If you’re a committed blogger, it’s important to create and abide by an editorial calendar. Not only will it help you get into the habit of posting content regularly, but also it makes it easier to unveil posts at particular times, such as to coincide with the launch of a new product or promote an upcoming fundraiser. Keep reading to discover some techniques and tools that can make this task much more manageable.
Arrange Your Ideas
If you’ve got plenty of possibilities in mind for how to keep blog readers interested but are having trouble figuring out when each one is ready for the public, that’s a common struggle. A service called Divvy HQ could help keep the creativity flowing without making you get overwhelmed.
Whether you’re involved in writing content, marketing through social media channels or both, this solution lets you see all ideas and objectives at a glance, categorized by phases of readiness, from the review stage through to when something gets published. The lowest pricing tier is $60 per month, which allows you to have three calendars and as many as six people accessing them.
Running a personal blog or just don’t have that kind of money? Use Google Calendar to map out your posts, social media promotions, and other editorial pursuits. Google Calendar is not the absolute ideal platform for planning out your editorial pursuits, but it does a pretty good job on its own, and if you set it up properly, can give paid services a run for their money.
First, have a massive brainstorming session. What are all the topics you would like to cover on your blog? Obviously, this is not the be-all, end-all list, but doing a massive brain dump is a great
place to start. Next, create a calendar just for your blog, in order to keep it separate from your other responsibilities. Start arranging topics on the blog around a regular posting schedule as entries on the calendar. You can set reminders to make sure you write the post on time, or you can just be diligent about checking frequently to see what you need to work on.
Automating Your Efforts
Once content is ready to go live, spreading it across your social media networks can be a full-time job in itself. A freemium (free for basic service, or paid if you need more power and features) platform called HootSuite makes the responsibility much easier. Besides allowing you to see which posts are receiving the most traffic, it lets you schedule posts to appear on social media websites at desired times.
Then, whether you’ve just composed a press release for Bortek Industries or a Tumblr entry that shows teaser snapshots of an office space you’ll be transferring to in the next few months, promotional content can go up on schedule, without a lot of legwork.
Facebook also has the ability to preschedule posts – just select the clock icon when you are typing the post to choose another date and time.
Also, keep in mind that popular blogging platforms like WordPress can be set to publish posts on specified dates. That can be helpful if one of your regular writers is going out of town and you don’t want to make readers wait for new content during the absence.
Get All Team Members on Board
The tools above could be extremely helpful in keeping track of content and promoting it well. However, even with help from robust tools, it’s important to make sure all the people who are responsible for blogging and marketing are aware of how to follow an existing editorial calendar and suggest changes when necessary.
Try using free products like Google Drive and Google Calendar to clarify details and deadlines. Share schedules and documents with everyone or just a few relevant people by quickly changing access settings.
By spreading awareness about your editorial
calendar, being open to feedback from team members and also taking advantage of some of the tools mentioned above or others like them, you can get on a consistent schedule and create an editorial calendar that works for your staff and readers. Soon, your blog may enjoy higher amounts of traffic, especially when people start realizing you have compelling things to say and will provide relevant content on a regular basis.
Adrienne Erin is a freelance writer who covers trends in social media and social marketing. She has written for Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, and Search Engine People, and is always looking for new opportunities. To see more of her work, follow her on Twitter or check out her blog, Pongra.
