Each time you write your blog post use these blog posting 7 tips checklist.

They’ve helped my readers get more from my posts and have helped my search engine rankings as well.

Gotta love that!

1.  Find Your Best Keyword Phrases

Take a few minutes to research the keywords that people will type in to find your your post.

For example, at first you might think a blog post about the 7 best blogging tips might be titled ’7 best blogging tips’.  Makes sense, but after checking with the Google keyword tool, the phrases ‘successful blogging‘ and ‘best blog tips‘ get more searches with about the same number of competing web pages.

So it make better sense to choose a title that gets more searches without being any more competitive.

2. Title Your Blog Post Carefully

Your post’s title is what grabs attention, so craft your title using your keywords but add to those words something enticing that will get your reader excited or curious. Even better add an attention getting benefit.

Here are some useful ideas and tips on crafting great titles and headlines -  How to Write a Headline that Attracts Attention

3. Keyword Optimize your Post

Keyword optimization means optimizing your post for your best keywords.

To help take some of the guesswork out of optimizing your posts for your keywords, download the WordPress SEO plugin by Yoast.  I  just recently switched from using the all in one SEO plugin to this and I love it because in addition to lots of  other features, it also tells me if I’m using my keywords correctly.  There’s no making mistakes:

4. Deep Link your Posts

Deep linking is where you link  each of your web pages or posts from several other pages of your site or blog using anchor text, or the keywords phrases you want to target.

So in other words, if your blog post keyword phrase is ‘green apple blossoms’ and you want that post to rank well for that term in the search engines, then find other relevant posts or pages on your site to mention ‘green apple blossoms’ and link those words back to that post.

5. Drop the Lengthy Introduction

Keep your introductions short. Long and wordy introductions put you at risk of losing your readers, so keep it short.    Ideally, your intro paragrah should quickly tell the reader what they’ll learn in the post, so one or two  concise, to the point sentences is really all you need.

6. Optimize your permalink with your chosen keyword phrase

All this is saying is that you want your keyword phrase to be in the URL of your blog post.  To do this you’ll first need to configure your WordPress Permalink settings so this will happens automatically.

Using this blog post as an example, you can see that the URL of the post will include the post title that contains my keywords.  You also have the option of editing it as well.

7.  Publish Your Post When You Can expect the most traffic

Before you click the ‘Publish’ button, think about publishing your post at a time when you can expect the most traffic.   When to publish your post is different for everyone because it depends on when people visit your blog.  Having said that you want your blog content ready before they arrive.

The easiest way to do this is to check your hosting logs and find a traffic pattern.  For example, my highest traffic days are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and my peak hours most every day is from 9 -10 am and 4-6 pm.

So for me, at the very least I want to make sure my blog is ready with a new post at those times.

Let me hear your thoughts.  What are some of YOUR blog posting tips?  Do you find checklist like this help you?

I have a personal friend that I’ve helped with starting a blog and as I’m listening to myself tell him all the things he needs to do, I’ll even admit, it  sounds overwhelming.

I can’t imagine what it sounds like to him.  That might explain the frequent deafening silence on the other end of the phone :-\

Creating a blog CAN be overwhelming, but if you can take it one step at a time, learn how to unlock your potential, and have the confidence that you can do it and then stick with it no matter what, you can do this.

Being determined is a big part of any task.

If you’re considering starting a blog or even if you’ve gotten started already,  here’s some advice I’ve given my friend which I give everyone to help unlock their potential

Be Unique with Your Blog

Creating a blog can be challenge, I won’t lie to you.  I use the WordPress platform for my blog and getting set up isn’t too bad as there’s plenty of help out there including a post I did on how to create a WordPress blog step-by-step, but as you develop your blog you’ll most likely run into things like what theme to use, what colors do you like, what approach do you want to take, what’s your purpose?

The great thing about WordPress is there are just tons of free WordPress themes to choose from.  I personally find choosing themes an overwhelming task, I could spend all day at it, however your goal has to be to find a theme that helps you stand out and not look like all the other themes out there.

If you want to choose a free theme, I think the WordPress Extend themes are the best, but if you want to really create a unique look for yourself, choose a premium or paid theme.   When I chose the Thesis theme last year, I liked it because I could customize the theme the way I wanted; and because choosing a theme is almost impossible for me, it saved me from having to sort through all the thousands of themes until I found one I liked.

