Things to Do For Each Blog Post

I have been blogging for a little over a year now, and I feel like I have gotten a pretty good handle on things.  I feel like I have found my rhythm and most importantly, I feel like I have finally organized all of my thoughts, notes, and to do’s.  There’s so much to keep up with when running a blog – hello social media, interacting with other blogs, photoshoots, editing… the list goes on…  And on and on and on.  Goodness, it really is a full-time job being a blogger!  Even when you’re just doing it for fun.

I have come across a few things that I have found to be particularly helpful, and since a lot of my readers are bloggers themselves, I thought that I would share the very best tool that prevents me from feeling scatterbrained all day after a post goes live.  I don’t know about you, but every time I write a post, for the rest of the day I’m constantly thinking, oh, did I remember to post that on Facebook?  Did I remember to pin that to Pinterest?  Crap, did I remember to link-up? 

Like I said before – tons of things to remember when blogging.  I finally had enough of second guessing myself so I made a checklist to reference each time I work on a post.  I keep a copy of it on my desk at home so I have it right at my fingertips when I’m working, and I also keep a copy of it in my blog planner just in case I need it when I’m out.  No more second guessing, no more doubt.  So nice.

Blog Post Check List

Preparing a Post

• Write post
• Edit post
• Add signature
• Add all pictures for post to post folder (I keep a folder for each post that contains the Word doc of the original writing and all of the edited pictures.)
• Edit all images (brightness, contrast, clarity, etc.)
• Resize all images (I size mine down because larger pictures could eventually slow down the entire blog… plus, I like for them to all be the same width.)
• Watermark images as necessary
• Create a Pinterest-worthy image if applicable
• Add pictures to post (eye-catching at the top, Pinterest image below signature)
• Add affiliate links if applicable
• Add links to other posts if applicable
• Add comments about link-ups if applicable
• Add disclaimer about affiliate links if applicable
• Label post
• Preview post (make sure formatting looks good and all pictures were included)
• Schedule post to publish

After Post is Live

• Link up with all link-ups
• Share to Google+, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Pin Pinterest images to personal and group boards
• Add post link to blog tabs if applicable

Blogging is certainly a hobby that will keep you busy, that’s for sure.  And there’s still so much to learn which I’m sure will eventually result in more bullets on my to do list.  So tell me, did I forget anything?  Is there anything else that you do for each post that I should include?

*Linking up with Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.