.
I am still totally confused about what “no follow” means and why it matters! Should it be in the ad’s code? Found you via skip the housework linky party!
Such great tips!! I need to get a note next to my screen for all of this! 🙂 Thanks for linking up with the #DreamCreateInspire blog hop!
Think I need to take a squiz at my “alt text” and make sure if isn’t all IMG0003… Haha Classic.
I also enjoyed that you suggest an pinworthy image as a cal to action… something different to contemplate on the blog.
Can you give me a little more context as to what a No-follow code is, and why it needs to be there on the affiliate link [hoping my theme does that automatically – but just wanted to check the context]…
Ps… also learnt the lesson of not pre-reading / checking links… Haha
Pps… enjoying the sharefest 😉
Hi, does Word Press have away to automatically added the no follow code when you add a linky? Thanks for linking up with the Weekend Wind-Down Party. 😉
Thanks for the tips! I’ve been neglecting adding an alt tag recently since Pinterest and FB seem to pull up my meta-description, but I didn’t even think about the search engines! AH! LOL
Thanks for linking up at Oh My Heartsie Girl WW! What great ideas! Useful for a newish blogger like myself!