Ok, so you have written a wonderful and informative blog post, and you are ready to publish it, watching the endless stream of traffic come.  STOP….have you thought about EVERYTHING you need to do before you hit that publish button, and do you know what you are going to do afterwards?

Whilst it would be great to think that after writing a blog post, we are going to receive a flood of traffic, the reality is somewhat different.  After you have written a blog post, you should always undertake the following 8 tips.

8 tips to follow after writing your blog post

1. Choose an image

We have mentioned before that a blog post without images is rather dull, so make sure that you include at least one image with every post.  Whether you use an image of your own, or an image you have sourced, the choice is yours, but remember to use one.

2. Optimize your blog post

Before you publish, you should always check that you have optimized the post correctly and checked the SEO.  Have you used keywords and phrases that are relevant to your blog post?  Have you used these within the context of your post without it looking like keyword stuffing?  Head over to Google Keyword Planner and type in keywords that are relevant to your post.  Check to see which of those keywords are being searched often and use those in your blog post.

Check your title and the category you have placed the blog post into, to ensure that it is highly relevant.  Also make use of the tag fields to add your relevant keywords.

3. Link to previous blog posts

Check that you have included links to previous posts you have written.  This will help direct readers to other content of interest and keep them on your site.  It will also help to pass some SEO link juice, and we all like that don’t we!

4. Proofread it

Always, always ALWAYS proof read your blog post.  Skim over the post first to see what visual effect is being given.  Is it friendly on the eye?  Have you used bullet points, subheadings, lists?

Check out any links you have added and make sure that these are working.  Preview the image to ensure it looks how you want it to on the final page.  Check on your spelling and sentence structure, and make sure that the blog post is easy to read.

If you fail to proof read, you have failed the entire post and all that hard work will have gone to waste.

HAPPY WITH YOU POST?  OK….GO AHEAD AND CLICK PUBLISH!!  NOW WHAT?

5. Post links on ALL your social media accounts

The first thing you need to do is to now advertise your post.  You should have all you social media accounts set up, so it is now time to start showing them some love!  Post a link on all your social media accounts basically advertising that your blog post is live. Give a different description depending on the account you are posting to, to ensure you are capturing your followers attention.  Encourage readers to visit and share your link.  Maybe think about adding a plugin to automate this process on all your accounts to save you the time in doing it.

6. Bookmark your link

Bookmarking your site is just as important as posting your link to social media sites.  By posting your content to bookmarking sites you can increase your exposure and have your link shared.  Remember however that in order for you to be successful on these sites you must also be seen to be actively sharing content other than just your own!  Sign up and bookmark your links on sites such as StumbleUpon, Delicious, Digg or Pinterest etc.

7. Respond, respond, respond. 

If people are interacting with your blog post that is awesome, but now you have to respond!  Whether this is on one of your social media profiles, or in the comment section at the bottom of your post you MUST respond.  Interaction with your readers is what is going to keep them coming back, so make sure you are keeping an eye on your links and responding to everyone in turn that has taken the time to leave you a comment.

As well as responding to comments on your own blog, make sure you are interacting and leaving comments on other sites in your niche.  Leave a meaningful comment and a backlink to your site.

8. Plan your next post

Keep the momentum going at all times and plan ahead of time what your future posts will be.  Build on posts that you have already written, and this will also help with your link building.  Remember that search engines love new content, so the more posts you create, the higher the chance of search engines sending traffic your way and the more successful your blog will be.

What’s the first thing you normally do when you have finished a blog post?  Do you have a schedule you normally follow?  Please share your thoughts with us below.