Updated February 14, 2017
Confession: I love blogging. I guess I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I didn’t love it, right?
I’ve been blogging for just over 6 years. During that time, my blog has changed and evolved with me and now is a small part-time job for me! It made losing half a teaching salary much easier to swallow. It’s provided me the opportunity to meet amazing people, connect with incredible brands, try amazing products, attend awesome events, and helped me meet some of my closest friends. I’m very happy where my blog is lately.
You guys know I am a teacher, and I teach you a lot about makeup. I wanted to start delving into the world of sharing some blog tips with you guys. I don’t have any set expectation for it, other than I feel drawn to write about it. Maybe it’ll be once a week, maybe a few times a month. I don’t know. Anyway, today I wanted to talk about 5 things I (almost) always do when I publish a blog post. These things are part of my work flow, and my personal blog checklist! Hopefully they help you a little bit. I also have a little something extra for you at the bottom of the post!
1. Research keywords
I get post ideas all the time, but I never know how I should word my title or what keywords to target. I want my post to be seen by the search engines, and optimizing posts based on actual search queries will help with that. More than half of the time, my original title idea gets changed because of the keywords I want to target. There are a lot of keyword research tools available online. You could use keywordtool.io or SEMrush.com, but lately I’ve been using the keyword planner from Google. Once I find the keyword I want to target, I will use it in the title of my post, in the URL, throughout the blog post text, in the alt text of images, and in the meta description.
2. Optimize images for thumbnails and social media sharing
Within the last couple of months, I’ve been using three different sizes of my “hero image” (the main image of the post) that are optimized for different social media platforms. For Pinterest, I use a long vertical image (vertical images always do better in Pinterest), which is usually 736 x 1128 pixels. If I want it extra long I will set it to 736 x 1800 pixels. I usually do a text overlay in Photoshop that entices others to pin the image. For Facebook, I crop a horizontal image (without as much text overlays) to 1200 x 628 pixels and upload that in my Yoast settings (download that plugin if you’re on WordPress). Finally, I will crop my image to an 800 x 800 pixels square. This will serve as the thumbnail on my actual blog as my featured image. Oh…. and if I am publishing a YouTube video, that thumbnail will be 1600 x 900 pixels. I know, it’s a lot of different crops for just one image, but it makes a huge difference! My images look so much better on social media, and the thumbnails on my blog are all uniform.
3. Publicize to social media
I have my blog post set to automatically publish to Facebook and Twitter when my post goes live. I have the Publicize settings configured for Jetpack this way, and it saves me a lot of time. My posts usually go live at 7:00 a.m. (except for this one…. oops!), and if I am still asleep at that point, I know that they will go to Facebook and Twitter. Oftentimes, I will re-share the posts later in the day, because chances are I will be reaching different people. I don’t share about my posts every time a new one is up on Instagram, but I try to promote my blog a few times a week on that platform. I also use services like Buffer for twitter to share others’ posts. Sharing others’ posts and tagging them is always a great idea, and will also encourage others to share your work.
4. Schedule pins
Once the post is live, I will go back later and schedule that post to be pinned to multiple boards. I use Tailwind to schedule these pins, along with other pins I want to go out throughout the day. I try to be pretty active on Pinterest every day, as I feel like it grows my account and my blog. I pin at least 30 pins per day, and it is a mix of my own and others’ content. Pinning others’ content (and telling them that you’re pinning!) makes them more likely to pin your content. My largest social media following is on Pinterest. It consistently brings me a large amount of pageviews, so I definitely make sure to utilize it each day. I highly recommend that you start utilizing the power of Pinterest. It is an amazing way for your content to be seen by completely new eyes. I get one time visitors all the time, but some days those visitors turn into subscribers. Getting a Pinterest scheduler makes like easier and keeps you very active on Pinterest.
5. Comments
I have been making it more a priority lately to comment on other blogs and respond to comments on my own blog. This cultivates community and encourages others to comment on your posts. I have been setting aside 10 minutes a day to go comment on a few blogs. It’s easy and can be done while watching TV after the kids go to bed. (But if we’re being honest, all of my blogging related activities happen while the kids are in bed or at school.) The more comments I give, the more I receive on my own blog. I like to use Helene as an example – take a look at how many comments she gets on each blog post. They are at least 30. She gets that by commenting on other’s blogs! She establishes her community that way. Comments are not dead. Give them out, and respond to the ones on your own blog. I have been pretty bad about responding in the past, but I have made it a priority lately!
Download My Blog Post Checklist!
You can download my free blog post checklist by entering your name and email below. I won’t spam you, and you can unsubscribe at any time!
I’ve added a little something extra for you guys – my blog post checklist! I have added a few other extras on this checklist that are not on this post. I have been handwriting a little checklist like this on my paper planner and thought it would be fun to whip up a printable for you guys to use for reference.
This is a great little checklist girl, thanks for the printable :)!! It’s great that you’ve been able to supplement income with blogging and spend more time with your kiddos!!
You’re so welcome, girl! It is helpful to think about going through all of those steps when writing a post. Just seemed natural to make a printable and share about my process! And thanks so much…. blogging has definitely helped me offset losing half an income 🙂
Thanks for the blog check list. I am trying to find ways to get more traffic, so this check list will be a super helpful reference as I continue to try and grow my blog.
