Putting together a blog post can seem pretty simple. First you come up with an idea. Then you write out the post and take photos. Then you hit publish, right? Well there are things every blog post should have BEFORE you publish that maybe you aren’t thinking of.
Editing: So I am not always the best with grammar and spelling. However, having someone who did not write your post read your post over before you publish is beyond helpful. The more I talk to others the more they agree that editing your own posts is hard. When you write, sometimes you try to get the words out so fast that even though it made sense at the time it doesn’t later. Even yourself going back and editing can be really helpful and make you rewrite a sentence or two.
A Call To Action: I like ending every post with a question. I feel as though when I do not do this I see a lot less thoughtful interaction on my posts. When I do ask a question, I get some really great responses and I get a chance to interact with my readers more!
A Category and Tags: I use WordPress and I can’t honestly remember much about Blogger, but I can speak about this to WordPress users. I always make sure I have a category (no more than three) and tags for my posts. The categories I use mostly are blogging, food, fitness, and life. Then for tags, I use a lot more specific tags and a LOT of them! Make sure to have your posts organized with categories and tags so that your readers can easily find similar posts!
SEO: This is a major one. I have a post coming up all about SEO and the techniques I use, but just know you need to have it. Play around with it and get familiar with it. I use Yoast as my plugin and I talked all about WordPress plugins here.
A Way to Share: I use Click To Tweet which is a WordPress plugin as well as the social sharing tools that are built into my design at the bottom of each post. I love Click To Tweet because it’s a Tweet that I write out ahead of time that you guys can share! I use this a lot in my posts and I really love it.
A Pinnable Image: I always always always have a pinnable image for each post. This is a vertical image in my post that works well with Pinterest. I hate when I go to a post I love and there is not a pinnable image with the post title in it. It drives me crazy because I want to pin that post. Make sure you have this. It could be as simple as taking a photo from your post and overlaying wording over it, making a collage, or a standard graphic. I have a few graphics I use for these types of blog advice posts and I alternate through them. I can tell you that having wording in your graphic is important for Pinterest purposes.
A Point: What is your post about? Is it rambles? A story? A list? Just make a point. I am not always perfect at this, but it is something I strive for in each post. Even in a sponsored post I try really hard to have a point and tell a story.
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I feel like if you have these things in every blog post you are for sure headed in the right direction! These things every blog post should have before you publish will improve your posts so much I promise!
I would love to hear if you have anything to add to my list! Please tell me in the comments below!
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I hope you found this post helpful! If you enjoyed hearing the things every blog post should have before you publish, make sure to check out my other blog advice posts!
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Great post and great tips. My husband and I write on the same blog and we also try to end our posts when possible with a question. We feels it gets the reader more involved in the post. Thanks for sharing this terrific post.
These are great tips, and I’m glad to say I usually do all of this! I always try to end my posts with a question, but I could be a little better at adding more tags. I also try to link to other posts in the body of my post.
great tips! I rarely have someone else read my posts to edit them, but I can always count on my mom and sister in law to point out any errors once they read it!
I absolutely agree with the editing part. Science proves our brains skip over words or information that may be missing when we edit something we’ve just written. We remember what we meant to say, so it’s never good to edit immediately after writing. Still, sometimes I’m in a hurry and I hit “publish” on a just-written post, thinking my proof reading was sufficient. Sadly, when I read those posts later, I find a hot damn mess! This is a great post with tons of good tips and reminders. Thanks for sharing!
I think it is so important not to ramble and actually have a point. It drives me crazy when I read something and I don’t understand why it was written in the first place.
I love all of your points and do most of them. I have been having a hard time coming to terms with the whole Pinterest vertical images and words on my pics thing…my blog is so personal and I don’t want a lot of words over my pics…so I have not really been focusing on Pinterest for that reason. Would like your thoughts on this…
I need to have more social share plugins but the only problem is that the coding on Wix is so limited I am unsure if I am able to do it! Great advice and tags is important.