Whatever theme you choose, customize it with your own personality.  I think using your picture in the header or sidebar is a good idea.  Also make a strong statement of what you are about and place it in your header and use colors that reflect the mood of your blog.  In fact, you can create a unique look and brand yourself  just by the colors and fonts you choose to use.

Choose an In-Demand Niche

We hear a lot about choosing a niche you’re passionate about,  but you have to be realistic with this, in other words, is your passion really something you can make money with?  It might be, but for 80% of the population, it’s really not.   For example, my daughter is an artist; God Bless the artists   Yes, it’s her passion but can she realistically make money at it?  No.  She’s now a photographer doing quite well.

From my experience, it really starts with having a passion for doing business.  If there’s no passion there, it’ll be tough to stick it out. If you’re going to be blogging, be passionate about blogging.

But find a niche market or niche topic that’s in demand too,  it has to be something that’s going to draw traffic.  Of course it can’t be something  you hate, but it should be something you at least like learning about and have some interest in.

Once you find your niche, learn about it, become as much of an expert at it as you can and teach us something.

Include Great Content on Your Blog

Writing great blog posts isn’t such a mystery.   Time is my biggest problem, I can spend hours coming up with post ideas and coming up with content that I think people will find useful.  I agonize over it less today because now I have a system.

At the beginning of each week I make a list of blog post topics to write about.  If I’m stuck I pull from these blog post ideas.  I don’t post everyday but when I do write I try to make it meaningful.

When coming up with writing ideas I try to remember who my audience is and the kind of information they seek out.  I also know that if I’m having problems with something, they’re likely to have the same problems so I write about them and offer remedies or suggestions.

Be a writer that doesn’t just state the obvious or just offers benefits for doing something.  Put yourself out there with your personal experiences, your knowledge, ideas, and insights.  But don’t forget to add a little fun now and then with a joke or a funny video.

Focus Each Post of Your Blog

What’s  the one action you want your reader to take with your post?  If your post gives your reader too many actions to take, they won’t take any.  So pick one.  Will it be to sign up for your newsletter?  Click on your affiliate link?  Buy your product?  Whatever you choose is fine, just keep it to one thing.

Promote Yourself Constantly

Each day, slot out some time to promote.  Yes, that’s every day!   I spend an hour or so every day posting to Twitter, Facebook and responding personally to blog posts.

Frankly, promotion is hard for me, I’d rather spend time creating a new website page, making design changes, finding new plugins, etc., surfing the web, but don’t be distracted by the things you’d rather do and neglect the things you need to do.

Make a daily plan and stick to it.  That’s actually been one of the hardest things for me, but when I set my mind to really sticking to my plan, painful as it may be, it’s been rewarding.

You’ve probably heard this before, “Bloggers are effective writers“.

...but what if you’re not a writer or you hate to write?  Is that a show stopper?

Not at all!

I  happen to like writing now, but that wasn’t always true, I learned to enjoy writing.

Writing is a mind set.  If  you like something or have a passion for it, writing becomes a lot easier.  That’s why creating a blog around a topic you love is so important.

It also helps to know that writing for the web isn’t like conventional writing.  It’s much more effective if you can write like you speak.  In other words, your readers will enjoy content a lot more if you write to them personally.

It wasn’t until I started writing to my readers as individuals  that they began to take notice.  It was in learning to write emotionally charged copy, use simple sentences  and bring to mind reader’s their likes and dislikes, that my readers felt a connection to me.

Of course there will always be folks that just absolutely hate writing with their whole being, no matter what the writing task, but that’s no reason to toss aside the possibility that you could create a successful blog, because you can

How To Be Successful at Blogging Even If You’re Not A Writer?

Not all blog posts have to include written content. For example, here are some of my favorite blog post ideas that don’t require much, if any, writing:

• Post a Video. Post either your own video or a videos from sites like YouTube that are related to your niche.

• Post an Audio. Create an audio or do an audio interview with an expert in your niche.

• Invite Guest Posts. Guest posts are a great way to get others to write great content for you.

• Post News Items and add your personal or controversial comments.

