We’ve been asked to help out with a communication plan for a clients upcoming blog launch. I thought that I’d post the checklist of questions we submitted to the client. You’ll see that we bucketed this into 3 areas: design & technology, content & community, and marketing & communications.
Additions and corrections to the list are welcome!
Design & Technology
Do you want to create a byline (one liner) for the header that tells the reader what the blog is about, why it exists?
What tools are you considering to build the blog?
What features will the blog offer (trackbacks, comments, archives, search, etc.)?
Is syndication in place?
How will the blog be integrated with the rest of the Website?
Have you made it easy for visitors to get to the Website and community from the blog?
Have you ensured that the blog is easily found by bots and spiders (search engine optimization)?
Is the team trained in the use of blogging system or software?
Will e-mail subscription and services be added to the blog?
Will the blog include a recommended reading list?
Content & Community
Have you decided on posting frequency and a publishing schedule (set reader expectations early on)?
Who will monitor the conversations?
Will this be a group or individual blog?
Who will post to similar Internet discussions and blogs?
Have you chosen a voice for the blog?
Has the core community been asked to help with content creation?
Do you have an internal blogging policy?
Have the ‘About Us’ page and ‘Contact Us’ features been completed?
Has a Technorati profile been created?
Have you decided on content licensing?
Have you explored social bookmarking sites?
Is there a privacy policy in place?
Marketing & Communications
Does the blog have a name and reserved Internet address?
Will you drive traffic through paid advertising?
Will you link to the blog from the Website homepage?
Is there a (sustained) marketing plan in place?
Who will register the blog in the various blog, RSS directories, and search engines?
Has a pinging service been selected?
Are tracking tools in place? Do you know what they want to track?
Have metrics been chosen?
Has the blog URL been integrated into other marketing efforts?
Can the blog be promoted in other company communication vehicles?
Will there be a soft launch?