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The Blog Launch Formula

This is an audio post, which is now happening every Thursday according to my new & improved editorial calendar. I have some written notes that I’ve added some helpful links to, but the real meat is in the audio, so I hope you enjoy it.

Yesterday’s post was on The Top 10 Ways to NOT Launch a Blog. With apologies to internet marketer Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula, this audio post covers how to launch a blog step by step. I’m calling it The Blog Launch Formula. I’ve identified 6 stages in a blog launch:

  1. Discovery
  2. Initial Writing
  3. Setup
  4. Design
  5. Launch
  6. Networking/Promotion

Discovery

Questions to ask and answer for yourself in writing:

Why do you want to blog?

What do you want to accomplish?

Who is your audience?

Is there a market?

What are the keywords? (keyword research: Free WordTracker Keyword Tool)

Initial Writing

Don’t need the blog yet for this!

About page

Subscription Incentive content – white paper, report, audio, video, or ebook

A month’s worth of posts if possible

Setup

Get a domain name, preferably one with your primary keywords in it

Get hosting

Install/set up the blog

WordPress.com or Blogger.com

Or…

Fantastico/Metropolis

Or…

Database creation

FTP upload

Upload, activate, and configure plugins

Upload and switch to a theme

Change permalinks

Get a FeedBurner account and the FeedSmith plugin

Get a Technorati account

Get social media accounts

Design

Logo

Choose a theme

Hire a designer

Tweak theme

Graphics – istockphoto.com

Flickr CC-licensed images

Launch

Promotion begins before launch!

Commenting

Emails to other bloggers

Social media presence/buildup

Networking/Promotion

Commenting

Guest-posting

Social media

(all this is why you want blog content created in advance)

Here’s to your blogging success!

Michael Martine, Remarkablogger

Blog marketing is what I blog about, Blog consulting is what I do

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11 Responses to The Blog Launch Formula
  1. James Chartrand - Men with Pens
    September 11, 2008 | 9:54 am

    Oh, nice list, Michael. That’s something easy someone can print and just check off steps as they go. Well thought of!

  2. CrazyKinux
    September 11, 2008 | 10:01 am

    Oh yeah! This one’s a keeper! A great recipe for success.

  3. Michael Martine, Blog Consultant
    September 11, 2008 | 1:01 pm

    Thanks, guys. Of course, the real work is in the details as they relate to an individual’s blog and situation. So I can put information like this up without worrying about “giving away the store.” A blog consulting client would get highly specific help.

  4. Chris Garrett
    September 11, 2008 | 3:33 pm

    Nice list, and very true about the list requiring custom tweaking to unique situations. I still think the web is missing out on your design skills :)

  5. Michael Martine, Blog Consultant
    September 11, 2008 | 3:40 pm

    @Chris – Thank you. My design skills may make a comeback in a different form down the road, but that’s all I’ll say about it for now. ;)

  6. Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome
    September 12, 2008 | 3:08 am

    Yay! How exciting! I went through this list saying “yes, done, yes, done” – no wonder the new incarnation of my blog is doing so well! hehehehe

  7. Michael Martine, Blog Consultant
    September 12, 2008 | 8:39 am

    @Alex – Great to hear! Nice to see confirmation from others on the steps, too, so thanks for that. :)

  8. Brandon
    September 12, 2008 | 6:08 pm

    I was actually enjoying listening to the audio portion of the post. However it ends at 3:04….but it is obviously just cut off. Is there a way to get the full audio version? Thanks!

  9. Michael Martine, Blog Consultant
    September 12, 2008 | 6:21 pm

    @Brandon – Holy cow, you’re right! I’ll get that fixed as soon as I can. Thanks for pointing that out.

  10. Michael Martine, Blog Consultant
    September 13, 2008 | 5:31 pm

    OK, wow, the whole original file was borked and I had to rerecord the entire thing! It’s a better recording and it now covers everything at about 18 minutes in length.

  11. Lucia
    September 14, 2008 | 4:55 pm

    nice list your are the king of blogs about blogs

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