Technology, business and change
Fear the publish button
I obviously want each and everyone of you to be better bloggers by reading this blog and for that I want you to think twice before pressing that evil publish button. Too many bloggers just press the publish button without even reading the post they just wrote and I think this is a mistake. If you’re the best writer out there this doesn’t apply to you, but if you’re like most bloggers you’re not in the business because you won the Nobel prize in literature. So, this applies to you.
Review until it flows
It is important to reach a certain level of quality for all your posts if you want to attract subscribers and eventually be an authority in your niche. Nobody writes a perfect post without a review, nobody. How many times do you read your posts and notice there could be some improvements but don’t bother? If you feel like there could be some improvements, then imagine what your readers think. For that reason, read your posts before publishing them and read them as if you were the reader, not the author. Always keep in mind what would make you stop reading and what would make you continue reading a post. Is your post catchy enough? Is the post too boring? Could there be some humor in it to keep the reader hooked? Are some sentences too long? Could there be some crap you could cut?
I think you get the big picture and you understand where I’m going. You know your readers and you know what they like, so offer that.
Stop until it’s too late
Sometimes I write an article and halfway through I realize how the post sucks. I’m sure this happened to you also and I hope you didn’t publish that crap. It’s probably the worst thing to do because if you’re not convinced about what’s you’re writing, your readers will feel it and if you think your post sucks, there are good chances your readers too! In a situation like that, save the post for later, and it might turn into a gem eventually, who knows.
Not every post is worth a Nobel Prize
We’re all writing bad, OK and awesome articles. The key is really just to minimize the bad posts and maximize the good posts as you probably already know. It’s something we have to accept as bloggers: we’re not always going to write the best post out there. Now, imagine if we can cut the “bad posts” part simply by reviewing every single article we write to make sure it’s at least an average post. You know, sometimes it’s not the content, it’s really the way we say things that just makes a post boring. With a little review time, most bad posts can become OK posts and that’s really what we want because nobody wants to write crappy content.
Preview on your blog
It’s important to preview your articles on your blog directly, not in the admin editor. Why? Because you will truly feel like a reader and trust me it works. Sometimes I make a first review in the editor and then read it on the blog to find out there are a lot of improvements to be made. It just feels different when it’s out there on your blog, so use the preview tool!
I don’t have time to review
If you know you just wrote a gem and it doesn’t need a review, fine. Otherwise, wait until you have some time.
Do you review?
I will end this post by asking you the obvious question: Do you review your posts before pressing the publish button?
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the need of reviewing post is necessary especially for non-native English speaker. Most of the time, we got it right on the grammar but we fall short on syntax. It’s really frustrating and hard to keep up on this. Thank you for some tips.
thatwashots last blog post..Crafting the Birth of my New Blog
I usually write what comes off my mind and spend the last 20 mins or so beautifying the sentences and eliminate the unnecessary. I truly believe your content is what makes your readers stay engaged and come back for more.
Yan
Blog for Beginnerss last blog post..The Art of Writing Catchy Articles
There`s nothing more amateurish than spelling mistakes, poor grammar, bad punctuation etc. For that reason alone it`s worth reading through articles you`ve written. And to make doubly sure, have someone else proofread your work if possible.
It never occurred to me that people wouldn’t review and polish their blogs. We all make mistakes sometimes. After I think it’s as perfect as it will get and publish it, I go back and review it again when it’s up and fix anything I didn’t catch.
Bastardettes last blog post..COLUMBUS LIFE CHAIN: THE MOST BORING ABORTION PROTEST OF THE YEAR
@thatwashot: I agree, for non-native english speakers that review time might be a little longer. But I’m not sure this is true the more I think about it: English native speakers tend to make more stupid mistakes sometimes…
@Yan: Definitively agree with you mate. The content define your blog and that’s what ultimately will drive traffic. Taking that 20 minutes or so is really important!
@Andy: Yep! I was actually thinking about trying a spell checking software just to make sure my posts are clean
@Bastardette: Yeah, even after review & publish it’s not rare to catch some other mistakes.
Absolutely I do! It easily takes me an hour or more just to write a post in the first place…I’m NOT going to take the chance on stupid mistakes after I publish.
Got lots of spelling errors? Write in Firefox, it underlines misspelled words in red..simply right click the word and pick the correct choice, unless it’s really messed up LOL
My main problem seems to be typing to fast and not capitalizing my I’s. it’s fine if it’s a combo like I’m or I’d because Firefox will catch it…but the stand-alone i always gets away from me. (See what I did there lol.)
This is where the preview comes in! Just like you mentioned. Also, because of my 2-right sidebars, a double line of text in my admin panel will actually be 4-5 when published…too much.
Awesome post Ben.
Dennis Edells last blog post..Contest Over: Prizes Coming – Link Love First!
Also as you mentioned well, if it does take an extra long time to write and my eyes are wonky, I’ll definitly hit save, not publish and come back later for the once over twice
People please, nothing is THAT time sensitive
Dennis Edells last blog post..Contest Over: Prizes Coming – Link Love First!
@Dennis: I love the Firefox spelling correction
This is probably the best feature for bloggers. If the “I” is your main problem, that’s not too bad I guess, it could be worst hehe.