• Use PLR (private label rights) Content.  I personally love using PLR content. It’s cheaper than using a ghostwriter and I can easily customize it, meaning I can have a blog post written in about half the time as creating it from scratch. If you have your own personal blog, write as much of   your own copy as you can, but if  you have affiliate blogs or sites that earn you money from advertising, using PLR is perfectly acceptable.

• Take a poll or survey using survey monkey and post the results.

• Do a ‘Best Of’ blog posts related to a topic of interest in your niche.  Look around the web and find blog posts or articles that you think your readers would find useful and interesting.  Compile a list of those posts or articles and create your own blog posts linking to them. Readers will love the reference and it won’t require any writing on your part except to get them into your post.

• Post a question and solicit responses from your readers.  If you have an email opt-in list or get random questions from other bloggers or friends about your niche, post them as a question on your blog and ask readers to respond in  your comments. People love questions, especially if they know the answer

• Post photos related to your blog topic. Take some photos that you can post on your blog.  For example, a friend of mine just started a skateboard site and posted a series of fun skateboard photos he took.  His readers loved it!
  

There you have it.

Hating to write is no excuse for not creating your blog.  With these ideas you won’t need to agonize over what to write next.

As long as you remember to keep your posts useful, interesting and related to your niche, you’ll have a successful blog that the search engines will value and readers will return to.

I had a question from a reader on Facebook who asked:

“Liz, I’ve created my first self hosted WordPress blog but I don’t know what to do next.  I’m not really technical on what plugins to use and how to get traffic”.  What should I do next?

This is a great question.  What to do next can be a common hold up for new bloggers.

Once you’ve created your WordPress blog, you’ll want to configure it and get it ready for traffic.

Here’s a run down of what to do next…

Create Your ‘About Me’ Page

I like to create my ‘about me’ before I do anything else.  Your about page is an important element of any website or blog because it adds credibility and helps form a connection with your readers.  It goes a long way in establishing a good first impression.

Here are a few tips for writing your ‘About Me’ Page.

Create your blog categories

Start collecting the category topics you want to include in your blog.  For example if you have a blog about Alzheimers,  your categories might include things like:

• Alzheimer’s treatment
• Alzheimer Stages
• Alzheimer Symptoms
• Preventing Alzheimer’s
• Alzheimer’s Home Care Tips

To know what categories to include on your blog, type in your blog’s topic into your favorite keyword tool.  I found the above categories simply by using the Google keyword Tool.    Since these are the very things that people are searching for, they make great categories.

WordPress Housekeeping

Within your WordPress Admin Panel under ‘Settings’ do the following:

• General -  Add your site title and tag line and configure your local time setting and the date format that you prefer.

• Writing – Choose the options you wish.  Also add any pinging services you like to use, however WordPress pings the service Ping-o-Matic by default who in turn pings other services.  If you have additional pinging services you’d like to add, put them in the ‘Updated Services’ section.

• Discussion – Set these to reflect your article and comment settings as well as notifications you receive when comments are made.

• Permalinks.  Your permalinks are how you want your post titles to look.   Here’s how to configure your WordPress Permalink settings.

• Privacy – Make sure that you have your ‘Site Visibility’ option set to allow your site to be visible to everyone, including the search engines.

Delete Test Post – Each new WordPress blog comes with a “Hello World” test post.  You can just delete that.

My Favorite Plugins to Add Right away

As your blog develops and as you develop as a blogger you’ll be adding more plugins, but to get you started, these are plugins you’ll want to add right away.

WP Spamfree – One of the best comments spam protection plugins

Login Lockdown – With Blog hackers in abundance, this is a log in security feature that keeps hackers at bay.

YARPP Related Posts – This a reference plugin that adds a list of related posts to the end of each post you write.

TF Social Share - This inserts a social media bar into your blog posts.  It’s the social bar at the top of this post.

Fun Options for Your Blog

Set up your Favicon – Your Favicon is the tiny little icon that appears next to your site’s URL.  Mine is the little red dollar sign in the address bar.  Setting up a Favicon is easy and fun.  Here’s how to make a your own Favicon for your blog or website.

Social Marketing

Now is also a great time time set up your RSS feed, your Facebook page and twitter account for your blog.   You’ll want these set up before you begin making posts so that you’ll have them ready to connect socially when you begin writing.

