Creating an Editorial Calendar: 7 Essential Tips
Publications such as your blog can also benefit from the use of an editorial calendar, especially when you have multiple authors writing for a site. By regarding your blog as an online magazine, you can enjoy the benefits of editorial planning that traditional publications enjoy. First, your writers will know what content they need to provide and when they need to have it ready to submit. This makes sure that you always have something to post when the time comes. Advertisers also benefit from the ability to purchase advertising to coincide with specific features and articles that are relevant to their products. Furthermore, the stability gained by having the content of your blog planned in advance takes a lot of the worry out of blogging and gives your site a more professional and consistent feel.
Below you will find seven essential tips for creating an editorial calendar for your online publication or blog.
1. Topic selection: An editorial calendar can help you select and schedule the topics that you will publish on your blog. By planning your topics, you can keep your niche targeted and your writers, advertisers, and readers on a routine.
2. Style selection: Some bloggers like to schedule a certain type of post for publication as well as its topic. By scheduling the type of articles you post, you make sure your blog has variety and you broaden its appeal. The editorial calendar helps you create balance: for example, you may want to have a balance between opinion posts, product reviews, and tips and tricks tutorials.
3. Plan unique features: Special features take more time to prepare, so make sure you give your writers enough time on the schedule to get their work done. Special features also may interest more people, so take some time to publicize them well in advance so interested readers and advertisers can get on board.
4. Build in quality: As you implement your editorial calendar, keep quality in mind. You want to allow your writers enough time to brainstorm and to generate well thought out content that visitors will find useful and enjoyable. Your calendar will avoid those embarrassing gaps where nothing new appears on your blog for days or weeks at a time as well as those hastily thrown together pieces that tell your audience that come across as useless filler.
5. Decide the number of posts per week: Most bloggers need to have at least three posts per week to keep their audience and advertisers engaged. You have already decided the content and style of your posts, now put it on your calendar so that you always have a steady stream of content coming out on your blog.
6. Schedule as far in advance as possible: By extending your planning calendar a week or more into the future, you give yourself the wiggle room you need should something go wrong. This can help you avoid the panic that otherwise may result from a writer quitting or going on vacation because you have time to make other arrangements.
7. Manage multiple blogs: When you put an editorial calendar in place, you will experience a new found peace of mind. You, your writers, your advertisers, and your readers will soon operate as a well-oiled machine. With all the new planning skills you have developed, you can expand your horizons and start another publication in the free time you now have. This gives you the chance to increase your online exposure and income without any significant strain on your workload.
An editorial schedule is a tool used by most magazines and newspapers. This technique ensures a high degree of stability for a publication and maximizes the utilization of writers and advertisers while creating a superior experience for readers. You can do the same thing for your blog or online publication. By getting your writers on a schedule, defining what to write, how to write, and when to write it, your blog will take on a more professional and structured feel, something that will increase its appeal to readers and advertisers while freeing up your time to launch new projects. Take these seven tips for creating an editorial calendar and get started on yours today.
James Adams is a full time writer. I would like to thank James for this guest post and if any of you would like to get in touch with him, please send an email and I will get his email off to you.
