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Peer-Editing Checklist for Bloggers

Peer-Editing Checklist for Bloggers

Use this peer-editing checklist to create better content for your blog.
1
Record post information
2
Structure & theme:
3
Read the entire post through once aloud
4
Check the post is interesting
5
Check the post is unique
6
Check the post is actionable
7
Check the structure flows logically
8
Check the post is scannable
9
Check subheadings make sense when read alone
10
Line editing:
11
Spelling and grammar check run
12
Opening line grabs the reader's attention
13
Remove filler words
14
Remove passive voice where possible
15
Hyphenation is correct
16
Call to action at the end
17
On-page SEO:
18
The keyword is in the title
19
The keyword is in the first 100 words
20
The meta-description is optimized correctly
21
The post contains LSI keywords
22
H2s are keyword optimized
23
Image alt tags are keyword optimized
24
Slug contains keyword
25
5+ outbound authority links
26
5+ deep links
27
Content is over 1,800 words long
28
Publishing:
29
Submit to manager for final approval
30
Approve post
31
Schedule post

Record post information

For the sake of record-keeping, record the post’s basic information in the form fields below.

Save time and automatically populate form fields by integrating Process Street with over 1,000 popular apps via Zapier.




Structure & theme:

Read the entire post through once aloud

Reading aloud often helps you catch grammatical and stylistic errors you would otherwise skim over.

Check the post is interesting

Does your post include any/all of these 9 elements?

  1. A story
  2. First person writing
  3. Foreshadowing (in this post…)
  4. Transition (we’ve looked at X, now we’re going to look at Y)
  5. Clarity
  6. Brevity
  7. Flow and detail (think article, not outline)
  8. Short sentences
  9. Scannable chunks of text

Check the post is unique

Check you are:

  • Storytelling from personal experience
  • Combining data or advice in a unique way
  • Sharing your opinion

Check the post is actionable

A simple way to do this is just to tell your reader what to do with the information they read at the end of each paragraph or post.

Check the structure flows logically

Check the post is scannable

Use a variety of formatting, regular headings, numbered lists, and bullet points.

Break paragraphs down into just 1-2 sentences.

Check subheadings make sense when read alone

Readers will scan the subheadings first before they do anything else, so they have to go deeper into the content than the title, and explain properly what the post will be about.

Line editing:

Spelling and grammar check run

Simply install Grammarly for this step!

Opening line grabs the reader’s attention

Use the APP Method from Brian Dean for a very easy way to write an introduction:

Remove filler words

This top 10 list from Erin Feldman shows the most common examples of filler words:

  1. Just
  2. So
  3. Very
  4. Really
  5. That
  6. And then
  7. But
  8. Of
  9. Some
  10. Like

But if you want a comprehensive list of 297, click here!

Remove passive voice where possible

The passive voice makes your writing sound weak. See here for an example:

Hyphenation is correct

For example:

  • Confusing: Springfield has little town charm.
  • With hyphen: Springfield has little-town charm.

Call to action at the end

On-page SEO:

The keyword is in the title

To quote Brian Dean:

“The title tag is a webpage’s second most important piece of content (besides the content of the page) and therefore sends a strong on-page SEO signal.”

You’ll notice when you type a keyword into Google, 99% of the time the top ranking results will contain that keyword in the title. That makes it obvious that it’s a relevancy signal to Google.

The keyword is in the first 100 words

The meta-description is optimized correctly

Use a tool like Yoast or All in One SEO to easily edit the meta descriptions in posts so they’re:

  • 160 characters or less
  • Including the keyword
  • Persuading readers to click

The post contains LSI keywords

LSI keywords are terms that Google groups together. By using similar terms, it signals strongly to Google that your post is relevant for the target term.

Use the LSIGraph keyword generator here.

H2s are keyword optimized

Include your keyword and LSI variants in 2-3 subheadings.

Image alt tags are keyword optimized

For visibility through Google Images, images must have alt tags.

Slug contains keyword

The URL is a ranking signal to Google, so make sure to optimize it.

Content is over 1,800 words long

Longer would be better, but over 1,800 words is fine for most cases.

Publishing:

Submit to manager for final approval

Approve post

The content manager will check this task off when the post has been approved. Otherwise, enter required edits in the form field below.


Schedule post

Now schedule the post ahead of time so you don’t miss the deadline.

The publish date is {{form.Post_publish_date}}.

Take control of your workflows today.