Lose some weight, fatty! – Remember that internet users have about as much attention span as a five-year old child on speed. (What? I grew up in a rough neighborhood) As a rule of thumb, the user should never have an entire screen of text while scrolling through your post. Separate large text blocks with relevant pictures or uniquely formatted titles.
Go do something else for an hour – Save and exit the word processor you are writing your post in. Minimizing it will make returning to the post too tempting. Go outside, read a book, or simply go walk your dog. Or if you are like me when given this advice, go on YouTube or Facebook and let your mind wander elsewhere.
Make a final BS read-through – This is one of the most important steps. Before posting, reread your post and delete all of the bullsh%t. It inevitably creeps into all blog posts. The BS can take the form of unnecessary preaching, lame jokes, wordy sentences, repetitious points, unnecessary arguments, or even repetitious points. 😉 Make sure that you would feel comfortable reading your blog post out loud to a room full of your peers.
Publish it – Hit the magic button, do a spin in your computer chair, and get ready for the fun part.
Finally you can start to blog
Blogging is as much about discussion as it is about writing content.
View your post from the perspective of your readers – Go reread your post on your actual blog. Verify that all of your images and links work correctly. Be sure that your links both take you to the correct URL and open in a new window.
Remember, you don’t want your users leaving your blog mid-post.
Respond to comments – You wouldn’t ignore someone if they talked to you face to face. Make sure to follow the same etiquette for blog posts. You don’t necessary have to respond to every single comment, but you should try to answer readers’ questions and be part of the any related discussions. (I for one need improvement in this area.)
Add updates – Did you just find out half your post was incorrect after publishing? Add an update but don’t delete your original content. Make use of strikethrough. It is okay to change your entry after posting, just make sure you make a clear note that it changed. Admitting to a mistake is always better than simply hiding your errors. Remember, people can always see what you have written in the past by viewing cached versions.
Respond to your response – See if people elsewhere on the web are talking about your post. If they do, join the conversation. At a minimum check Delicious, Technorati, and Google Blog Search.
Reflect and learn – This should happen about a day or so after writing your awesome post. Simply reflect on how well you achieved your desired results and reflect on any mistakes you may have made. This is one of the most important parts of successful blogging.
Finally, pat yourself on the back and smile. If you did everything correctly, you should be loving what you do 😉
Stay tuned for the SEOmoz blogging guide coming out early next week!
If you are an experienced blogger, feel free to share your opinions and expertise in the comments. This post is very much a work in progress. As always, feel free to e-mail me or send me a private message if you have any suggestions on how I can make my posts more useful. If that’s not your style, feel free to contact me on Twitter (DannyDover) and/or Linkedin (Danny Dover). Thanks!
