5 Step Content Marketing Checklist

1. Planning & Researching Your Topic

Use Google keyword planner to find relevant keyword phrases that people are searching for to use in your post
Search Twitter for popular topics related to your keyword and pay attention to the ones getting the most retweets and favorites
Do a quick Google search to see other pages that are ranking for that keyword\
Create a list of major points you want to get across in your post

2. Writing Your Content

Don’t let paragraphs get too long – they should break up every 2-3 lines or roughly every 75-100 words
Try to include an image for every 300 words of text
Use sub headers to segment sections and break up your article for easy reading/scanning
Create a compelling headline (ideal length: 55 characters)
Make use of bullets and lists where applicable
Link to other valuable resources in your article (webpages or your other blog posts) where relevant
Spell check!

3. Optimize Your Content For Search

Aim for 1000-1500 words for a blog post – that is the Google *sweet post* for SEO based on research from sepIQ
Place your SEO keyword into your blog title
Include your SEO keyword in at least one H2 header
Place your SEO keyword at the very beginning of your title and H2 header for optimal results

4. Make It Shareable

Create a custom graphic that shows the title of your blog in an attractive way to increase shares on pinterest and other networks
Use Click to Tweet to include tweetable quotes and state throughout your blog
Create or curate an infographic relevant to your chosen topic and include it in your post
Include slideshare presentation or a video

5. Promote Your Content

Send an update to your email list with a link to your blog post
Share your blog post on Facebook and make sure your image is optimized to look good in Facebook link preview for optimal click-through rates
Share on Twitter and include your custom title graphic
Share on Pinterest using the custom title graphic
Pin to relevant shared Pinterest boards to increase exposure
Share your blog post as a status update on LinkedIn on your personal profile and your LinkedIn company page
Share in relevant LinkedIn by creating a discussion around your topic and including the link as a reference
Share your post to Google+ to your personal profile and company profile
Find niche Facebook groups and Google+ communities to share your post by creating discussion about it
Consider using Facebook ads or LinkedIn Sponsored updates to run targeted ads to promote your content
Use a social sharing plugin like Digg Digg or Flare that allows for easy social sharing directly from your blog but be aware of the etiquette of each site’s community before posting.