- Brainstorm, map out a plan, create, polish. These are the necessary steps to consider before publishing. As a content writer, you must make sure you include all these steps into your routine. If you miss one, your outcomes might not be as successful as they could be - and why risk losing subscribers, traffic to your website, and money, when all you have to do is check a few essential points before publishing?
Here are nine questions to ask yourself before publishing your content.
About Your Content
1. Is My Title Powerful Enough?
If your intention is ranking high on Google (and whose isn’t, really?), you’ll need to understand Search Engine Optimization. Coming up with influential titles for your articles, strong title tags, and significant meta descriptions is vital. You must invest substantial time in this process, as it is one of the most important ones. Catchy headlines are a must, remember to:
- Use numbers within your titles (7 Ways on How to…)
- Utilize words such as how, when, why (10 Reasons Why Meditation is Beneficial)
- Use emotions (10 Essential Characteristics of an Entrepreneur)
- Within the title (secret tip): Use the trigger word, followed by an adjective, and a keyword. Works 100% of the times!
2. Did I Come Up with High-Quality Content?
- Make sure you are creating quality content by following the next tips: * Research the market thoroughly before starting to work on your content
- Find a niche that suits your clients’ needs
- Research facts, statistics, and gather data for your article
- Write slowly but surely; take your time, don’t hurry into anything
3. What Need Did I Meet?
To become a great entrepreneur, you must meet your clients’ needs. There is no better way to succeed. If you solve a problem, you win. Make sure you are a hundred percent aware of what you can offer before publishing your article.
Solve someone’s problem, or at least try to. If your niche is “how to make money online,” that might not be the most valuable niche you could go after. It’s too popular, too overused, too mainstream. Think twice before choosing a path. Here are some points you’ll want to consider:
- Define your passions and interests
- Research the market (really important)
- See where these two points intersect (what common problem have you found, and how does it relate to your passions?)
- Research your competition
- Create the story, come up with content
I am writing all these above steps to make sure you understand how important research is. If you have no clue what goes on around you, how do you plan on succeeding? It’s in your best interest to find the greatest niche available on the market and relate it to your interests. This “checkpoint” is essential before publishing.
4. Have I Proofread my content?
Proofreading before publishing should be mandatory for any content writer, yet there are many freelancers who completely miss this part. In a rush to publish and get traffic, we are tempted to overlook important details that might play an essential role in our careers. Here are some basic rules to respect when proofreading:
- Make sure you have your grammar on point. Get rid of grammar errors and spelling mistakes. If you are not confident in your skills, use an online editor such as Grammarly.
- If you’d like to check spelling in more detail, hire an editor to do the job for you. It will be an excellent investment for your small business! Time is money, time is precious, so don’t lose it on editing if you afford not to. Any cheap essay writing service could be a good choice for you. They’re helpful, fast, and get the job done.
- Print your articles and highlight all the common mistakes you can find. Write them down in a separate notebook. Next time you proofread, go through this list again and make sure you are not repeating any mistakes.
- Read it out loud after you went through all of the above processes!
- Double check facts and details of your work, and ask for extra help if necessary.
About Your Format
5. Does My Content Attract Clients?
Before hitting “Publish,” you should check your content’s attractiveness. An unattractive material will keep subscribers away, and I am sure you do not want that. Here are some things to check before submitting:
- Your topic - as I mentioned before, meet a need! Choose an exciting niche and topic. Make sure your writing piece is inherently engaging.
- Your title - you already know the secret formula to creating the perfect title.
- The first two paragraphs - your whole content should be of high-quality, but the first two paragraphs are the most important. If your article manages to keep readers engaged, they will stay on your page (and bring you profits!). If your first two paragraphs (or more!) could be improved, improve them.
- Use hyperlinks to popular pages.
- Keep your content brief and to the point. Nobody likes reading a 2-page long article whose information could be summarized in a few lines.
- Make sure your end paragraphs reaches out to the customer. It’s a good idea to include great offers or discounts here and to thank your subscribers for the attention.
6. Did I Follow a Clear Structure?
Structuring your article properly is very important. Clients prefer reading tidy articles and following nicely ordered paragraphs. Before publishing, make sure your structure’s not missing anything:
- Include a summary of your content at the beginning of the text, or a brief Index.
- Add a teaser in your first paragraph, and as I pre-mentioned, make sure the first two paragraphs are very catchy.
- Use an introduction, body, and conclusion. In the body, use numbers and bullets to make the content evident to the reader. Use headers, subheaders, and lists.
About Optimization
7. Is My Content Action-Orientated?
A vital checkpoint is making sure you’ve optimized your content. If you’ve wondered whether your content is action-orientated before yet never checked, here are some tips to consider:
- Use content marketing automation (also called programmatic buying) to link your blog/posts/videos to your products. Here you can find some useful tools. * Invest in social marketing, and make your products stand out! Before launching an article, make sure you link your products to social media, so your profits can quickly expand.
8. Did I Use Enough Visuals?
Using visual content is tremendously important today, as more and more people have less time to read entire, long articles thoroughly. Using visuals helps them accumulate information faster and easier. What you should include:
- Images
- Interactive videos
- Explanatory visual content
- Infographics
- Memes and funny material
- Screenshots and samples of the topic you are writing about * Presentations and other methods of explaining the content (Prezi)
9. How Good Are My SEO Skills?
I won’t get into many details, but I must add that a good freelancer must quickly develop great SEO skills. Here is what you should look into for improving your articles:
- Social Media Marketing
- Building links
- Enhancing your content’s quality
- Keyword building
- Using information accurately
Wrapping Up
To publish high-quality content and bring more users to your page, make sure you ask yourself all of the above questions. Take into consideration every single point, and don’t forget to research! Good luck.