I’m working on being better about the whole Click to Tweet thing…I just always forget to add it but when I used it in one of my posts last week, I had probably close to 10 people share it on twitter that I knew about!
I’ve recently started including a Pinnable image in every post and it makes such a difference! There’s definitely an increase in traffic to my blog from Pinterest but having a consistent type of pictures also make my blog posts look so much prettier
Great tips! I have been trying to end posts with a question this past year, and have found it helps a lot with engagement. I agree too about pinnable images — so important!
Yes yes yes yes yes. This is a perfect list Neely! These are definitely the basics, and they’re very important! Too many people ignore them and then wonder why their blog isn’t very successful.
Hi Neely,
I am really looking forward to your post on SEO because I have no idea where to start. Oil always use a pin able image and share my posts all over social media.
Great tips! I use blogger, so it is kind of easy for me to share my post. However, regarding comments, I always leave a question but no one engages. It is kind of frustrating seeing that your blog is read by 100+ people and no one comments 🙁
I got nervous as soon as I saw the title of this- thankfully, I do most of them- HA! Definitely agree with having someone read it. It’s funny how your eyes don’t catch mistakes when you’re the writer.
These are great tips and definitely things you need to keep in mind. A pinnable image is good But if I could make a little sugestion. If you are going to share it on facebook, having a square image also helps. FB and Instagram like them better.
Great points! I’ve been trying to end my posts with a Call to Action, as you put it. Sometimes I can come up with an appropriate one and sometimes I cannot.
Yes! I really dislike it when I get to a post and have to search for a way to share their words. It makes it frustrating and quite frankly makes me wonder if they really want people to visit their blog. I also love ending my posts with a question and getting some great feedback from my readers.
It’s so easy to just ramble, thank you for this. Looking forward to the SEO posts, I am looking to up my blogging game so need all the help I can get. Subscribed to your newsletter so I don’t miss anything!
These are all truly great tips. I use Blogger, I just couldn’t get myself to change to WP yet, I am kinda scared of the changes and everything. I might have to bite the bullet at some time though – anyway, I do add tags, categories to every post as well, and never more than 3 either.
Thank you, Neely xxx
I’m so bad at including the call to action… and a point. So many of my posts feel like a total ramble. I’ll definitely be checking out your SEO posts!!
XO Amanda | http://www.glitterandspice.com
This was such an informative post. Right now I am really trying to work on my blogging skills as well as grow my audience. This was very helpful. Thank you for posting!
Great tips! I completely agree about the editing. I do my best to have someone else review my posts before I publish, because what sounds good in my head doesn’t’ always make sense to others. Definitely saving this post!
As always, I love your post. Your posts are always so informative and helpful. As someone who is constantly trying to make changes to my blog and learn new things, your blog is my go to spot! I’ve pinned this to save for future reference. I am truly learning so much from you!
Love this post! So true! I always read my posts out loud to my fiance before I post them cause I catch errors easier that way! I love ending my posts with a question too 🙂
Definitely agree with these points, editing is a big one! There’s nothing worse than reading through an interesting piece that’s cluttered with grammatical errors, it takes away from the story. Also, laughed out loud when I got to #7 – so true, there should always be a point to a post! 🙂
All of these points are great. Personally, I do not like to end all of my posts with a question. I understand the need for a call to action but I do not want my posts to seem predictable.
Great tips! I need to check out the click to tweet plugin- I’ve seen it at a few blogs and have actually used it a few times. Such a great way to increase your engagement with readers. And Yoast SEO is awesome!! I love it.
First off, I love the name of your blog! Coffee is my fuel 🙂 These are some great tips and I have saved it for future reference when writing blog posts. Thanks for sharing!
These are excellent tips! I’m glad you started with grammer and spelling as your number 1 tip, since it’s the one thing that will make/break your voice. If there are too many errors, people don’t read it, and that’s sad since the writer took the time to (hopefully) do your other suggestions (pinnable images!!).
I am horrible at SEO – mainly because I blog on blogger and have no clue how to incorporate SEO. I should probably look into that…This is a great checklist!