Themes and Headers

I’ve used both paid and free WordPress themes and honestly, many of the WordPress Free themes are just fine. Don’t get too overwhelmed with trying to find a theme you like, if you’re like me you could spend all day searching.

For great free themes I suggest the free WordPress Themes, I also like the Flexibility theme, it’s also free and highly customizable.  It has  great color, font and header choices.  It also makes it easy to change your headers.  If you need headers here are 500 free website headers you can get for free.

Your WordPress permalinks are the permanent URL’s of your individual blog posts.

Configuring your WordPress Permalink settings is easy but it’s good to understand your choices as you have several.

Your permalink settings can be found under your WordPress Dashboard ‘Settings’ Option

These are the permalink options WordPress gives you:

Personally I don’t recommend using the default option as it offers no value as to date, time or title and the link pretty ugly

Since optimizing my blog posts for the search engines is a top priority for me,  I have set up my Homenotion permalinks to reflect my blog title in the URL of my posts, so I’ve chosen the ‘Custom Structure’ and set it up like you see above.

If your blog is all about offering up to the minute news and information, configuring your permalink using the day/ time or month/name options may make better sense for you.

If your blog is well categorized, you could code your  permalinks to include the category like this:

/%category%/%postname%/

However, if you like to assign your posts to more than one category this may not be optimal.

How you configure your permalinks is up to you, there’s no right or wrong answer here, but I do recommend creating permalinks that make sense for providing useful blog post information.

Configuring your WordPress custom Permalink Setting

If you choose to set up a custom permalink you can string as many of these options in your custom structure that you like, however the fewer you use the better it is for readability.  Be sure to separate each option with a ‘\’.

• %year%
• %monthnum%
• %day%
• %hour%
• %minute%
• %second%
• %post_id%
• %postname%
• %category%
• %tag%
• %author%

Important note: Once your permalink structure is set up you really shouldn’t change it.  Changing it in mid stream will invalidate all your links and your visitors will get  ‘file not found’ errors for your pages if someone tries to click through to them from the search engines or other websites.

Fortunately, if you do decide to change the structure,  install the Permalinks Migration Plugin, this  will create a 301 permanent redirect for all your pages so that your previously indexed pages won’t become invalid.

Hope that helps!

If you’ve been wanting to know how to create a WordPress blog, now’s the time, and it’s not hard.

In fact, yesterday I created a brand new blog in just a few hours.  I bought my domain name, created the blog, added my about page and my first blog post and had it all completed in just a few hours.  And today it’s already indexed in Google!

I’ll take you through each of the steps so you can have your own WordPress blog created and ready to go in just a few hours like I did.

It’s easy, honest.

Step 1.  Set up your hosting account

Start with setting up your hosting account.

I use Hostgator to host all my blogs, they make installation really easy, they have great email and phone support and it costs only about $10/month for unlimited blogs and websites.

You can use this link with the coupon code ‘ findmyhost ‘ and get your first month of Hostgator hosting for just a penny.

Step 2. Purchase your domain name

Probably the hardest part for most people is deciding on a domain name.  My new blog is about healthy pregnancy.  Healthypregnancy.com wasn’t available so I chose  healthypregnancy4u.com.

A good rule of thumb is that your domain name should contain your main topic keywords.  So for example, if your blog will be about spiritual healing,  include those words in your domain or a variation of the words that get the most daily searches.

I purchase my domain names from Godaddy.  No real reason other than I’ve just used Godaddy for years, I like their security and they’re convenient.

When purchasing your domain name ignore all the other hosting and side offers and just purchase your domain name.  It’s also not recommended to use the same service for your domain name and your hosting.

Step 3.  Set up your Nameservers

Once you’ve made your domain name purchase you’ll need to coordinate your domain name with your hosting service and this is done by pointing your domain name to your host’s nameservers.

To find your nameservers, go into your host’s CPanel.  On Hostgator my nameservers are found down the left hand side under the heading ‘Account Information’.

Jot those nameservers down, you’ll need them in a minute.

Once you’ve received your email confirmation on your domain name purchase, go back to Godaddy and find your new domain name under your account summary, click on your new domain name which will take you to your ‘domain details’ page.

Before we can change your nameservers on Godaddy you’ll need to ‘unlock’ your domain.  Within your domain information click the ‘manage’ button to unlock.

