Blog Post Checklist: 25 Steps to Viral Success in 2022

Last Updated on May 13, 2022 by Kelly Thoreson

Tired of reading blog post checklist articles that don’t explain how to actually do the things on the list?

I used to be in your shoes:

That is why I created this post … so you can have one place to go for an easy-to-follow blog writing checklist, all nice and updated for 2022!

Let’s get to it!

Grab Your Free Printable Blog Post Checklist

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First things first, grab your free printable blog post writing checklist here.

Get yours now so you can use it to follow along below!

#1: Pick a Blog Post Topic

Before learning how to write a blog post, you’ve got to have an idea for a blog post.

Here are some of the ways I find blog post topics:

👆 These are just a small fraction of the methods I use to find blog post topics. If you want to learn all of the methods I use to never run out of blog post ideas, check out Bottomless Blog Topics.

Blog Post Topic Tip: Stay Small

When it comes to blog post topics, smaller is better.

As a new blogger, I would throw tons of topics into one post, thinking I was helping my audience.

All I ended up doing was confusing them with a disorganized mess of an article that was hell to get through.

I learned the hard way (through a failed first blog) that it’s best to keep blog post topics narrow.

Next, we’re going to look at a step that will help you rank on Google: keyword research!

Related reading: 5 Weird AF Ways to Make Your Blog Writing Not Suck

#2: Decide on a Target Keyword (via Keyword Research)

A target keyword is a word or multiple words that people are typing into search engines related to your topic.

Your target keyword should go in the following places:

But … how do you find these keywords? Through keyword research!

Keyword Research Tools

There are so many keyword research tools out there, it would be doing you a disservice to name them all.

Here’s how the one’s I’ve used shake out:

Tool	Cost	Newbie Friendly?	Complexity	Reporting Capabilities
Ubersuggest	$29+/mo.	Yes	Low	Low – Med
Ahrefs	$99+/mo.	No	High	Insane
Moz	$99+/mo.	No	High	High
SEMrush	$99+/mo.	No	High	High

All of these tools have free trials and I encourage you to test the waters for yourself! 😊

Resources for Learning Keyword Research

Keyword research is a dense topic, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.

Here are some helpful resources for learning how to use the keyword research tools listed above:

If you’re ready to really tackle SEO enroll in Stupid Simple SEO. I’ve taken the course and it is worth every penny!

Related reading: How to Slay Self-Doubt in Writing & Publish Blog Posts Like a Boss

#3: Decide on a Post Purpose

Don’t waste your time writing posts with no end goal.

When this idea was first lobbed at me, I was like, “ohhh, that’s why I feel like I’m constantly creating content for nothing.”

And truthfully, I was.

Longer than I should have, I was writing aimless posts. Lost words meandering in the internet desert. Posts that brought me neither traffic nor money.

Wah-wah.

Before writing, ask yourself two questions:

1. What transformation is my audience going get from reading my post?
2. What action do I want the reader to take that will grow my business?

Serve your audience, and they will serve you.

Each post you write your audience should offer a transformation that solves a pain-point in their lives.

Equally important is deciding on what action you would like the reader to take as a result of reading your post that grows your business.

There is no reason why a blog post that serves your reader shouldn’t be serving you as well.

Writing blog posts with purpose will keep you from blowing your already limited time, don’t pick up the pen unless you know why you’re doing it.

#4: Brainstorm Sexy Headlines

We can’t talk about how to write a blog post without discussing headlines.

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Writing a blog post with a crappy headline is like going fishing without bait. You could fish all day and you wouldn’t get a single nibble.

It may feel a bit clunky at first, but taking the time to hone your blog post headline writing skills is well worth the investment.

According to CopyBlogger, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 will read your article.

What does that mean?

It means that you’ve got a 20% chance of someone reading your title and clicking through to your article. Don’t waste that opportunity by being boring!

Neil Patel recommends brainstorming 20+ headlines and testing them out by asking colleges, family, and friends to weigh in on their favorite.

