Do you use a blogging checklist before you publish?
While planning your content calendar is the first part of your publishing process, carefully reviewing your post is the final stage before it goes live on your site.
“Quality content” isn’t just about the type of content you create.
It’s about all of the care behind the scenes that makes great content possible.
Let’s look at a blogging checklist you can start using today that has 12 important steps meticulous writers consistently follow when they produce high-quality work.
Step #1: Set your publish date and time
I always advise that setting your publish date and time is the first thing you should do when you select a “New Post” in WordPress or any other publishing platform.
If you start writing or editing your content while “Publish: Immediately” remains as the status of your post, you run the risk of publishing your draft prematurely by accident when you save your work.
You might be thinking:
“Run the risk? That probably never happens. It sounds a little dramatic, Stefanie.”
Everyone who’s made this mistake because they didn’t listen to me when I gave this direction knows I’m not being dramatic.
It happens and it’s regrettable.
Step #2: Proofread your headline
Not one time.
Not two times.
Three times.
I call this the Copyblogger Triple-Check — it’s a staple in this publishing checklist.
Step #3: Proofread your subheadlines
You guessed it.
Give your subheadlines the Copyblogger Triple-Check as well.
When you’ve spent a lot of time editing your content, it’s easy to overlook mistakes in your subheads because you’re so familiar with what they’re supposed to say.
Step #4: Proofread your permalink
Finding a typo in your content’s URL is just disappointing.
And it’s completely avoidable if you also give your permalink the Copyblogger Triple-Check before you publish.
Check out more of my favorite proofreading pointers here.
If you’ve been proofreading for a while, you’ll especially love this proofreading technique.
Step #5: Select the correct post author/bio
Even if you’re the only person who writes for your site, don’t skip over this step on your blogging checklist.
Are your by-lines personalized with your name and author bio?
Include those details so new readers can find out more about you.
If you manage a multi-author blog, make sure you’ve selected the correct author and that their bio is current.
Step #6: Click on your hyperlinks
No one wants an email from a reader alerting them that a hyperlink in one of their posts doesn’t work or goes to the wrong website.
After you’ve carefully selected your hyperlinks, review your post in the Preview screen and click on all of them one last time.
Step #7: Check your quotation marks
They look innocent, but quotation marks can be frustrating little critters for web publishers.
If a hyperlink isn’t working properly when you test it, the quotation marks in your html might not be plain text.
Locate those curly-Q-style quotation marks in your Post Editor, delete them, retype them, and you should be good to go.
Step #8: Choose your categories
Categories help organize your content and make it easy for readers to find more information on a topic.
For example, I like directing people to our Editing category on Copyblogger if they’re interested in learning more about content editing.
Assign the right categories to your content or create a new one if you’re exploring a fresh subject.
Step #9: Add your “more” tag (or, the “wildcard” step)
You might need to add a “more” tag to your blog post.
This tag determines which text will show on your blog’s home page, if your full post doesn’t appear there.
The “more” tag inserts a link readers can click on to view the rest of your post.
If that isn’t part of your publishing process, use this step on the blogging checklist as a “wildcard” step — create a custom item that is necessary to ensure your content looks correct on your site.
Step #10: Display your featured image
Featured images aren’t just for your blog.
Get them set in the right spots on your publishing platform, so the correct ones show up on social media when you share your content and when other people share your content.
Step #11: Write your meta information
Your meta title and description display on search engine results and social media.
Attract the right readers with intriguing blurbs.
Go ahead, give them the Copyblogger Triple-Check too. 😉
Step #12: Enable/disable comments
Have you posted a comment policy for your community?
Whether comments are always enabled, or if you turn them on/off depending on the piece of content, get your comment section ready to roll the way you want.
Will you review this blogging checklist when you publish?
A blogging checklist with straightforward items might seem unnecessary and even, dare I say it, amateurish.
Know what’s really amateurish?
Making a mistake you could have easily avoided if you gave your work a little more attention to detail.
Even when we know what to do, we have to remember to do it … every time.
