5 Things You Need To Have On Your Prelaunch Blog Checklist That Will Actually Make Your Life Better
Launching a new blog can sound overwhelming at first, but with strategic planning, topic development, and research, you’ll be surprised with what you can come up with to create a successful blog. Before diving right into all the fun of creating your digital safe haven for information and thoughts, you should consider a detailed checklist that will help guide you to a blog you’ll love running. When you’re prepared, the journey ahead becomes more seamless, and the excitement just keeps coming.
Know Your Niche
Creating a blog is a lot more than just making a website. Before you get started, you should take some time to explore a niche that you can create a lot of content around. For some, this may be something popular that people are easily interested in, and for others, this may be a narrower topic that is unique and highlights something that may not be familiar to everyone.
No matter your intention for the blog, be sure it is something you feel comfortable making loads of content about. If you see yourself hitting a majority wall after only a few posts, you may want to revisit the drawing board and see how you can expand some more. Don’t worry, there’s always something to discuss, don’t give up on your first set of goals. Chances are, you’ll be going through many goals throughout the blogging process, and that’s the best part of running a blog. There’s always a way to pivot and see if it drives traffic.
Understanding Your Audience
When creating a successful blog, it’s essential to think about the people who will be visiting your site. Who are you attracting to your blog, and what is the ideal scenario when they visit your content. Blogging is a lot like selling, but more so of an idea. When you start to picture your blog up and running, think about the people who are connecting to your work. Figuring out your targeted audience is a lot like figuring out your customer when you start a business. The more you think about the type of people you want to see your content, the easier it will be to plan out the work.
There are crucial aspects of your blog that will require you to think about the audience, and knowing the goals and values a majority of them have will make decisions easier in the future. It also helps to know your audience’s pain points and objectives. Be the solution people have been waiting for and find the answer so you can share it with the world. Everyone is always looking for answers, but it’s always best to know the questions beforehand so you can make informed content that helps others.
Create a Blogging Strategy
As you’re getting closer to launching your blog, planning is a big part of the process. Begin brainstorming ideas and goals you want to achieve to make it all come alive. Whether you want to start off with organic traffic in the first few months or begin a marketing campaign, think about how you would like each piece to go before your first post.
Initially, you’ll want to do a lot of research and gain knowledge on your chosen topic, but once you have a few ideas going, start a strategy you can stick to and feel confident in the results. The best part about starting a blog is making it your own, which means if something doesn’t work, you can always try something new.
Blog Name
You may be wondering why this wasn’t first on your checklist, but the reality is, blog names can be difficult to solidify in the beginning. Between checking if it’s an available domain to seeing if it aligns with your niche, it’s best to hang tight until you know for sure the direction you’re taking before naming your blog. When the time comes, you can either make a list of potential names or stick to the original title that got you excited to start this journey in the first place.
Don’t spend too much time trying to come up with the most clever name. The best thought process is to think of something simple that people can easily remember and pronounce. It can seem like a daunting task at first, but once you have secured a blog name, it truly starts to feel real.
Get to Drafting
The time has finally come to put all your ideas out and get started on drafts for your new blog. Just to be clear, you should not be launching with a blank blog. Give your readers a solid idea of what your blog is all about and the direction you will be heading in for the next couple of blogs. By getting these drafts together, you’ll be able to play around with the verbiage and find your own rhythm to kick off your launch.
Even if you don’t feel 100% ready to post everything you have, it’s better to have something written out and let your audience decide. Be ready to navigate after the first few weeks of your launch and see if there are any changes needed to be made for your next set of content. Getting the creative juices flowing can be challenging at first, but you get pumped up for future posts once you get started.
With so many phases of launching a blog, it can be hard to know what to set as a priority. As you go through the list of what’s necessary before launch, make a solid game plan on how you want to achieve your goals and remember the reason why you started your blog in the first place.
Although it can seem like a long list of to-dos, your hard work will certainly pay off when you are channeling your energy into something you love and are passionate about. The real excitement comes when you’re able to connect with so many others who are just as excited about your blog as you are!