Headline best practices (always do these things):

Headline nice-to-haves (play with these things and see which ones your readers respond to):

Let’s look at some blog post headline examples:

Boring Headline	Okay Headline	Sexy Headline
How to lose 10 pounds	3 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds	3 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in 1 Month (+ Feel Young Again!)
Start a blog	How to Start a Blog	Start a Money-Making Blog: 5 Steps to Massive Success
How to talk to your teen	How to Talk to Your Teenager	How to Talk to Your Teen (& Reconnect with Your Child)

See the difference? Great, I think you’re ready to write some badass headlines!

If you want to learn how to truly master the art of headline writing and drive an avalanche of clicks to your blog, check out my course, Sinfully Sexy Headlines!

#5: Outline

At the beginning of my blogging journey, I turned resisting blog post outlines into an Olympic sport.

The more people telling me to outline, the more hoops I jumped through to avoid it.

Can you relate?

Does the concept of outlining conjure flashbacks of your shitty 12^th grade English teacher?

Yeah, me too.

But …

When I finally stopped being a stubborn ass and gave outlining a try – I easily shaved hours off my blog writing time and improved my post quality.

Your outline should include:

Once you have your blog post outline done, all you have to do is flesh it out! Easy. Peasy.

#6: Write a Rough Draft of at Least 1,000 Words

I know 1,000 words sounds like a lot right now, but you can do it!

Start with the sub-header from your outline that you’re most excited to write about and go! It’s easier to write blog posts once you have some momentum going.

If you wanna rank in Google (you do) you’re gonna have to write 1,000+ word blog posts.

There’s a wide variety of factors that can help you determine exactly how long your post should be, too many to cover here.

Check out my post, What is the Ideal Blog Post Length? to help you out.

Writing a rough draft is just that: rough.

It’s not pretty.

It’s not polished.

There’s a whole bunch of crap in there you’re gonna have to take out later.

That’s okay.

Just write it all out, get it all down on paper, and don’t edit until you’re done.

Again: do not edit your rough draft until you are done writing it.

Editing while you write disrupts your creative flow and hands your inner critic the microphone. Don’t do it. Turn off your spell/grammar check until you’ve completed your first draft.

How Do I Know How Long My Blog Post Is?

If you’re composing in a word processor, which I recommend for concentration reasons, almost all of them have built-in word counters.

I am writing this post in MS Word right now and my word count is at the bottom left of my screen, ever visible:

(and now I’m thinking … “this is gonna be a bitch to edit.” 🙂 Update: it was.)

If you’re composing in WordPress, it is equally easy to find your word count. Watch my video on finding your word count in WordPress here:

Stick around because next we’re gonna cover something that will make or break your blogging success: introductions.

#7: Write Your Intro

It’s intuitive to write your intro before you write the body of your post … right? Intuitive as it may be, that’s just not what works for me.

I find that by writing my intro after I write the body of my post I am better able to create a cohesive introduction/body, “feel”.

If you give this method a try and it’s not your jam, pull a switcheroo! Everything in writing is flexible.

What Your Introduction Should Include

A good introduction should have the following elements:

Blog Post Introduction Hack

If you’re super stuck on your introduction, start with the basics by answering these questions:

Once you have answered those questions, go back and put them in paragraph form and voila! You will have the basic nessecities of a blog post introduction!

Don’t half-ass your introduction.

A great headline gets readers to click through to your site, but it’s the introduction that convinces them to take their shoes off and stay awhile.

#8: Write your conclusion

Super-Kelly-Blogging-Tip: I like to write my conclusions more like an introduction, going over a recap of what the reader learned and how it’s going to benefit their life.

Why? Because most online readers skim blog posts.

They’re looking at the introduction sub-headings, captions, and the conclusion.

In my conclusion, I want to entice skimmers to go back and read the rest of my hard work.

Need a little help in the conclusion arena? Read ProBlogger’s 7 Powerful Ways to End Your Next Blog Post.

Blog Post Conclusion Hack

Remember our blog post introduction hack above? We’re going to use the same tactic to come up with a conclusion, with a few changes.

