The Benefits of Preview and Review Blog Posts

I remember hearing in speech class a long time that a speech could be condensed to three segments…

• Tell’em what you’re going to tell them.
• Tell’em.
• Tell’em what you told’em.

I’ve heard the same principle apply to writing also, but I’d like to apply it to blogging on a slightly larger scale (even though I think it’s pitiful simplistic and shallow speech-making advice). I think this little outline can apply well to a week (or a month) in the life of your blog. Let me expound…

Tell’em What You’re Going To Tell Them

It’s very simple…

Coming up this week (or month) at ~supply your own awesome blog name here~… Then give your readers a preview of your upcoming content. Maybe you’ll list out some of your already written future posts, or show them the sratchpad or moleskine you work in. Perhaps you’ll just build anticipation and buzz about some new feature you’re going to add or release. Give readers a hint of what’s coming.

Tell’em

Follow through on your promises, as much as possible. And this is where I might mention being careful about what you promise. I’d suggest announcing only those plans you already have set in stone, or being conservative in how you word things, such as saying “I’m thinking about tackling…”

Tell’em What You’ve Told’em

The review is actually far more important than the preview. You’re going to write great articles all month long. The problem is that once you’ve written them, they’re gone. They’re in the past. I wrote about this on my personal blog once in an article titled How to Recycle Old Posts and Why You Should. One of my tips was to produce a monthly review post reminding folks of your best content throughout the month.

Laurie PawlikKienlen (@QuipsAndTips) reminds people of new articles added and breaks them down by subject. I do this on my personal blog in the form of a “Life In the Rearview” post once per month. Michael Hyatt takes us through his 10 most popular posts from the month. And here at We Blog Better (I’ve just completed my first month of blogging here) I’ve already started doing a best of the month post in which I just take some paragraphs to recount what I think is my best stuff.

Review posts are not only good for squeezing more juice out of those well-written posts, but also as a time to speak to your readers about the life of your blog. You can let them know what’s going on, and perhaps even mention sponsorship opportunities along the way.

So, tell’em what’s coming. Tell’em. Tell’em what you told’em. It works.