Yep the preview is important to see how everything will look in your template. Alignment can be a pain sometimes!
@Dennis: Yep, readers can wait
[...] morning I read this post on Frogstr. I have not feared the publish button. Oh my! I have so many fears about this blog and most things [...]
I am editing a lot, mostly cause English is not my native language so I have to double check.
Still I think it’s perfectly normal to post crap once in a while. At times I am so tired and beaten that I simply want to post what I wrote, not quadruple-checked-for-style-and-grammar-with-fancy-hand-picked-images-on-top work of art.
Actually I did just that for last post. *points at CommentLuv* Will see how it goes…
Rarsts last blog post..Why is spam better than spam-filter
Haha at least that’s good to openly admit you just posted crap! Just kidding, I’ll have a look and we’ll see your true “on the spot” writing skills!
If I didn’t review each of my posts I would be spewing nothing but utter garbage at my readers. My articles come out so jumbled during the first draft that even I am not sure where I was headed with the idea. More times than not I will spend hours and days coming back to a post before hitting the publish button.
You can’t eliminate bad writing, but you can do everything your mind allows to try to prevent it.
Adam
@Adam: hehe, it’s easy to get lost and go in the wrong direction…it really is! It’s good that you can spend a couple of days without posting, when I do that I usually end up not publishing the post. I have to write it on the spot and review on the spot. I will save for later sometimes but my saved/published ratio isn’t good.
I should fear the publish button. I chose not to and wing it. Why not
Clog Moneys last blog post..Five reasons I both love and hate making money online.
Haha if it works for you buddy then it’s good
Preview it properly.I have to write it on the spot and review on the spot. I will save for later sometimes but my saved/published ratio isn’t good.
I have a bad habit of clicking the submit button and then seeing errors and going back to edit them!
Tom – StandOutBlogger.coms last blog post..5 Ways To Take Your Blog To A New Level!
Haha, we all do that
That’s why I try to pay attention a little more to what I publish.
Yes, I do review my posts but frequently find little things I still have to edit.
I have a question about creating an ad on your blog. Can it be an animated gif? Or must it be a static jpeg?
It’s whatever you want
So animated gifs are absolutely fine!
Alignment – yes indeed, especially with 2-right sidebars.
Yea, you’ll see my “i” in my comments a lot, and most people don’t use the edit fearure on their blogs LOL
Dennis Edells last blog post..Contest Over: Prizes Coming – Link Love First!
See? “feature”
Dennis Edells last blog post..Contest Over: Prizes Coming – Link Love First!
This is what I’ve been lacking of, checking my raw post. Thanks for reminding and the answer for question is I’m not checking ;>
Norhafidzs last blog post..Promotional Items – Use Your Imagination
hey no problems!
I click publish and then find faults on the live site
ZKs last blog post..Awesome Thanksgiving Contest Giveaways
haha you won’t be able to do that anymore when your site attract 20,000 visits a day
Always ZK – it’s inevitable LOL
Dennis Edells last blog post..7 Tips for Choosing a Business Name
Oops sorry for the double post.
Dennis Edells last blog post..7 Tips for Choosing a Business Name
@Dennis: Stop spamming
hehe I’ve removed the double post!
Thats right ‘It never occurred to me that people wouldn’t review and polish their blogs’
@Downloadic: Yep, I hope most people do…!
Absolutely, I preview, edit and preview again. Then review once its published. Its a work in progress for me… I’m a long post writer
This is a solid pointer about the fact that one should not publish until they have gone through the material, in my view, possibly at least twice. Publishing before this act has been performed can leave the content in a condition where the viewer would skip over it due to poor communication.
Armen Shirvanians last blog post..Quality Builds On Itself
I don`t always review my posts before I hit the `post` button. But, I do always read through it after posting, then use the `edit` feature if I need to make any corrections.
Geoffs last blog post..Rooney Back On Form Against West Brom
[...] it comes to news. Too often that race sadly takes precedence over content. Ben Trombly at Frogstr wrote a thoughtful post on the need to publish with caution. He stresses the need to preview and review your post and I heartly agree. Even news posts can [...]
[...] Proofread before publish [...]
The best writing advice I ever heard was to cut out at least 30% from your first draft to final. We tend to be too wordy and use unnecessary modifiers like “really”. According to the classic “Elements of Style”, almost every adverb is redundant. Thanks for reminding us the internet would be a classier place if we edited our work!
Dianes last blog post..Dec 18, Vegan Recipes
[...] Fear the publish button – I obviously want each and everyone of you to be better bloggers by reading this blog and for that I want you to think twice before pressing that evil publish button. Too many bloggers just press the publish button without even reading … [...]
I agree completely with you. I also do this and I open my site to read my older posts like a visitor. I also do some editing and some aditions to my older posts. Am I doing correct by adding some sentences to my older posts or should I leave them unchanged?
The world seems to be moving at a faster pace, and unfortunately we so easily can get caught up in it.
I forwarded this page to all my members. Thanks for your finest inputs
You should think it through before publishing your posts. We should put ourselves in the eyes of the readers. Then you will know if your post will be boring.
yeah, every blogger want to write a excellent article for the reader, some people afraid of kick the button to submit at the last time. your post give a good suggestion of this, thanks