Last month, I started a series focused on blogging and setting goals. The second post in the series featured a comprehensive list of different goals that are great to consider for your blog in 2015. There were a lot of you who told me which direction you were going to go in for your goal setting and I love hearing how all of you are putting those plans into action!
An editorial calendar is something I've had many questions about and something that I have found extremely helpful in my own blog planning. This is something that can be started at anytime and it will help you feel more organized immediately! If you have been wanting to start an editorial calendar, I hope these tips will help you get started.
1. Decide How Often You'll Post.
One thing I've learned is that your readers love it when your blog posts are consistent. If you always post 3 times a week, your readers will learn to expect that. Even if you can only post once a week, just keep it consistent and predictable. Not only will this build a good relationship with your readers, but it will help you plan your editorial calendar. If you want to consistently post 3 times a week, then decide which days you will post on and build out your calendar accordingly. For example, I know many bloggers who follow this number and publish all their posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I personally strive to post 4-5 times a week and when I write my calendar each week, I am able to determine which days I will post on based on the content I will be exporting.
2. Determine Your Niche & Decide what You Will Be Posting About.
First, if you're a new blogger you really want to determine what your niche is. This will help you decide what kind of content you will be putting out and what exactly you'll be posting about. Even if you have a very specific niche, you want your content to be unique and you don't want to be posting about the same exact thing every day. However, you also don't want to jump around from different subjects with each post because that will confuse your readers. For me, I mainly post about fashion and beauty. When planning your calendar, knowing this will really help you build out a successful calendar. For example, I try to post 2-3 outfits every week since I'm a style blogger. After I have those posts planned out, I will throw in a beauty post or perhaps a post in my blogging series. Of course this varies week to week, but as long as I have it planned out, that's what matters.
3. Plan Ahead.
Now that you know the topics you'll be posting about, you need to actually plan for them. For instance- next week I know I'm going to post 3 outfits, but if that's all the planning I did than those posts wouldn't get done. A lot of planning goes into blogging, it isn't just simply writing the post. For my outfit posts, I have to put an outfit together, schedule time to photograph the photos (which also depends on the weather), take time to edit the photos, and actually write the post. If I didn't plan ahead for that, it simply wouldn't get done and it would throw my whole calendar off. Whatever you're blogging about whether it be fashion, cooking, lifestyle, etc. planning ahead will make your editorial calendar effective and it will make your life a whole lot easier.
4. Make it Real.
This extends from the planning stage- putting your plan into action. Once you have your plans and you know what you want to do, just make it happen! I can plan every step of doing an outfit post, but if I don't get out and take photos then that plan goes down the toilet. Whatever is on your calendar, make sure you plan ahead and make time to make those posts amazing.
5. Evaluate.
The thing about editorial calendars is that there is no specific way that they have to be done and you can make them your own. Someone who posts once a week versus someone who posts 3-5 times a week are going to have very different calendars. Different blog niches are going to have different calendars. If you aren't a fashion blog, I can guarantee your calendar will work differently than mine does and that is absolutely fine! The important thing is that you make sure you are doing what works for you! If you are trying to post 5 days a week and it is overwhelming, that may mean that you should go down to 3 days. If you're planning out your calendar weekly, you may find you want to change things up and plan it out monthly. Just find whatever works best for you and makes your life easier and go with it! After all, setting blogging goals are meant to make your life and business simpler, not more complicated.
You may be wondering what tools you can use to actually write your editorial calendar. There are an array of tools out there and there is not one right answer, so you just have to see what you like best. I know Wordpress has an editorial calendar you can install, you can use google calendars, or you can even use a hard copy calendar! Personally, I do my best creative thinking when I write with a pen so when I am brainstorming my calendar I just jot down ideas on a notepad- so old school right? I also have a calendar on my desk that is dedicated solely to being an editorial calendar and after my list is finalized I write it on the calendar so that I always have it in front of me.
I hope this post has inspired you to start your editorial calendar, if you haven't already! In all honestly, writing an editorial calendar every week has been life changing for me. I feel so much more organized knowing exactly what I'm going to post next week and it really makes blogging a little easier for me. Do you already write an editorial calendar? If so, I'd love to know what's working for you!
