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So you've written your blog post. Great! That's the hardest part. But you need to know what to do before and after publishing a blog post. Find out where to promote your blog posts after publishing and how to optimize your published content. These are things that will help get people's eyes on your post. So here's the list! (Plus download your free blog post checklist below)!

So let's get into it!

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What to do before publishing a blog post

You've written your post, but you're not quite done yet. There are still a few things that you should do before you hit the big red publish button.

Learn what you need to do to optimize your blog post before you send it into the world.

What you need to do before publishing a blog post:

Let's get into each of these things below.

1. Proofread

This seems obvious, but I've seen enough typos to know that people skip it.

Always proofread your post at least once before it goes out. Typos sneak in. They just do.

I use Grammarly to proofread my posts and it's a lifesaver. You can use it to check your work after you've written it, but it'll also prompt you as you're writing when you've made a typo. Highly recommend it.

2. Add internal links

Adding internal links (meaning links to your own site) will do two things.

First, it's good for SEO. It creates a web that Google can follow through your content to understand how it's connected.

Second, it prompts your reader to check out your other blog posts, meaning that they're on your blog for longer and are absorbing more of your content. There's a higher chance they'll sign up for your email list and a higher chance that they'll become a fan.

So consider where you can link a few of your other blog posts that relate to what you're talking about.

You can also add a list at the end titled something like “Other Posts You Might Like” and include a few more links there.

This is a crucial step to optimize your blog posts.

3. Add external links

Adding external links is another good thing for SEO.

It shows Google that you're citing places with authority. This builds your own authority.

Try to link to a couple well-established sites to give your post some more SEO juice. A good way to do this is to add in quotes from other sites (and giving them credit, of course).

This is also a great way to promote your blog posts after publishing: tag the site you linked to see if they'll share your content.

4. Add categories

Your blog should have a few main categories that all of your posts fit into. For example, on this site my categories are:

• Blog tips
• Branding tips
• Digital product tips
• Social media tips
• Pinterest tips
• Instagram tips

Make sure to tag one or two of the categories that your post fits into. It helps Google know what your site is about.

It also optimizes your content for readers to find the blog posts that will help them the most.

5. Add a featured image

Depending on your theme, your blog post may or may not require a featured image.

If it does, make sure to add one in.

And make sure to check what the required dimensions are for your theme. An unoptimized image can slow down your blog's speed which is a bad thing for SEO.

6. Add a Pinterest image

Pinterest can be a huge source of traffic, but first your pins need to be saved.

You should include a Pinterest image in every post so that people are prompted to save it.

A Pinterest image should be vertical (1000 px x 1500 px works well) and should include text saying what your post is about.

Check out the image at the bottom of this post to see what I mean.

If you don't have a pin embedded, people won't know where to promote your published blog post.

7. Add opt-ins

Growing your email list is important for every blogger.

There are many ways to grow your list, but one way is to include opt-in forms in your blog post that offer some kind of freebie relating to your post.

You can include them two or three times in each post.

You can make them using email providers like ConvertKit, or using separate programs like OptinMonster or Leadpages.

People will want to sign up for your freebie because they're already interested in the topic since they're reading your post. You can get a lot of subscribers this way.

Remember: your blog posts should be working for you. Optimize them so they continue to promote your work after they're published.

8. Check out Rank Math or Yoast

You should be using an SEO plugin to optimize your posts for SEO. I highly recommend Rank Math, but Yoast is another popular option.

These plugins will prompt you to do things like add your keyword into more H2 headings or write a meta description. All things that will help with your SEO.

While this is a good thing to do after writing your blog post, it's important to keep your keywords in mind as you write too.

What to do after publishing a blog post

Not sure what to do with after publishing your content? This guide will help you promote that new post you spent so much time on so it can get the attention it deserves.

Let's get into each of these things below.

1. Pin it on Pinterest

Pinterest can bring in great traffic, so make sure to pin your post after it's published.

It used to be good practice to pin new blog posts to a bunch of different boards all at once, but now it's best to just pin it to the most relevant board. Pinterest learns what your pin is about based (in part) on what board it's pinned to first, so make sure it's the most relevant board, even if you have multiple boards where it could fit.

Pinterest should always be the first thing you do after publishing a blog post.

2. Share it on social media

Share a link on Facebook or Twitter or whatever other social media platforms you're on.

Put it out there as much as possible.

3. Add it to your social media automator

If you're using a social media automator like Smarterqueue, make sure to add it in so the post goes out on a regular basis.

Tools like Smarterqueue will cycle through your posts so that it will go out again and again without you doing anything extra.

This means that long after you've published your blog post, it will still be promoting itself.

4. Submit it to Google to be indexed

Google will automatically crawl your site and pick up on the new post all on its own. But it doesn't crawl every day.

So to speed it up, you can use Google Search Console to submit your new post to be indexed right away.

This may not seem like a big deal, as SEO can take a while to work. But think about it: wouldn't you rather be promoting your blog post on day 1 rather than day 10?

5. Email your list

Email your list and let them know about your newly published post.

I always get a lot of clicks when I share a blog post. People are on your list because they're interested in your content. So share it!

Depending on your mail host, you may even be able to set up automatic RSS emails that will promote your blog posts after publishing without any work for you.

Phew, that was quite a list. But most of the items on there take very little time. And they're all important!

Make sure you're doing the right stuff both before and after you publish your blog post.

Do you have other things you do? Let me know in the comments!

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