After Launching a Couple
Dozen Blogs, I Figured
Out How to Do it Right
Aaron Hockley

I Don’t Want to Be This
photo © darkpatator [Flickr]

Simple Goals
Nobody Should Ever See This

Simple Goals
Traffic

Our Specimen:
SocialPhotoTalk.com

The “Duh” Steps

The “Duh” Steps
Buy the Domain

The “Duh” Steps
Buy the Domain
Setup Domain on the Web Host

The “Duh” Steps
Buy the Domain
Setup Domain on the Web Host
Install WordPress

Install Maintenance Mode
photo © Editor B [Flickr]

Security Good,
Spam Bad

Security Good,
Spam Bad
Setup a User Account

Security Good,
Spam Bad
Setup a User Account
Delete the Admin Account

Security Good,
Spam Bad
Setup a User Account
Delete the Admin Account
Activate Akismet

Get Set to Set the Settings

Get Set to Set the Settings
Permalinks

Get Set to Set the Settings
Permalinks
Discussion (Comments)
will you use a hosted comment service?

Get Set to Set the Settings
Permalinks
Discussion (Comments)
will you use a hosted comment service?
Reading (Homepage, Post Counts)

Make It Look Purty
bit.ly/GetThesis *
...or any theme of your choice
* that’s an affiliate link

Make It Look Purty
bit.ly/GetThesis *
...or any theme of your choice
... and customize it
* that’s an affiliate link

Initial Plugins

Initial Plugins
Dashboard Scheduled Posts

Initial Plugins
Dashboard Scheduled Posts
No Self Pings

Initial Plugins
Dashboard Scheduled Posts
No Self Pings
Twitter Tools
(and customize the “new blog post” text)

Funny Photo Time
photo © tenioman [Flickr]

An Appropriate
Amount of Clutter
Subscription (RSS, email, Twitter)
Recent Comments
Categories/Tags/Archives
Affiliates/Ads

OpenID: It’s a Good Thing

Don’t Forget Pages

Don’t Forget Pages
About (and Contact)

Don’t Forget Pages
About (and Contact)
Custom 404

Don’t Forget Pages
About (and Contact)
Custom 404
Archives
I like the Clean Archives Reloaded plugin

And This Stuff Too
Analytics
Twitter Account
Favicon

Write Content

Write Content
Really

Write Content
Really
A Bunch of It

Think Before Launching

Just Before Launch
Deactivate Maintenace Mode
Disable Twitter Tools
Publish Queued Posts

Launch
photo © p_c_w [Flickr]

Just After Launch
Re-enable Twitter Tools
Setup Feedburner (create feed, redirect)
Setup email subscription

Q&A
Notes at bit.ly/bloglaunch
Aaron Hockley
aaronhockley.com
@ahockley