Now I need your help! What would you like to see next in this series? Check out the list of 25 Blogging Goals and let me what you want to discuss next! Comment below, email me, or tweet me!
1. Decide How Often You'll Post.
One thing I've learned is that your readers love it when your blog posts are consistent. If you always post 3 times a week, your readers will learn to expect that. Even if you can only post once a week, just keep it consistent and predictable. Not only will this build a good relationship with your readers, but it will help you plan your editorial calendar. If you want to consistently post 3 times a week, then decide which days you will post on and build out your calendar accordingly. For example, I know many bloggers who follow this number and publish all their posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I personally strive to post 4-5 times a week and when I write my calendar each week, I am able to determine which days I will post on based on the content I will be exporting.
2. Determine Your Niche & Decide what You Will Be Posting About.
First, if you're a new blogger you really want to determine what your niche is. This will help you decide what kind of content you will be putting out and what exactly you'll be posting about. Even if you have a very specific niche, you want your content to be unique and you don't want to be posting about the same exact thing every day. However, you also don't want to jump around from different subjects with each post because that will confuse your readers. For me, I mainly post about fashion and beauty. When planning your calendar, knowing this will really help you build out a successful calendar. For example, I try to post 2-3 outfits every week since I'm a style blogger. After I have those posts planned out, I will throw in a beauty post or perhaps a post in my blogging series. Of course this varies week to week, but as long as I have it planned out, that's what matters.
3. Plan Ahead.
Now that you know the topics you'll be posting about, you need to actually plan for them. For instance- next week I know I'm going to post 3 outfits, but if that's all the planning I did than those posts wouldn't get done. A lot of planning goes into blogging, it isn't just simply writing the post. For my outfit posts, I have to put an outfit together, schedule time to photograph the photos (which also depends on the weather), take time to edit the photos, and actually write the post. If I didn't plan ahead for that, it simply wouldn't get done and it would throw my whole calendar off. Whatever you're blogging about whether it be fashion, cooking, lifestyle, etc. planning ahead will make your editorial calendar effective and it will make your life a whole lot easier.
4. Make it Real.
This extends from the planning stage- putting your plan into action. Once you have your plans and you know what you want to do, just make it happen! I can plan every step of doing an outfit post, but if I don't get out and take photos then that plan goes down the toilet. Whatever is on your calendar, make sure you plan ahead and make time to make those posts amazing.
5. Evaluate.
The thing about editorial calendars is that there is no specific way that they have to be done and you can make them your own. Someone who posts once a week versus someone who posts 3-5 times a week are going to have very different calendars. Different blog niches are going to have different calendars. If you aren't a fashion blog, I can guarantee your calendar will work differently than mine does and that is absolutely fine! The important thing is that you make sure you are doing what works for you! If you are trying to post 5 days a week and it is overwhelming, that may mean that you should go down to 3 days. If you're planning out your calendar weekly, you may find you want to change things up and plan it out monthly. Just find whatever works best for you and makes your life easier and go with it! After all, setting blogging goals are meant to make your life and business simpler, not more complicated.
You may be wondering what tools you can use to actually write your editorial calendar. There are an array of tools out there and there is not one right answer, so you just have to see what you like best. I know Wordpress has an editorial calendar you can install, you can use google calendars, or you can even use a hard copy calendar! Personally, I do my best creative thinking when I write with a pen so when I am brainstorming my calendar I just jot down ideas on a notepad- so old school right? I also have a calendar on my desk that is dedicated solely to being an editorial calendar and after my list is finalized I write it on the calendar so that I always have it in front of me.
I hope this post has inspired you to start your editorial calendar, if you haven't already! In all honestly, writing an editorial calendar every week has been life changing for me. I feel so much more organized knowing exactly what I'm going to post next week and it really makes blogging a little easier for me. Do you already write an editorial calendar? If so, I'd love to know what's working for you!
Now I need your help! What would you like to see next in this series? Check out the list of 25 Blogging Goals and let me what you want to discuss next! Comment below, email me, or tweet me!