I always try and end my posts with a question! I feel it gives my readers something to comment!
Completely agree with all of these points! I’m new to blogging but I’ve been making sure that I have these!
Great post and great tips. My husband and I write on the same blog and we also try to end our posts when possible with a question. We feels it gets the reader more involved in the post. Thanks for sharing this terrific post.
These are great tips, and I’m glad to say I usually do all of this! I always try to end my posts with a question, but I could be a little better at adding more tags. I also try to link to other posts in the body of my post.
SEO has been a game changer in my stats! Categories and tags also make my content easier to search through. These are all great ideas!
Great points! I really like the call to action. I don’t use that all the time, but will start doing that now.
great tips! I rarely have someone else read my posts to edit them, but I can always count on my mom and sister in law to point out any errors once they read it!
I absolutely agree with the editing part. Science proves our brains skip over words or information that may be missing when we edit something we’ve just written. We remember what we meant to say, so it’s never good to edit immediately after writing. Still, sometimes I’m in a hurry and I hit “publish” on a just-written post, thinking my proof reading was sufficient. Sadly, when I read those posts later, I find a hot damn mess! This is a great post with tons of good tips and reminders. Thanks for sharing!
I think it is so important not to ramble and actually have a point. It drives me crazy when I read something and I don’t understand why it was written in the first place.
I love all of your points and do most of them. I have been having a hard time coming to terms with the whole Pinterest vertical images and words on my pics thing…my blog is so personal and I don’t want a lot of words over my pics…so I have not really been focusing on Pinterest for that reason. Would like your thoughts on this…
I need to have more social share plugins but the only problem is that the coding on Wix is so limited I am unsure if I am able to do it! Great advice and tags is important.
I’m working on being better about the whole Click to Tweet thing…I just always forget to add it but when I used it in one of my posts last week, I had probably close to 10 people share it on twitter that I knew about!
I’ve recently started including a Pinnable image in every post and it makes such a difference! There’s definitely an increase in traffic to my blog from Pinterest but having a consistent type of pictures also make my blog posts look so much prettier
Nellwyn | http://www.thecardinalpress.com
Great tips! I have been trying to end posts with a question this past year, and have found it helps a lot with engagement. I agree too about pinnable images — so important!
Yes yes yes yes yes. This is a perfect list Neely! These are definitely the basics, and they’re very important! Too many people ignore them and then wonder why their blog isn’t very successful.
Great points!
Blessings
Sarah (www.sarahefrazer.com)
Love all your pointers. Thank you.
Hi Neely,
I am really looking forward to your post on SEO because I have no idea where to start. Oil always use a pin able image and share my posts all over social media.
Great tips! I use blogger, so it is kind of easy for me to share my post. However, regarding comments, I always leave a question but no one engages. It is kind of frustrating seeing that your blog is read by 100+ people and no one comments 🙁
XOXO, IF || http://youngbooty.blogspot.co.uk
I got nervous as soon as I saw the title of this- thankfully, I do most of them- HA! Definitely agree with having someone read it. It’s funny how your eyes don’t catch mistakes when you’re the writer.
These are great tips and definitely things you need to keep in mind. A pinnable image is good But if I could make a little sugestion. If you are going to share it on facebook, having a square image also helps. FB and Instagram like them better.
It’s a pity click to tweet and other stuff like stumbleupon button are only available for WordPress.org, not for the WordPress.com
These are all so important! And I’m with you – I love Click to Tweet !
Great points! I’ve been trying to end my posts with a Call to Action, as you put it. Sometimes I can come up with an appropriate one and sometimes I cannot.
You have some great tips. One thing I always make sure is to have a twitter and instagram pics related to the post. I find that helpful!
So much truth here! Thanks for sharing!
Lots of great points here, thanks for the inspiration!
Yes! I really dislike it when I get to a post and have to search for a way to share their words. It makes it frustrating and quite frankly makes me wonder if they really want people to visit their blog. I also love ending my posts with a question and getting some great feedback from my readers.