If you need a starting point for your conclusion, re-answer one or all of the following questions that you touched on in the introduction, again:

Just like you did for the introduction, take your answers and put them into paragraph form for a solid conclusion. But wait … there’s more!

Here’s where we add in a question that we didn’t answer in the introduction:

We will cover CTAs (Calls to Action) below, and I personally believe that your conclusion should always have one. Don’t end your post without asking your audience to engage with you!

Related reading: 3 Reasons You’re Not Producing Tons of Quality Blog Content (and how to fix it)

#9: Edit

Before I did the Blog Daily: 7 Day Blog Writing Challenge, I wrote one measly post a month.

Back then, my mom served as my unpaid editor (thanks, mom!).

Buuuut … since completing the challenge, I write 8 times that much!

Which meant I had to put on my big girl pants and edit my own work, cause mamma ain’ got time for 20,000+ words per month.

I’m not gonna lie, it can be tough to spot the weaknesses and errors in your own writing, but it’s not impossible, let’s look at some tips to self-edit like a pro.

Tips for Editing Your Own Blog Posts

Be kind. We are our own harshest critics. Your writing is not as bad as you think it is. Remember: everyone starts somewhere.

Wait 24 hours to edit. I’ve been in the go-go-go energy of starting a blog and I get that you’re eager to get your post out there.

I’m asking you to trust me: after finishing your rough draft, wait 24 hours to edit it.

Putting some space between you and your rough draft calms your inner critic and makes it easier to spot spelling and grammatical errors (spell check doesn’t catch everything!).

Read it aloud. Or copy and paste it into a text to speech reader and have a computer read it to you. Hearing your blog post can simplify identifying sentences that don’t flow well, organizational errors, and grammar mistakes.

Editing for Your Personality

Editing is the perfect time to look at your work objectively and decide if you’ve injected enough, “you” into it.

The worst thing you can do as a blogger is blend in. Make sure your work positively SMACKS of your unique blog writing style!

Dunno what your blog writing style IS?

TAKE THE QUIZ
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

#10: Sprinkle in Keywords

Remember our targeted keyword? Now’s the time to make sure that you’ve naturally sprinkled that keyword into your post.

Yoast SEO makes this process easy, it will tell you if you haven’t incorporated your keyword enough times:

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It’s super-duper important that you do not over-do your keyword or, “keyword stuff”.

Keyword stuffing is when you intentionally over-add your targeted keyword in order to rank higher in search results.

Google figured out a long time ago that this was happening and now penalizes websites for it by knocking them down in search results (if they show up at all).

Also – it makes your writing sound weird and spammy.

Just don’t do it.

Again, Yoast for the win! Yoast will alert you if you’ve inadvertently keyword stuffed:

#11: Generously Add CTAs (Call to Action)

When I say generous, I mean don’t go skimpy, not go spammy.

Just as with the keyword, we want a natural sprinkle, not a fire hose.

Skim your nicely edited post … is there somewhere that you could link to a freebie that will both serve your audience and grow your email list?

Great! Get that shit all up in there!

Help your audience, help yourself.

In the example above you can see that just three short paragraphs in, author Ruth Soukup has inserted a beautiful call to action.

This CTA stands out, shows the reader what they’ll get by complying with the call to action, and highlights the benefits of doing so. Perfect!

Related reading: Your First Blog Post: 7 Tips You Must Know

#12: Create / Source Your Blog Post Images

I batch this part of blog post creation, meaning that I do all the image-related work at one time, like:

If you haven’t signed up for Canva yet, go do it now.

I am not a big fan of paying for blogging expenses when the free version will do just fine. But let me tell you, Canva Pro has been worth its weight in gold.

Featured Image

The sizing of your featured image will be dependent upon your theme. Google “featured image size” + “your theme’s name” and you should receive your answer in a fraction of a second.

In WordPress, you add your featured image on the right-hand “document” settings sidebar:

Social Media Images

The only social media images I bother making are Pins for Pinterest.

