Checklist: 5 Questions to Ask Before Pressing Publish

Everyone thinks his or her blog post is the most entertaining, informative, must-know compilation of research and Internet fodder on the planet. And that’s good, to a point—everyone should be lucky to have that much confidence.

But in reality? Your blog post isn’t about you, it’s about, well, everyone you want to read it. Based off a great infographic I received in my inbox this week, there are 15 questions to ask before you hit that “publish” button.

But since we’re slight overachievers here at TMG, we’re adding a few of our own to the mix, and, since we agree with all of these queries, telling you why they’re worth asking. Consider this your blogging checklist, part 1.

1. What was the main point of this post? Have I made it clearly?

If you can’t articulate your main points in the time it takes to brew a coffee (ours takes less than 30 seconds), take some time to hone in on your point. Content, fashion, product reviews – content consumers need to know WHY they’re reading your post, and they need to know quickly.

2. Have I written something useful?

Sure, you may think that listing your top 5 breakfast cereals is a viral sensation waiting to happen, but what is it about those breakfast cereals that people will care about? Are they using your blog post to determine what’s top notch between Frosted Flakes and Frosted Mini Wheats? Then you’ll want nutritional information and overall sales stats of the two brands for backup. Think to yourself: Why are others going to share my post?

3. Have I written something unique?

Do yourself a 5-second favor before you hit publish and Google your topic (if you don’t know what to “search” for, go back to point No. 1). Has someone else written it, and done a better job? Rework yours until it’s different, relevant and much better than your neighbor’s.

4. Has this post taken me closer to or further away from my blog’s goals? Does it reflect my blog’s brand?

Every blog has a voice, and a purpose (at least, we’d like to think so). If your blog post doesn’t suit the current blog’s voice, it decreases the connection you’ve made with your readers. Plain and simple.

5. Have I used a title that draws people into my post?

For this, we simply lead you to this post we did on Gawker’s pretty amazing headlines.