Is It Time For a Content or Editorial Calendar?

Over the last couple of years marketers have been advocating blogging, articles and getting published in as many places as possible to build your brand.  That means that many of us are writing for our own blogs as well as other blogs that can ultimately increase our audience and visibility.  While this is certainly a valid strategy,  if it isn’t managed properly you could end up overwhelmed at best and degrading your brand at worst.

The solution to helping you control your time as well as the message of your brand is developing a content or editorial calendar.  Here’s how:

1. Set up a Code.  If you write for multiple blogs or sites, then you might want to set up a code for each type of article that you’ll be writing.
2. Pick Milestone dates. Pick standard dates when articles appear.  You might decide to have an article three days a week across all your blogs.  Say you choose Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays that your articles will post.
3. Get a Calendar. I’ve been using my Google Calendar because it allows me to create multiple calendars in different colors.  So I keep a Calendar for every blog I write for (including my own).  This way I can look at one, two or ALL of my calendars and blog deadlines.  Of course, you can also use a paper calendar or desk calendar as well. Don’t forget to use a calendar that has holidays marked on it — you’ll use those.
4. Insert Deadlines. The next step is to write in any deadlines that have already been set or determined.  Some third-party blogs may specify what dates they want you to post on – so consider that as part of your milestone dates,
5. Set Themes. Now that you’ve done that – look at opportunities for themes.  Use holidays as inspiration for articles.  Just like a magazine; each month can be a theme and you can make all your articles across multiple blogs mimic that theme.  It will save you time because you’ll re-purpose content and it will build your brand message across a variety of blogs
6. Outline Programs and Series. Another easy way to generate content is to set programs or series that post at a regular time.  Think about doing book reviews or product reviews as a regular series.  Another program or series option might be to break up a large topic area into smaller chunks.
7. Check for gaps. Now that you’ve done that, check for gaps and see if you can recruit other writers to help you fill them in. Recruiting other writers is a win-win situation because you will BOTH increase your exposure across all your audiences.

How did you develop your content or editorial calendar?  Share your tips!