It’s so easy to just ramble, thank you for this. Looking forward to the SEO posts, I am looking to up my blogging game so need all the help I can get. Subscribed to your newsletter so I don’t miss anything!
These are all truly great tips. I use Blogger, I just couldn’t get myself to change to WP yet, I am kinda scared of the changes and everything. I might have to bite the bullet at some time though – anyway, I do add tags, categories to every post as well, and never more than 3 either.
Thank you, Neely xxx
I’m so bad at including the call to action… and a point. So many of my posts feel like a total ramble. I’ll definitely be checking out your SEO posts!!
XO Amanda | http://www.glitterandspice.com
This was such an informative post. Right now I am really trying to work on my blogging skills as well as grow my audience. This was very helpful. Thank you for posting!
This is such an awesome list. I try to do every one of these things, it’s made a big difference!
These are all great points! I’m really trying to up my game with Yoast, etc.
Great tips! I completely agree about the editing. I do my best to have someone else review my posts before I publish, because what sounds good in my head doesn’t’ always make sense to others. Definitely saving this post!
SEO is so important! I’m trying to be better about proofing and editing before posting too!
Those are all great tips for bloggers, especially new ones in the field. I can be bad about editing.
As always, I love your post. Your posts are always so informative and helpful. As someone who is constantly trying to make changes to my blog and learn new things, your blog is my go to spot! I’ve pinned this to save for future reference. I am truly learning so much from you!
Great tips, I try to do all of these!
This is such a good list! I always try to have a call to action, and I also love the Better Click to Tweet app as well as Yoast!
A pinable image is an absolute MUST. Love this post 🙂
xoxo, Jenny
Hi Neely,
These are very important things that EVERY blog post needs BEFORE publishing your blog post 🙂 Great share!
I love having a call to action on my blog. It’s a great way to interact with your readers.
Love this post! So true! I always read my posts out loud to my fiance before I post them cause I catch errors easier that way! I love ending my posts with a question too 🙂
Definitely agree with these points, editing is a big one! There’s nothing worse than reading through an interesting piece that’s cluttered with grammatical errors, it takes away from the story. Also, laughed out loud when I got to #7 – so true, there should always be a point to a post! 🙂
i love these tips! I aim to have a point… then hop e to build around it!
Great tips for beginners and seasoned bloggers. Sometimes we just forget simple things that can make a big difference. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with the CTA. I end every blog post with a question. It’s a good way to engage.
All of these points are great. Personally, I do not like to end all of my posts with a question. I understand the need for a call to action but I do not want my posts to seem predictable.
Good pointers! I really cringe if there’s incorrect lamguage in the posts. I think images also make a post attractive. 🙂
These are some really great tips. Some of them I don’t do and I am not sure if I will. I totally agree on staying on one topic or point. Great post. 🙂
Great tips! I need to check out the click to tweet plugin- I’ve seen it at a few blogs and have actually used it a few times. Such a great way to increase your engagement with readers. And Yoast SEO is awesome!! I love it.
First off, I love the name of your blog! Coffee is my fuel 🙂 These are some great tips and I have saved it for future reference when writing blog posts. Thanks for sharing!
These are excellent tips! I’m glad you started with grammer and spelling as your number 1 tip, since it’s the one thing that will make/break your voice. If there are too many errors, people don’t read it, and that’s sad since the writer took the time to (hopefully) do your other suggestions (pinnable images!!).
I can’t wait to read your post about SEO tips! I am the queen of terrible spelling – when I can, I always have someone read it over!
You make some really good points. Blogging is a lot of work and it helps to have a checklist like this to make sure you’ve covered everything!
Great tips! These are super helpful – thanks!
I agree! I use all of these tips as well and it has really helped me remain consistent and given my blog a look.:)
I am horrible at SEO – mainly because I blog on blogger and have no clue how to incorporate SEO. I should probably look into that…This is a great checklist!
Thank you so much for this. SEO has helped me so much so far!