Creating an Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar is an inbound marketer’s best friend. Essentially, it’s a content calendar that tells you what and when to publish. It’s a very effective tool that lets you create relevant content and distribute it to the right readers at the right time. As a marketer, you can't afford not to. And if you’re good at sticking to your editorial calendar, you can even grow your conversion rates.

Why Plan an Editorial Calendar?

For one, it relieves you from the stress of wondering what to write next. Ideas are everywhere. You pick some of the best, polish them and turn them into titles. Then you choose when to publish them by including them in your content calendar. That’s how the pros do it.

Publishing based on users’ expectations is another reason to use an editorial calendar for your content strategy. When you’re weeks away from Christmas or Thanksgiving, for instance, having an editorial calendar will let you plan in advance and publish based on what visitors will likely expect from your website.

How to Plan an Editorial Calendar That Works

Because your business is unique, you need to tailor your content calendar to the size of your organization, business goals and target audience. Here’s a quick view of the process.

1. Create an exhaustive list of events and make sure to include a date. Don’t forget Christmas, New Year, annual seminars and workshops, bi-monthly sales, company anniversaries, etc.

1. Pay attention to at least three biggest events in the whole year. Make sure to pick those that are most relevant or appropriate to your business. 
2. Plan a content marketing campaign for major events. Decide what content to produce for every channel. Besides creating content for your blog, you may want to consider distributing specialized content for social channels such as Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook. Or you may also want to prepare downloadable content such as a whitepaper or short eBook for these events.
3. Assign who is responsible for the content. Identify writers and editors who are ideal for producing the content. This will let you handle the editorial process much more efficiently. All deadlines will be observed faithfully. All relevant content will be delivered on time. You’ll eventually get more results from your content.
4. Integrate your content calendar with your editorial style guide. Your calendar can hold other important details other than dates. Your editors and content creators can use it as a guide for keeping the overall tone and voice of your content marketing strategy consistent.

By planning what content gets created and when you are at the same time focusing on what your audience needs in the long term: relevant and shareable content. It’s the same ingredient found in marketing success recipes. 

We have created a publicity calendar that you can use as a starter, but be sure to personalize it for your industry or sector.  Download your copy here.