For the rest (Facebook, Twitter), my featured image auto-populates and does a fine job.

What your featured image will look like on various social media platforms is dependent on the platform and your theme’s default size for that image.

I encourage you to test it out and see what works for you!

Stock Images

Canva has an extensive (nearly inexhaustible) library of stock images that come free with your Canva Pro subscription.

There are also a plethora of places to find free of cost and royalty free images to use on your blog such as:

Keep in mind that these free stock photo sites come with a few drawbacks.

Most stock photos look like stock photos (having a bit of a corporate feel) and you’ll probably see them in other people’s blog posts and social media images.

You can get around this by paying for premium stock photos, but it’s certainly not necessary for blogging success.

If you are interested in premium stock photos, I use and recommend FreePik because they have a wide variety of photos and drawings, and are only 12 bucks per month.

Looking for more unique photos for your blog that are also free? Read 17 Sites to Find Unusual Free Photos for Your Blog Post.

Custom images

I make a lot of custom images for my blog using Canva.

I start with a stock image or vector drawing and add text and elements using my brand colors and fonts.

Related reading: Writer’s Block Cures: 5 Tips to Get You Unstuck & Writing Blog Posts

#13: Add media to your blog post body

A lack of visuals can make readers bounce faster than a 16-year-old with a fake ID outside a night club.

Try to use a wide variety of media in your blog posts:

A Moz.com study found that, compared to posts with images only adding bulleted lists resulted in 300% more links, adding video resulted in an over 400% increase in links and a combo of all three delivered a 500%+ increase!

The evidence speaks for itself: adding in a variety of relevant media pays out big time.

#14: Reader-Friendly Format Your Post

You may have written the most beautifully composed piece of content on the web, but if it looks like this:

Instead of this:

You’re screwed.

Making sure your blog post is not a giant wall of text will help keep your readers on-page.

While editing, I like to make sure that my blog post is scannable.

Here’s how I make my blog content eyeball friendly:

If I’m truly writing long-form content (2000+ words), I try to add in a visual or large break in text every 200-ish words.

#15: Review Your Word Count

Giving your wordcount a last check to make sure your post is more comprehensive than the competition never hurts.

If it is, great, move onto the next step. If not, no problem, I got you covered …

What to Do if Your Blog Post Isn’t Long Enough

If you check on your word count and find that you’re coming up short – do not start stuffing your post full of fluff.

The point of keeping an eye on your post length is not to meet some meaningless word count number – it is to make sure that you are providing a more thorough, helpful, and all around badass solution to your reader’s problems than your competition.

Using the Ideal Blog Post Length e-Workbook will not only take the guesswork out of how long your blog post should be to rank, but naturally familiarize you with your competition.

In the event that you need to make your blog post longer, go back to the competitors you surveyed using the workbook.

Reflecting on their work, ask yourself:

Is there something they covered that you didn’t?

Yes? Back to the writer’s den you go to cover the missed topic.

I am not telling you to copy another blogger’s work. That’s plagiarism, it’s illegal and riddled with bad karma.

But there is 100%, nothing wrong with knowing how in-depth of a solution your competition is offering and then out-helpful-ing them.

Yes. I said out-helpful-ing.

Is there a point their making that you disagree with?

If so, go back to your post and add in your 2 cents on the subject.

Be polarizing.

Pick a side.

Back it up with proven stats and freaking kill it.

You can also utilize Google’s PAA (People Also Ask) to ensure that you are covering what readers want to know.

This method will show you if you are missing any information in your post that will add value to your reader’s experience.

Related reading: How to Be More Creative So You Can Write Tons of Blog Posts

#16: Optimize Your Alt Text for SEO

Alt text isn’t as scary as it sounds.

So … what does alt text mean?

Alt text (or alternative text) describes the image in detail for the vision-impaired who are using page readers. It will also act as a placeholder on your page if your image does not load.

For SEO purposes, include your target keyword in some of your post image’s alt text (use your keyword in alt text when it comes up naturally).

