Are you about to launch a new blog? If so do you have an action plan? I absolutely love the plan Small Business Trends put together talking about this very item. It’s critical to have a game plan before you launch your blog so that you can maximize your blog right from the start. Here are some important things to keep in mind:

–Before you start do lots of homework on other blogs in your category. It’s always good to know who is in your Web, especially since you’ll want to comment on others’ blogs for links back to yours. Also, be sure to have things like your domain and RSS feeds in order.

–Have a series of articles – or at least blog post content ideas – ready to go so that you can have lots of fresh, useful content when you launch.

–Think about promoting your blog. Aside from using natural promotional tools like social media, what else will you use to get your blog out there. Remember, it makes no sense having a beautiful store if no one comes through the door. Think about how you will also incorporate email marketing and even traditional direct mail marketing to drive traffic to your blog.

It’s also a good idea to think about how you will develop the “community” aspect of your blog. Obviously you want to make it easy for people to leave comments so you foster a sense of two-way communication, but what else are you going to do to get people involved? Try to incorporate things like user-generated content like videos and photos. Even offering polls and surveys can make a blog much more inviting.

Lastly, don’t forget to use public relations for your blog. For example, when you collect the data from your polls and surveys, think about sending out a press release offering results to the media.

Are you setting up a blog? What preparation are you taking to get it ready for launch?

Here’s a link to the Small Business Trends post.

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