POI
NTS
CHECK
LIST
B E F O R E Y O U
H I T P U B L I S H
U P T H E R E A C H
37
Hi! I’m Shweta.
I know how difficult it is to write an article.
You need to scratch your head hard and type till your fingers bleed.
What if you miss one small step and the final piece just don’t work for
you?
You don’t want it to happen to you right?
Therefore, I’ve created this checklist against which you can match your
article.
If you want to read more about this topic, please visit my blog
www.upthereach.com/blog
32
H E L L O & W E L C O M E !
www.upthereach.com
Does it clearly state the value it provides?
It should talk about ONE main idea
No jargons in the headline
1 I s i t c l e a r ?
HEADLINE
3 Does it have a unique angle?
Adding a number to the headline denotes a tangible
takeaway from the post.
add a number eg., 7 strategies to produce consistent
content on your blog
add a percentage, e.g., how to grow your traffic by 300%
add term e.g., How I got 5000 subscribers in 30day
2 Is it specific?
Criticising an established practice
Offering some template or downloadable material
Simplify complex information (Infographic)
Don’t criticise for the sake of it! However, don’t keep mum if you are against a general
practice or belief followed in your industry. Raising your voice will not only get you
noticed but also build authority.
www.upthereach.com
4 Did you check the length of the title?
Twitter: 71-100 characters
Facebook: 40 characters
Google+: 60 characters
LinkedIn: 80-120 characters
Google/ Search Engine— you can write 70 characters
before Google truncates the matter with ellipses (…)
Emails: 50 character
Grab this nugget of free advice from Copyblogger- How to write magnetic headlines
Fear – beware, blunder, collapse, dumb, fail
Shocking stats or fact: surprising, awe-inspiring, jaw-
dropping, unspeakable
Evoking curiosity: know, how, what made it,
Encouragement- awe-inspiring, defeat, delight, epic,
guts
Evoking Anger: annoying, bullshit, dirty, evil, dishonest
5 Did you use power words?
www.upthereach.com
Here is a list of 500 words you can use in your headline that can trigger
emotions. https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
Does your headline evoke any of these emotions?
6 The 50/50 rule
7 Is there any adjective in the headline?
Did you spend enough time framing your headline?
Create 10/12 versions
Think about what your audience would type to find that
information
8 Did you give them the reason to click?
We add adjectives to the headlines and sentences to amplify the
impact of the following word.
Best, essential, gorgeous, great, horrific, horrifying, important,
inspire, kickass, killer, lousy, mind-blowing, most, persuasive,
simple, success, ultimate, useful, valuable
Eg., 9 killer ideas for your new startup
Show them the result.
Eg., How to look five years younger
Bonus Tip: Write the headline after writing the complete article.
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
9 Where have you placed the Keyword?
Run it through Co-Schedule Headline Analyser
https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
Readers are influenced by the first and last three words of the
headline.
Eg., SEO strategy: the power of three
Lastly, check your headline in the headline analyser tool.
Coschedule rates your headline on various factors like number
of words power words emotional words etc.
12 Your Introduction can be any of the following:
Try to be succinct in your first line.
Dense content looks scary! Don’t write more than ⅔ lines per
paragraph.
1 1 I s y o u r 1 s t s e n t e n c e c o n c i s e ?
INTRODUCTION
A Hook
personalisation
a fact
a quote
a story
10 Run it through the headline analyser
www.upthereach.com
Check my blog post for more details
A sub-head grabs attention with its big and bold size redirects the
reader’s attention to your article.
1 3 H a v e y o u i n c l u d e d s u b h e a d i n g s ?
Body
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
14 Is your Style of Writing apt for your audience?
Who is your audience
What should be your voice (formal or informal)
Determine your tone: choice of words, grammar, sentence
structure etc.
15 Is your article balanced?
16 Did you add Images?
20% Intro
20% Conclusion
60% Main Body (Check for skewness)
Rename the image file before upload
Resize the image so that it does not impact the speed of your
site.
Always add alt text, it helps search engines to index the image
properly.
