The Blog Launch Formula

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

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:

Discovery
Initial Writing
Setup
Design
Launch
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

Filed Under: Blogging

http://www.menwithpens.ca James Chartrand – Men with Pens

Oh, nice list, Michael. That’s something easy someone can print and just check off steps as they go. Well thought of!
http://www.crazykinux.com/ CrazyKinux

Oh yeah! This one’s a keeper! A great recipe for success.
http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

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.
http://www.chrisg.com/ Chris Garrett

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
http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

@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.
http://www.somedaysyndrome.com Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

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
http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

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

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!
http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

@Brandon – Holy cow, you’re right! I’ll get that fixed as soon as I can. Thanks for pointing that out.
http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine, Blog Consultant

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.
http://www.accentonlighting.co.uk Lucia

nice list your are the king of blogs about blogs