Your blog goes live and now what?
You have a blank slate of a blog with nothing on it, yet all the
potential in the world!
Lately I've been helping so many people with the setup part of
blogging that I've sort of forgotten the post-launch period.
So right here we'll cover 10 critical tasks for you and your newly
launched blog.
10 Tasks for New Blogs
Quick note: These are actual flaws I see on your new blogs and truly
are things that if you do straight away really will jumpstart your
blog. They apply to blogs and sites in all niches!
1) Delete the pre-made features
Blogger comes with several initial "things" in place to show you what
you can create. From the "First Post" to the Sample Page, Archives,
Meta, and Recent
Comments sections these all look rather pointless at first. So delete them.
You can fill the space with actual pages, archives, etc once you
create a few blog posts. For now, simple is best and these pre-made
features will only distract people.
2) Change your theme immediately
On Blogger it's quite easy to change the entire theme (or look, or
design, whatever you want to call it) of the blog.
Just go to Template – Select Themes – Install Themes – Upload, then
find your theme.
You can also search for free themes by criteria, or can browse premium
themes (these are paid options) at a place like Theme-Junkie.
I've personally used a premium (costs money) theme Theme-Junkie for
about a year now, and wrote a premium theme review tell you how my
theme helped jack monthly revenue to the moon.
3) Create a working title
Working is the key word here!
Either just title your blog, or upload an image banner containing your
title. Please
do this soon, readers will run for the hills if you don't.
4) Write a welcome message
A welcome message, just in MY humble opinion, should be your very
first post. It tells readers why you started and gives them an idea of
what's to come.
I think you should have a blast writing one.
5) Do your best to show signs of interaction
When I wrote about the popularity contest that is social proof, I
mentioned how showing interaction on a blog leads to…more interaction.
Grab a Twitter dialogue box, a simple Google Plus badge, or ask a few
friends or family members to be your first commenters. This will make
a huge difference going forward.
6) Create an about me page
Also in the fun category, do this literally right away.
Say I'm a reader curious about what your blog, or website covers. I'll
either read the welcome post or this about me page to find out. If
it's missing, I'm gone.
Spend about an hour making this
personable, and really, really good. I know a lot of you won't even
listen, but this page really is critical. It's good for getting
subscribers and customers too.
7) Research your niche
A big part of our guide to planning your new blog was niche research.
If you didn't research other blogs or websites like yours before
beginning you should really get on that now. Knowing what's out there
will help you tailor your
content to be original, and you might even meet some helpful blogging
friends along the way.
8) Put on some comfy clothing
I really could have put this up at number 2 or 3 but I'm just thinking
of it now. These jeans are not broken in!
9) Get a logo
You should have a logo that explains your purpose and includes a motif or two.
You should do some preliminary research on what logos are working on
people nowadays (usually Google images is good
enough) then ask one of your design-savvy friends to create a working
logo. Or open up Photoshop and tackle it yourself!
I say working again because it doesn't have to be perfect! Which
brings me to my last point.
10) Ditch the perfectionism
Throw it right out the window of your apartment, because being a
perfectionist will really hold you back in blogging.
You have to make mistakes to learn, we know this.
But in blogging, you have to actually put yourself out there, online,
and get your hands dirty. You have to learn code, try out writing
styles, totally botch the design, and generally be goofy.
If you expect things to run perfectly your blog will go no wehere at
all. And, the good part is nobody is judging!
The Usual Discussion
Now to the comments we go. Wonder who will be first…
1. Do you agree first impressions on a blog are crucial?
2. What's the first thing you do post-launch?
3. Did you just start a blog and find this useful?
Post your thoughts today right below.
You have a blank slate of a blog with nothing on it, yet all the
potential in the world!
Lately I've been helping so many people with the setup part of
blogging that I've sort of forgotten the post-launch period.
So right here we'll cover 10 critical tasks for you and your newly
launched blog.
10 Tasks for New Blogs
Quick note: These are actual flaws I see on your new blogs and truly
are things that if you do straight away really will jumpstart your
blog. They apply to blogs and sites in all niches!
1) Delete the pre-made features
Blogger comes with several initial "things" in place to show you what
you can create. From the "First Post" to the Sample Page, Archives,
Meta, and Recent
Comments sections these all look rather pointless at first. So delete them.
You can fill the space with actual pages, archives, etc once you
create a few blog posts. For now, simple is best and these pre-made
features will only distract people.
2) Change your theme immediately
On Blogger it's quite easy to change the entire theme (or look, or
design, whatever you want to call it) of the blog.
Just go to Template – Select Themes – Install Themes – Upload, then
find your theme.
You can also search for free themes by criteria, or can browse premium
themes (these are paid options) at a place like Theme-Junkie.
I've personally used a premium (costs money) theme Theme-Junkie for
about a year now, and wrote a premium theme review tell you how my
theme helped jack monthly revenue to the moon.
3) Create a working title
Working is the key word here!
Either just title your blog, or upload an image banner containing your
title. Please
do this soon, readers will run for the hills if you don't.
4) Write a welcome message
A welcome message, just in MY humble opinion, should be your very
first post. It tells readers why you started and gives them an idea of
what's to come.
I think you should have a blast writing one.
5) Do your best to show signs of interaction
When I wrote about the popularity contest that is social proof, I
mentioned how showing interaction on a blog leads to…more interaction.
Grab a Twitter dialogue box, a simple Google Plus badge, or ask a few
friends or family members to be your first commenters. This will make
a huge difference going forward.
6) Create an about me page
Also in the fun category, do this literally right away.
Say I'm a reader curious about what your blog, or website covers. I'll
either read the welcome post or this about me page to find out. If
it's missing, I'm gone.
Spend about an hour making this
personable, and really, really good. I know a lot of you won't even
listen, but this page really is critical. It's good for getting
subscribers and customers too.
7) Research your niche
A big part of our guide to planning your new blog was niche research.
If you didn't research other blogs or websites like yours before
beginning you should really get on that now. Knowing what's out there
will help you tailor your
content to be original, and you might even meet some helpful blogging
friends along the way.
8) Put on some comfy clothing
I really could have put this up at number 2 or 3 but I'm just thinking
of it now. These jeans are not broken in!
9) Get a logo
You should have a logo that explains your purpose and includes a motif or two.
You should do some preliminary research on what logos are working on
people nowadays (usually Google images is good
enough) then ask one of your design-savvy friends to create a working
logo. Or open up Photoshop and tackle it yourself!
I say working again because it doesn't have to be perfect! Which
brings me to my last point.
10) Ditch the perfectionism
Throw it right out the window of your apartment, because being a
perfectionist will really hold you back in blogging.
You have to make mistakes to learn, we know this.
But in blogging, you have to actually put yourself out there, online,
and get your hands dirty. You have to learn code, try out writing
styles, totally botch the design, and generally be goofy.
If you expect things to run perfectly your blog will go no wehere at
all. And, the good part is nobody is judging!
The Usual Discussion
Now to the comments we go. Wonder who will be first…
1. Do you agree first impressions on a blog are crucial?
2. What's the first thing you do post-launch?
3. Did you just start a blog and find this useful?
Post your thoughts today right below.
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