Next, look for the Nameservers icon and click on ‘set nameservers’.

Next  brings up the following screen where you can enter your host’s name servers that you jotted down from above:

That’s it!

It may take a few minutes to a few hours for the nameserver change to propagate through the system but while you’re waiting we can begin to set up your WordPress blog on your host.

Step 4. Set up your WordPress Blog

While you’re waiting, go to your Hostgator CPanel and under the Software/Services Section click on the ‘Fantastico De Luxe’ icon.

On the left hand side click on the ‘WordPress’ link.

Next, click on ‘New Installation’.  Complete the information making a note of the ‘Administrator User Name’ and password you choose as you’ll need these to log into your WordPress administration dashboard.

Click install WordPress and you’re done.

Chances are you’re still waiting for your domain name to propagate but you can check it by entering your domain name into your Google address bar.  Once your domain name has propagated you’ll see your WordPress blog display.  It will be the basic WordPress blog theme.

If you’re still waiting this would be a good time to check out some other WordPress themes that you can use to personalize your blog.

Step 5:  Choosing & Installing Your WordPress Theme

When searching for a new theme, don’t simply type in  “free WordPress themes” in the search engines, there are lots of themes that contain malicious code and hidden links.  Instead I recommend getting your themes from the free WordPress extend themes.  They’re all free and they’re safe from malicious code.

If you don’t find a theme there,  I especially like the Flexibility Theme.  It’s the theme I used for my latest healthypregnancy blog.  It’s super customizable with easy one click options, and it’s free

Hopefully by now your domain has propagated, if it hasn’t, your only choice is to wait, however once it’s ready, you can go to your WordPress dashboard by entering your domain name followed by wp-admin into your Google address bar like this:

http://www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin

When the WordPress login window comes up, enter your login and password you set up in Step 4.

Once you’re logged into your dashboard you can change your theme.  If you need help, here’s a 2 minute video that will take you through the simple steps.

Congratulations, you’re a WordPress Blogger!

Now you’re ready to take the next steps:

• Create your About page – here’s how
• Choose your Categories
• Write your first Welcome Post

Don’t forget to download 31 days to build a better blog.  This will kick start your blog by giving you a task a day to do for 31 days that will start sending you traffic and sales almost immediately.

A super easy way to find dofollow blogs is to install the SEObook toolbar.

It’s free and it’s awesome.

I love the SEOBook site for so many of reasons but their free SEO tools are my favorites.

Here’s what to do to help you start finding dofollow blogs with this toolbar:

Note: this is an SEO  toolbar for Firefox, which is what I use and also highly recommend.

1. Go to the  SEO book website and join for free.    Takes just a few seconds.

2. Once you join, login click the tools tab, then click the SEOtools tab.

3. Look for the free Firefox extensions and click on the SEO Tool bar box.

4. Simply download the SEO Tool bar.  That’s it!

Once you’ve installed the toolbar you’ll see there are lots of great tools you can start using, but at the far right of the toolbar are these tools:

Click on the red diagonal arrows and it will highlight all the nofollow links for the page you are on, click it again to unhighlight the links.

The dofollow tool isn’t the only awesome tool on the toolbar, check out an use the other tools as well, they’ll turn you into an SEO pro.

Enjoy!

In my post titled “How to Create Awesome Blog Content, WritingTips from the Pros” we  got some great personal tips from some of the best writers on the web.  

But in case you’re still struggling with how to write great blog posts and write them faster, I’ve got a few more ideas that may help you.

I’ve been writing blog posts and online content for almost ten years and there are still days I have trouble getting content written on time.

I will say though, that the more I write, the easier it gets, just like many of the blogging pros will tell you, practice does make perfect.

But life does happen and there are days that I don’t quite meet the deadlines I set for myself, but for the most part it’s important to have a routine that you can follow every day.

This is my blog writing routine that works for me,  It’s not a perfect system by any means, but it does keep me on track if I make a conscious effort to stick with it.  And it might help you as well

Come up with 3 blog post topics for the week (about 30 minutes)

I don’t think it’s necessary to write 5 posts a week.  You can if you want to but for the most part, writing quality, useful content is more than enough to keep your readers and the search engines interested.

