What Works For Me // A Blogging Checklist

It's almost been one whole year since I started blogging, and the amount of information I've come across and tidbits & tips I have learned still amaze me daily. I'm not here to tell you what you need to do to be a better blogger, or that you must do the list below to be successful. Sharing is caring, and what works for me may help one of you at some point.

I am striving to create more beautiful posts, rich with stunning images, packed full of useful information and a little something that leaves you smiling as you finish. When composing posts, there is so much to keep in mind so I've developed a checklist for myself that you could use for yourself daily. Yay for more printables!

First things first, a pretty image with the title and your website that will work great for a Pinterest board is the first thing I like people to see in my posts.
I create and edit pictures using PicMonkey & Canva and have been very pleased with the options available on both websites thus far.

Next, something I recently (like yesterday) started doing is a click to tweet link. I create a tweet that I want to embed in my post for others to easily click and share on Twitter. No copying a link, creating a tweet, pasting the said link, etc... My readers can share my post all in the matter of one click with the help of click to tweet. Here it is in action:

Tweet: What blogger doesn't love a checklist? Here's one to help you create great posts.

I personally prefer 2-3 pictures for my posts, if I have them. Sometimes I don't have images of my own that fit with particular posts, but my goal is 2-3. I have grown a bit in my picture taking skills, with the use of some basic white posterboard and more natural sunglight. I can't wait to see how my pictures improve over time with more equipment and knowledge.

Want to get your overall pageviews up and share some posts new readers may have missed? It's easy, and something I often forget to do. Share a post from the past that relates to the current one. If I do a recipe post, I share another concoction I've made. I am trying to make a better effort to do this a few times a week.

I know there are several scheduling websites people use, but I love Hootsuite. I've used it in the past at various jobs, so I know how to use it and it works well for what I need. I schedule tweets as soon as I have a post ready. It's easy for me to do within a few minutes & have 2-3 tweets scheduled for the day a post goes live. I usually schedule one for around 10 am, 1 pm, and 7 pm...I vary the times day to day but stay in those ranges.

Raise your hand if you're awful at pinning information from your blog to Pinterest? ME ME ME! I can NEVER remember to do this. Thanks to Anne, I learned about Tailwind and set it up last week. I am able to schedule pins simply and not have to remember to do it at "the best times to pin" as recommended by every pinning genius out there. I highly recommend reading Anne's post about scheduling pins here , she shares a ton of useful information for clueless pinners like me.

Follow Dream Big & Buy The Shoes's board C H E E R S* time for a DRINK on Pinterest.

I know there's A LOT of bloggers out there that no longer use Facebook, but I do. Several of my family members and friends interact with my Facebook page and it helps people see my posts. For now, I'll be keeping my page because it doesn't hurt my blog in any way.

NEW POST: Let's Pack For Vegas...B**ch!!!! http://www.dreambigandbuytheshoes.com/2015/03/vegas-vacation-fashion.html?m=1#ItsAlmostBritneyTime
Posted by Dream BIG & Buy the Shoes on Friday, March 6, 2015

SEO. Search Engine Optimization...it can be scary. I'm dabble with it sometimes, and I feel like I'm pretty much clueless most of the time. One of these days I'll purchase a one on one blog session with Helene because she's got her SEO shiz down. If you want some great basic tips to get started you can check out her post here, it helped me begin my relationship with SEO.


You can get your own "Get It Done" Blogging Checklist here .

What's your "checklist" look like?


Tomorrow is the "You Are Beautiful" linkup and we are starting to do some prompts to encourage others to share your stories. This week we will be talking about Random Acts of Kindness. Grab a button and join us tomorrow.

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