Well, I’m taking a one day break from the MB Challenge, and tomorrow we’ll talk about name and domain choice. But for today, we’re going to go over a subject that needs to be hammered into the heads of every blogger. Regardless of niche, popularity, and other factors, there are 5 things (I’m sure you can think of more, but I like the number 5 ) that you should go over before pressing that pretty little “Publish” button in your Wordpress admin.

The problem that most bloggers have is that they rush their posts, they skip editing, they skip spell checking, and they end up with poorly formatted posts with bad grammar, misspelled words, and more. They are simple “Publish Happy” if you will.

Let’s list each of those 5 things, and talk a bit about them all.

1. Spell Check your posts

Well, this is a pretty straight forward one, but I’m bringing it up anyway. You need to use the spell check feature of Wordpress! It’s included, just choose your language and toggle it on/off. Obviously, we want on. So many times have I come across an otherwise great post on a great blog, but, what’s this? Ovviously? That’s not a word! You see my point? When you don’t have good spelling, it can really detract from a post that would have been just fine. Spell check your posts. Right now. Go ahead, do it.

2. Check your Grammar

Besides the fact that good spelling is needed to make a good post, grammar is right there too. When writing a post, it’s important that people can understand exactly what your saying, or what you mean. Sometimes if you don’t finish sentences, or you mix up some words, it can leave a reader going, “What did I just read?” “I’ve got no clue what this guy meant!” There is a cool tool I use called SpellChecker.net. All you gotta do is plug in the text of your post, and you get a great grammar check in a pop-up, and it can help you fix up those posts real quick.

3. Edit out the Fluff

Now, I won’t give you much fluff in this point, wouldn’t be fitting. Basically, if a reader has to go through 400 words before you get to what that post is about, then you have a problem. You need to get to the point, get what you need to say out, and finish the post. No rambling. (Unless your post is a ramble or if your blog is ramblings. ) Either way, no one needs to read tons of content for nothing, so try and cut it out, or at least keep it to a minimum.

4. Ask yourself if the post is helpful

A bit related to point 3, but is something that needs going over. Sometimes, I’ve written a post, and thought to myself, “My readers don’t really care about this subject.” Or, “My readers may not understand where I’m getting at with this.” See, you need to look at the post from the perspective of your readers, not you. Maybe you get what you mean, but will they? Think about it.

5. Sort out your permalinks, categories, and tags

Ah, something a bit more technical here. But, it’s something that can potentially make or break your SEO presence, especially when it comes to getting traffic to your posts, not just your home page. Adding Tags and separating your posts up can make it easier for readers and new coming visitors to search through your blog, and find what they really want. Categories are great to, they can make navigating your blog, and finding what you want to find easier, and it just organizes everything, which is always good. Lastly, and also the most important one for SEO. Permalink structure. I personally set the permalinks to show the posts name with each name separated by a -, and this sort of permalink structure is great for SEO, and can boost your site and inner pages in the SERPS.

Well, there your go! 5 things that are essential before pressing that coveted “Publish” button.

Tags: Blogging, blogging tips, make money blogging, make money online, posting checklist

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Blogging, General, News, Tips and Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.