I can come up with 3 pretty creative blog post ideas in about 30 minutes or less.  I simply  choose 3 categories  from my blog’s category list and pick one idea for each category to write about.   That’s it.

I usually do this the Friday evening before the next week or if that’s not possible simply get it done sometime during the weekend, but try not to save it for Monday morning if you can help it.

Also, save time by jotting down blog post ideas as you think of them, or go into your blog’s admin and add them into your drafts.  Right now I have about 45 draft post ideas that I can pull from.  This makes finding ideas a lot easier.

Use a Timer for each Step of  Blog Post Writing Process

If  writing takes you all day or even longer, use a timer.  I can’t stress enough how helpful this is.

There’s just something about being timed that keeps you on track.  I myself am easily distracted so if I know my timer is waiting, I’m less tempted to check my email, socialize or whatever else gets in my way.

I use a simple kitchen timer but use whatever works best for you.  I do however suggest using something that has an audio sound so that it’s not so easy to miss your timed deadline.

Write Your Post Using the Brain Dump Method (about 1 hour)

This method is one I’ve coined the brain dump method.   I call it that because it’s simply about writing what’s in my brain at this moment.

First choose the topic you want to write about from your list of 3, then set your timer for 1 hour and begin writing what you know.

Don’t edit those red misspelled letters,  they can be  a distraction I know, instead just keep writing what comes to mind, no matter how it sounds or looks.

What I like to do is start writing facts related to my title.

For example, a post about how to travel light might prompt facts like:

• pack fewer shoes
• using a lightweight suitcase
• use travel size bottles
• Use a travel size hair dryer

Once you’ve written your facts, expand on each fact you’ve written with something useful about the fact.

Don’t  write about the ‘whys’ or the ‘benefits’ of packing fewer shoes,  instead provide useful ideas on what kinds of shoes someone can get the most wear from for a variety of events.  Readers want ideas and tips they can use.

If you need to pull information from research, that’s OK, however use the read and dump method which is to  read 2 or three articles on the topic, then summarize that information back into your post using your own words.

Never copy information or duplicate exactly what you read.  A good writer gathers ideas and rewrites them adding value to the thought.

When your timer goes off, hopefully you have some good content written.  If you need more time, that’s OK, just reset your timer, but keep the timer running as you write.

Don’t focus on writing a ton of information, instead provide comprehensive, useful ideas.  A post with 2 or 3 really useful tips or strategies is a whole lot better than dragging on for pages with content that loses your reader part way through.

When your post is finished, leave your computer and take a break for 10 minutes to clear your head.

Great Blog Posts Need an Eye Catching Headline  (about 15 minutes)

Again set your timer for about 15 minutes to create your headline.

I like to create my blog post headline or title as the very last thing.  I think it’s easier to create an accurate, relevant headline once the post is completed rather than the other way around.

Pick 2 or 3 words that best summarize the piece and then use those words to write a headline that attracts attention.

In this post, for example, the keywords are ‘blog posts’.   I expanded the title to ‘how to write great blog posts faster’, it’s a  title that is direct, appealing  and the word ‘fast’ is eye catching.

If you struggle with keywords here’s a keyword research free report that will help you.

Putting the Final Touches on Your Blog Post  (about 15 minutes)

Now that your blog post and headline is finished, take a break if you need to, otherwise set your timer for another 15 minutes.

-  Check your post for flow and content. Read through your post at least twice and correct or rephrase anything that doesn’t sound right.  Remember your post should sound like you’re writing directly to your reader, not like an editorial for a magazine, so talk to the individual, not the general public.

- Correct all spelling errors that you see.

- Optimize your Post. Make sure you optimize your post by quickly running through the steps to writing effective SEO copy, this is key so don’t forget this step.

- Grab a Quick Photo. Photos add an element of interest so use them if you can. I sometimes create my own photos which takes me only a minute or two, otherwise you can quickly get photos from www.sxc.hu/,  they have pretty good graphics that you can use  for free.

That’s it! Your finished! Not counting the 30 minutes to collect blogging ideas and taking a few breaks, you can have a quality blog written and posted in about an hour and a half.

It may take you a little longer to start but as you develop your schedule and timing you’ll improve on that.

Believe me, practice does make perfect and if you can stick to a schedule and use your timer, you’ll be writing great blog posts faster than you have in the past and you’ll be doing it a lot more