All great tips. I have to work on remembering to look at keywords and SEO. Your printable will be a great reminder.
xoxo
Katie
http://beyondtheclothing.com
Thank you for that sweet comment! I’m glad to help! Keywords have been a game changer for me in getting my post seen. What I thought were good keywords weren’t actually what people were searching for in Google/Pinterest!
I feel like you are speaking to me lately, I swear!! I love this and would even love a consultation with you or something!! Have you thought about setting up something like that?? Thanks for these tips. I will look into all of them!
You are so sweet!!! Thank you so much! Your comment totally made my day. I love to teach, and I love talking about blogging. I have never thought of coaching/consultations but if you are interested we can certainly talk! Shoot me an email and we can figure something out!!
This is a great list! Thanks for sharing, Meg!
You are so welcome! I am glad to help 🙂
Thanks for the tips! Reminders like this always come in handy for me.
http://thequirklife.com/
Glad to help!! Thank you for your sweet comment!!
These are such awesome tips! I learned so much I didn’t already know about writing a post. Thank you for sharing your tips and the tools you use!
So glad I could help, Colleen!! Thank you for your sweet comment!
Great post Meg! I’ve been utilizing Pinterest more myself to upload images I use in a post. However I haven’t really researched keywords and I think that’s a superb idea!! Thanks for sharing the resources to do so!
Xo, Bev
Hi Bev! Glad to help!! Keywords help a lot! Hope this helps you!!!
HI, I am totally new to blogging, as in, my first post went up 2 days ago! lol. I’m a stay at home mom, and honestly, at this point, I have no idea what I’m doing or what I’m even going to post about. I just know I want to blog, so I’m doing it! Anyway, I came upon your blog by chance a few days ago and have been reading it ever since. If you end up setting up consultations, I would love to pick your brain! Thanks for this post.
Aww you are so sweet – thank you for stumbling on my blog and being a new friend!! And congrats and welcome on starting your blog!! Since you are the second person on this post who is interested in a consultation, I am now seriously considering it! Why don’t you email me at [email protected] and we can chat about it!
What a great read Meg! Thanks for sharing, will definitely implement a few of these ideas on my own blog!
Thank you, Lilly! So glad to help! 🙂
Such a great list & wonderful things to do!! Now, if only I could get back to blogging on a regular basis! As soon as I get back in the swing of things something comes in & rocks our schedule! I don’t like schedule rockers!! LOL! Will certainly be pinning this though for future reference!
LOL girl I hear ya! I have had many a schedule rockers around here. Up until recently, I was the most inconsistent blogger ever!! But I’m glad to help and I hope this helps once you’re back on track! 🙂
Totally saved this post for future reference! I love this, girl! Excited for you to share more tips!
Aww thank you so much, sweet friend!!
This is an awesome list. I’m a newbie so I’m always looking for expert advice like yours. Thanks!
Thank you so much! I’m happy it helps!!!
I really need to work on pinning images! Tailwind is awesome!
Yes it is!! I have increased my traffic so incredibly much just by pinning all the time. Luckily I can just schedule everything and I don’t have to worry about it.
These are all great tips Meg! I don’t have a checklist but I probably should. And I’ve started doing more with my photo sizing after you told us what you do in our blogging group. So smart!!
Having a checklist definitely has helped – I feel like it is making my posts more consistent and I feel more at ease. Glad to hear the photo sizing is helping you out, too! 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment, girlfriend
I’m so proud of you! You are so awesome for coming up with this. 🙂 You have so much to teach and give to the blogging community, and I’m so glad to have you in my squad. 😉 Xoxo
You are so sweet!!! SQUAD 4 LYFE
Great information Meg! You have a very similar mindset for posting as me. The images is the hilarious one. I make a thumbnail image, a FB image, and a Pinterest image! It’s kind of ridiculous but it’s totally necessary.
Thanks for sharing.
Pinning this to my Deliberate BLOGGING board.
xoxo
Thanks sweet friend!! Yes, it is ridiculous to make 3 separate images but in the end, it really helps your blog post be seen no matter where it is shared!!!
Wow. This was incredibly insightful for this busy blogger mom…thank you! I especially liked your insight about the keywords. I haven’t crafted that one yet! Thanks again for putting this together! I would love for you to check out my blog sometime, I’m always looking to improve and would love your feedback!
http://www.tessakirby.com
Adorei seu check list!
Thank you SO much for the free printable!
You’re so welcome!
Meg, I am a retired corporate worker (retired three times, actually hit all three utilities) and while I enjoy retirement (three beautiful, intelligent granddaughters, working in the yard, etc.) I miss my computer time. Thank you for this free checklist. Even though I may not become a blogger it gives me something to think about for the future!
Thank you for the advise. I have been trying to adjust my image sizes. I did not know that at first. I will keep working on your checklist. It’s fun to develop something people enjoy. It looks like you have the right technique.
Girl, I’m amazed at how much of this I don’t do, especially keyword searching! I’ve never thought of that to be important, although now, I’m definitely going to implement it! I’m as well working on replying to comments more, so it’s great to know I’m not the only one haha. This is a great checklist, thanks for making it!
Thanks again,
Elizabeth | Boundless Brunette
https://boundlessbrunette.com
This is a great checklist! I took about a five year break from blogging and am just jumping back in and completely rethinking my strategy. I like how you say you are putting more of an emphasis on commenting on other blogs. I think back to five years ago and wonder how I missed the social part of social media. I was mass posting using schedulers to multiple sites and using Facebook groups for engagement and none of it really ended up working. Here’s to being more social!
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