Like so much else, Yoast will let you know if you’ve missed this step:

Read Yoast’s quick tutorial on adding alt text to your images in WordPress if you’re unsure of how to do it.

I use an alt text plugin that automatically populates the image alt text using the file name. This saves me tons of time and busy work (I loathe busy work). Annnnnnd it’s free! Win-win!

#17: Link Out to Credible Sources

When you make claims in your blog post, it’s best to back them up with credible sources in order to add true value to your reader’s lives.

Example:

In the section above on the importance of media, I could have just given my opinion: “The use of visuals can make or break a blog post.”

Instead, I included statistics from a highly credible source to back up my claim.

Doing so let you, the reader, know that I’m not just talking out my ass. That I had done the research and come to a logical conclusion.

Two important notes on linking out:

1) Always check the, “open in a new window” box so the reader doesn’t navigate away from your site and never come back:

2) If you’re linking out to a site that doesn’t explicitly relate to your post topic (like an affiliate link going to Amazon), be sure to make it a nofollow link.

What the hell is a no-follow link, you ask? Neil Patel explains it in plain English here:

#18: Add Related Posts (Interlink)

Ever click on a Huffington Post article only to find yourself still binge-reading their content 45 minutes later?

That’s because Huffington Post is stupid-skilled at sprinkling related posts all throughout their articles.

This process is called interlinking and it’s a must – both for SEO and building a fan base.

It’s best for SEO if you only interlink to posts within the same category.

Here’s a quick hack I came up with for interlinking posts in no-time:

Yet again, Yoast SEO will tell you if you’ve forgotten to do this:

Related reading:

WordPress Posts Page: An Epic Beginner’s Guide to Slay Your First Blog Post

#19: Edit Meta Description

Meta-whaty-what?

I know, I know – stop with the jargon already!

A meta description is a short blurb that gives potential readers a sneak peak into your blog post.

You probably see meta descriptions every day, you just don’t know it.

Let’s look at that meta description close up:

Editing your meta description is a walk in the park with the Yoast SEO plugin, just scroll down to the, “Meta Description” field and give your post a short, sweet pitch:

#20: Edit Permalink

I’m going to make this easy on you: your permalink should have your keyword at the end and that’s it.

With few exceptions, this will be perfect for a blog. If your blog is giant, you may want to include the category as well.

A permalink is a whole URL, it is editable and should be revised to include your target keyword.

The part of the permalink that we’re going to edit is called the slug, or URL slug.

This is what a permalink looks like:

In order to use your keyword as your permalink, you’ll need to first change your permalink structure in WordPress, which is a simple process!

In your Dashboard, go to Settings>Permalinks:

Then change the structure from, “plain” to, “post name” AFTER you have set up redirects for existing URLs (see below):

Then in the post itself it is stupid easy to edit your permalink.

While editing your blog post, just head over to the document settings tab on the right of the page:

Permalink Example

Important Permalink Tip

IMPORTANT: when changing slugs, a redirect is necessary if your blog post is already published.

I found out the hard way that if you just go in and start changing slugs willy-nilly on published posts, you end up with a mound of broken links.

Now I’m using a plugin called Redirection, it makes setting up redirects easy.

Learn how here:

#21: Add Featured Image

Not adding a featured image to your post turns your social media posts into a random crapshoot.

As a result of specifying a featured image, you’ll be letting social media platforms know what image you want to show audiences when you link to your post on their platform.

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See?

Because I designated a featured image, my Facebook post is much more eye-catching and professional.

Now before you hit, “publish”, add in a featured image so you’re not looking sloppy.

Related reading:

7 Ways to Write Fast Blog Posts (that don’t suck)

#22: Assign Categories (not tags)

There are rumors afoot that categories and don’t matter … they do.

Here’s the short of it:

Well executed categories = better site organization = improved user experience & higher ranking in search results.

Since assigning categories is a ridiculously easy process via the right-hand document settings sidebar in WordPress:

There’s no reason to skip it, even as a stressed-for-time newbie blogger.