17 Did you add bullet points?
Acts as a breather, and makes your article scannable and easy
to consume.
www.upthereach.com
18 Did you use ‘you’?
Talk about “You”, Your Problem”, Your Situation” and “Your
Story”.
Asking questions immediately prompts the brain to take action.
Hence, it becomes more attentive while reading the text.
19 Did you ask questions in the article?
www.upthereach.com
21 Is your conclusion concise?
Guide them from where they should start
Eliminate their concerns by clarifying doubts – like the time it
may take to implement your advice
show them success examples (who implemented your solution)
that can instil confidence
The conclusion is the best place to ask them to like, comment
below, subscribe, download or whatever action you want them to
take.
2 0 D i d y o u a d d a C a l l t o A c t i o n ?
CONCLUSION
22 Does it help ease their concerns?
Keep it crisp and concise in 150-250 words. The conclusion
should only discuss the summary or the main points you’ve
discussed in the article. Never address new issues in the last.
23 Did you label it?
Put a heading to your conclusion. It can be ‘Conclusion’,
‘Wrapping it up’, ‘Now What’, ‘Summary’ etc.
24 Ask a question
Asking a question, in the end, prompts your readers to
comment on your article.
1- What are your views on the post?
2- How did you come over this problem? (Encourage them to
share their part of the story.)
3- What are your favourite tools, strategies that have worked for
you. (If it is a list-article)
Did you add this free plugin to your WordPress site? Allow your
readers to share your thoughts with their Twitter audience in a
single click.
2 6 C l i c k – t o – t w e e t
POST-WRITING
27 Show related reads
Add a free plugin, and you’re up to keep your audience sweet.
28 Linking to other posts internally
check at how many places you can include internal links.
Interlinking reduces the bounce rate and increases engagement
on your site.
It also helps in Search Engine Optimisation.
check if you have linked to the correct page
29 Check all the linked sources
www.upthereach.com
Think what sweetener you may give to your readers
Short and inspiring words:
Live life king size
Good, Better, Best!
Let’s do it
25 End with a quote
www.upthereach.com
check if the source of information is authentic (check the DA of
that site)
don’t refer to a study more than three years old
Do you have a pallet of ⅔ chosen colours for your brand?
Choose 2/3 fonts for your blog
And, a consistent writing style
3 2 A r e y o u r v i s u a l s c o n s i s t e n t t h r o u g h o u t
t h e b l o g ?
BRAND CONSISTENCY
31 Did you include important data to give credence
to your points?
Download this list of 297 flabby words to avoid in your writing.
https://smartblogger.com/weak-writing/
Check for the following words in your text and chuck them off.
1-Adverbs
Really, Actually, quickly. Most of the adverbs end in ‘ly’.
2- Vague words:
About, nearly, things.
3- words that make you look unconfident
According to me, I think, maybe.
30 Words to avoid
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
www.upthereach.com
36 Keyword Density
35 Reading Score
Did you run it through the free tool called Hemingway?
Try to aim anything below 6.
Take a note of this link below
http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-density
Create a free login and paste your article into the tool. It will give you a
density report that you can download also.
37 Did you check the size of your images?
Did you check the size of your images?
Here are the image dimensions that work for each platform.
Facebook: 940×788 px
Pinterest: 735×1102 px
Instagram: 1080×1080
Twitter: 1024×512 px
Check out this super helpful post on how to use one image for multiple
social media sharing.
https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/optimize-images-across-social-
networks/
Editing tools like Grammarly and SEO plugins like Yoast will scan
your article for the passive voice.
34 Actively avoid the passive voice
Don’t aim for a score of 100. When you are writing
conversationally, you will end up breaking many grammar rules.
Just make sure there are no critical errors in the article.
3 3 D i d y o u c h e c k c r i t i c a l G r a m m a r
m i s t a k e s ?
EDITING
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
https://coschedule.com/headline-power-words
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.
Read moreEach paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.
Read moreThanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.
Read moreYour email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.
Read moreBy sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.
Read more