I don’t like wasting time, but the other day I found myself doing just that. I was busy updating some old posts: setting a featured image, rewriting language, checking to make sure the formatting was okay in my new theme. The problem was that I kept forgetting stuff: to backdate the post for instance, to assign key words, choose a nice short URL, etc.
After I wasted about an hour or so going back on posts I’d already done to make sure I had forgotten nothing, I came up with the solution: A blogging checklist!
The Ultimate Blog Post Checklist
Because we’re ChurchMag and we like to be of help, I’ll share it with you. And since I’m me, I’ve not only included technical checks, but also various crucial writing aspects to help you become a better writer 🙂
So before you hit ‘Publish’ on that next blog post, use this blogging checklist to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything!
Technical Checks
- Is the date and time set correctly? Do you need to back-date it for any reason?
- Have you assigned a category?
- Do you need to add tags?
- Have you placed a ‘more’ tag? (or ‘read more’)
- Does it list the correct author?
- Have you credited your images and photos to the right person?
- Have you checked the preview of the post to see if it displays correctly?
SEO Checks
- Do you have a strong title that’s not too short/long?
- Have you included at least one internal link?
- Have you entered SEO info? Chosen a solid key word? No keyword stuffing? Given a short description of the post?
- Have you selected a featured image or included another image? Is this image optimized for web, the right size and have you included an alt-text description?
Language and Content Checks
- Does your post have one key message that comes across loud and clear?
- Did you use paragraphs with at least two sentences per paragraph?
- Did you spell check?
- Have you read your post out loud to check for awkward wording, missing punctuation, rhythm, etc.?
- Do you have any long sentences that need to be cut in two?
- Have you done a check for comma splices?
- Can you tighten your writing, eliminate modifiers for instance (very, many, really, etc)?
- Check your verbs: are they strong enough? Colorful? Or bland and generic?
- Have you made sure you wrote the notorious homonyms correctly (it’s/its, your/you’re, there/they’re/their, two/to/too, ‘ve/of, then/than)?
Final Check
- Does this post fit the core message of your blog?
- Did you hit the right tone?
- Were you angry or highly emotional when you wrote it? If so: do you need to wait 24 hours to see if you still want to post it?
Eric Dye says
This IS the ultimate check list!