10 Things to Think About Before Publishing a Post

When I write a blog post, I think about 10 things before actually hitting the publish button. Doing these things, you will most likely end up with the post that you intended to write:

1.) Always check spelling and grammar. This is a must! Do you want your readers to think that you are illiterate or don't care enough to do a little editing? Most blog publishing programs have a spell checker integrated in them, so put them to use!

2.) Is the post relevant to your blog title and theme? You don't want to go off on a tangent and talk about other subjects, this just upsets the readers that want to see the content you've been blogging about all along.

3.) Is the post too long? Frankly, this is one of those things that is really up to the writer. I always re-read the post at least once through to see if it flows well or if it becomes boring after a few lines. Try to put yourself in the place of the reader, and be critical of yourself. Note that more than 500 words in a post is probably too long, so try to stay under that.

4.) Be very critical of yourself. Like I said in #3, if you are not satisfied with the post after you read it through, then most likely your readers will not be either. If you think something needs to be changed, go ahead and change it.

5.) Would this information be portrayed better in a list? I know it's funny that I bring this up on a strictly lists blog, but I have read that people find information much easier to obtain from lists. Don't make your readers dig through large paragraphs just for a few bits of important information when you could give them what they need in half the time.

6.) Can this post spark conversation? One of the main reasons people blog is to see what others think of what they have to say. If you are one of these bloggers, then make sure your post gives the readers something to discuss. Don't be afraid to ask questions in your posts due to the fact that the criticizm or answers you get could only make you a better writer.

7.) Did I say everything I wanted to say about the current topic? This is also a very important question to ask yourself. You don't want to leave the readers hanging on for a piece of information that they would need dealing with the topic. Remember that you can always go back and edit the post if something suddenly pops into your head that you forgot.

8.) Did I stay true to my writer voice? If you blog for a while, you develop a "voice", or your own writing style. You don't want your work sounding like someone else's because people are coming to your blog to read what YOU have to say. Make sure they get what they want!

9.) Should I split this into more than one post? Like I said in #3, you don't want to put a whole book into one post. If you think there is way too much information for one post, you can just make a series of posts and link them together. This looks much cleaner in the long run as well.

10.) What can I use for a headline? You want your headline to catch the attention of anyone who comes across it, but you don't want to upset readers by misleading them with the title. Just "wow" yourself with your writing.


There is no better feeling than hitting that publish button after answering all of those questions and knowing the post is just the way I wanted it to be. If you do something differently while you are posting, please feel free to comment on it below.