The After-Posting Checklist: 7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Blog Content Everything you've done up to this point has been preparation. The real work begins once your post goes live.
By Aaron Agius Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Hit "Publish."
Your blog is out there in the world, awaiting the masses to read and share it. It's an exciting time for any marketer. After all, you've spent hours crafting this post, pouring your knowledge and personality into its paragraphs. But, as you quickly learn, people won't flock to your post just because you hit "Publish."
In fact, the real work begins once your post goes live. Everything else you've done up to this point has been preparation. Now it's game time.
If you want to get the most out of your blog content, you need to put in the work.
1. Double-check for any formatting errors.
Anyone that's ever used Wordpress (or any other content management system, for that matter) understands the pain of publishing a post, then seeing it live and realizing that something's gone wrong with the formatting. Sometimes the Preview Post feature fails you. It's just a fact of life.
Immediately after your post goes live, double-check it for any formatting errors. If something looks off, go in, edit the post and then click Update. It's a simple tip, but definitely worth doing. Better safe than sorry!
Related: Accelerate Your Content Marketing Campaign With the Right Partner
2. Write several variations of social media posts.
I encourage people to write several variations of their social media posts. A good blog should produce more than 20 snippets that you can use for social updates. Snippets could be:
- A different headline
- Short quotes from the content
- Included statistics
- Screenshot of a part of the post
- Images or graphs you used
Test different types of snippets and find the ones that work best with your audience. You can share these variations on social media for weeks and months after the post goes live.
3. Send an email to your list.
You should share every new post with your email list. People signed up because they enjoyed your blog. Give the people what they want with a nice, warm email that entices them to continue reading.
Base these emails on a simple template of information pulled directly from the blog. Here's an example using one of my latest posts:
When making your own template, make sure it includes:
- A basic introduction
- The title of your post with a link
- Your post's excerpt
- An ending call to action
Related: 6 Resources Content Strategists Could Use to Find New Ideas
4. Reach out to influencers and ask them to share.
You can rapidly grow your blog if you gain the attention of influencers. But first, you've got to get their attention. There are several strategies you can employ to encourage influencers to share your post, including:
- Give your influencers some publicity for their new book, product or post. Once the post goes live, send them an email and let them know that they've been featured.
- While writing the post, ask for their opinion on a specific topic. Send an email once the post goes live to remind them about their quote and ask for a share.
- Create a remarkable piece of content. Share it with your influencers and ask for their opinions social shares.
5. Respond to comments people leave on the post.
Taking time to respond to comments is time consuming, especially if you have an active community. But the effort can really pay off for your brand.
Despite the size of his audience, marketer Neil Patel responds to every comment on his QuickSprout blog. In one post, he outlines a variety of benefits from this practice, including:
- It increases traffic.
- You can make more sales.
- Commenters are more likely to share on social media.
Do the benefits outweigh the cost of time commitment? I think so.
6. Thank people for tweeting and retweeting to post.
When someone shares your content via Twitter, take the time to thank them. It's a small interaction that can help foster a relationship with your followers.
If you're going to send thank you tweets, try to add some additional conversational value. A simple "Thanks for the RT!" is nice. But adding a personal touch or engaging question at the end can really help spark the conversation and build a relationship.
Try something like, "Thanks for the RT! Are you using [tactic mentioned in the post] for your business?"
7. Repurpose your post into a different format.
It'd be a shame for your post to fall into obscurity in your archives. Sure, someone may stumble upon it later. Maybe it'll rank well in search engines. But after the initial promotional push, most blog posts go relatively unnoticed.
That's where repurposing comes into play, as it gives your past posts new life in a different format or medium. CoSchedule has put together a great list of places to repurpose content.
Do you take any other steps after a post goes live? What is your routine for getting the most out of your blog content? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Related: Use These 8 Lesser-Known Marketing Tools to Help Spread the Word
