Ever been in a situation where after spending hours, pouring out your heart and soul into a valued piece of content, and then you hit publish but get discouraged with the number of views or stats? If yes, then this post is for you.

As a blogger, it’s important to know that it’s not just enough to write or publish a blog post. There are a whole lot of other things that needs to be carefully considered and put in place, so as to ensure success.

So in this post, I’ll be sharing 11 things you should do to every blog post before and after you hit the publish button.

BEFORE:

1. Edit and Proofread

Sometimes you need to proof read your posts over and over again to avoid errors and typos. I have had to go back to some of my old blog posts to make corrections. I recommend you do that every couple of months because no one is perfect at it. You may also wish to get help from Grammarly and other helpful applications that will help save you from stress.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You must have heard this again and again and that’s because, Better SEO = higher search engine rank = better readers

I’m not an expert when it comes to this but I have learned to rank well on keywords and also to become SEO friendly in my titles and headlines.

For example, instead of

/2018/3/12/how-to-cook-mashed-rice-123445

why not use /how-to-cook-mashed-rice

3. Have a catchy title

Your blog post titles have to be catchy, enticing, and easy to click. No one will want to read a content with a crappy title.

Try to incorporate the main keyword into your titles and make it one of such that is irresistible with the expectation of what people want to see even without releasing much details.

4. Link to older posts

Keep people engaged with your blog by linking to older posts. It’s another way of building a great level of trust and relationship with your reader’s. The key is to keep them long enough on your site, so they can keep coming back for more and as they come, they get to connect deeply with you.

5. Categorise

Depending on your blog’s niche, it’s advisable you put your posts into sections or categories. This allows your content to be easily found, and your site more user friendly.

AFTER:

6. Pinterest

I have personally had great success in the last one year driving more traffic to my blog using Pinterest. It’s one of the best free marketing platforms on the web.

I randomly create images that relates with the content of my blog posts using Canva (a free blogging tool). Whether you want to create an infographic for a presentation, marketing materials, or a school assignment, Canvas infographic creator has you covered.

I also make use of Visme (a data presentation and visualization tool). I use it to generate  and customize the images of content I publish on my social media platforms. With Visme you can create infographics, visual contents, reports, product presentation, interesting animations, and lots more.

The best way to get traffic from Pinterest is by creating a board that is specific to your blog’s niche and organise them with high quality pins linking to each blog post.

7. Facebook it

Facebook is another great platform that drives real traffic especially if you are very active on Facebook groups and communities.

8. Email your subscribers

Your email list are like your biggest fans and they love to always hear from you. For me, I create monthly dose of awesome mail’s and dispatch them to my subscribers letting them know what I’ve been up to lately.

You can make it weekly too but don’t forget to highlight what’s been happening on the blog and share links for them to go check it out. If you haven’t started building any list yet, then you should.

9. Reply to comments

Take time out to respond to your reader’s comments. Always ensure a call to action at the end of your post to ensure positive feedback. The better you respond and communicate with your audience, the more likely they are to come back.

 

10. Re-Pin, Re-Post, Re-Tweet, Re-Share

It’s not enough to publish a post and just leave it lying out there. You have to constantly share, re-post, re-tweet, and re-pin them repeatedly.

Eat. Sleep. Blog. Repeat. – Cassie Daves

11. Study your analytics

It’s good to try not to be so obsessed with your stats to avoid getting caught up with the numbers but it’s also necessary to study your analytics from time to time to know what post is performing well and the ones that are not.

And there you have it all! Are you a blogger? What other things do you do before and after hitting the publish button? Share with me in the comment box below.

Don’t forget to also like, share, and subscribe to the blog. Thanks for stopping by☺