Let’s Talk About Tags

Trying to figure out whether or not you should be using tags on your blog is confusing AF.

I know, because I went down that twisty-ass unpaved road myself.

I’m going to save you the trouble and sum up tags super simply for you: there’s lots of varying opinions on them, they definitely don’t help your blog, and they might hurt your blog.

In short: don’t use tags on your blog.

#23: Preview & Review

Now, just like your first major edit – if you can wait for the final review of your post before it goes live, it’s a good idea.

Hit that preview button in the upper right and give your post a nice long look.

First, scan down the page as a reader would – is your post scannable?

Are important sentences bolded or highlighted??

Any glaring formatting mistakes?

Are headlines all formatted the same?

Is that awesome GIF you inserted showing up as HTML, like this:

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Instead of this?

Lastly, do one final check for any spelling/grammar errors (are you using Grammarly yet?).

And then …

#24: Publish!

Hit that publish button and revel in your supreme bloggy-ness!

Be sure to make note of the URL for your new post – you’re going to be using it a lot in the next and final step.

#25: Promote, Share, Optimize

Now, if we could just hit publish and move on to our next groundbreaking post, the blogging life would be a lackadaisical existence.

Nope.

After you hit publish, it’s time to take the writer hat off, put your marketer cap on, and promote your post according to your content marketing strategy.

If you would someday like a more passive way of getting eyes on your post: start SEO-ing as soon as possible.

Many bloggers opt to just focus on Pinterest in the beginning, planning to tackle SEO later. I believe this is a mistake.

Why put all your eggs in one basket?

If your content marketing strategy consists of only one promotion platform, a single algorithm update could wipe out all of your traffic.

Wah-wah.

By taking the time to promote, share, and optimize your posts on multiple platforms, you’re safeguarding your blog against external changes that can affect your traffic.

Pinterest (Sigh …)

I’m pretty outspoken about my opinion on Pinterest: I think the platform has lost its god damned mind.

Pinterest can’t seem to decide what it wants to be when it grows up, and as a result, using it for blog traffic has become a hot confusing mess.

However, I can confidently recommend Pinteresting Strategies, which at a measly $57, is one hell of a deal.

I have taken 2 other, “Pinterest for Bloggers” courses, ranging from $27 – $197, and they were nowhere near as good as Pinteresting Strategies.

You have likely already heard bloggers espousing the wonders of Pinterest:

I started seeing SEO results before I saw any Pinterest results.

I really saw no Pinterest traffic until I took Pinteresting Strategies.

That’s why Pinteresting Strategies is a must.

Plus the teacher, Carly, is a total sweetheart and Pinterest genius.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, has a reputation problem in the blogging community and I don’t buy into it.

It’s a completely foreign concept for most new bloggers, and causes a knee-jerk, “I’ll never be able to figure this out” reaction.

Which is contagious.

That reaction spreads like pink-eye in Kindergarten and before you know it, you throw up in your mouth a little bit when you hear the word, “SEO”.

Please, believe me when I tell you:

SEO is your friend.

You do not have to be a tech-genius to do it well.

It is figure-out-able.

Do not put it off.

SEO takes time to, “marinate”. The sooner you start, the better.

The clock on the Google Sandbox starts ticking as soon as you push publish.

For your convenience, I’ve already incorporated SEO into this checklist with the following steps:

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. No no … it is the tip of the tip.

There is so much more to SEO than getting all green lights on Yoast.

Do yourself a favor, invest in Stupid Simple SEO as soon as you’re able to.

SSSEO is hands down the best SEO course for bloggers out there. I took it. I love it.

Don’t be scared. Now is the time to start dipping your pinky toe in the Google pond. Go get yo SEO on!

Conclusion

Whew! That was one hell of a post and you made it!

Congrats girl, you’re on your way to publishing viral posts with ease!

Now you can write posts that are both reader-friendly and optimized for search engines, all in 25 clear steps. Yay!

If you haven’t downloaded your free Bang’n Blog Post Checklist yet, do it now – use it with reckless abandon and revel in your supreme blog writing skill!