So it’s the night before blog day and once again, you haven’t got a clue what you’re going to write about.
That’s okay right? Everyone tells you that the most important thing is not how long your posts are, or how frequent they are, but that you post consistently, so that your ideal clients know when they should expect to hear from you.
Sure, you could plan out some blog topics, but actually you like to keep it spontaneous, so the idea of creating an editorial calendar always feels like a drag…
But then, here you are again, thumbing your fingers on the mousepad, scrolling through your news feed, looking for something to write about. It’s gonna be a long night.
Let’s get real – I’m all for spontaneity, but when you post like this, you’re not going to be making the maximum ROI for all that heart and sweat you pour into those posts.
Because like everything you do in your business, your blog should be driving results. If you’re not blogging with a clear purpose and creating measurable results, then why on earth are you blogging at all?
If you’re running an online business, you should consider your blog part of your sales funnel. It’s one of the ways you can help your peeps move through the journey from first noticing your business, to becoming a paying customer.
Your blog can help you attract attention and expand your reach, build connection with your audience, educate them about your product or service, create the desire to purchase your product or service and finally, ask for the sale.
Sounds good right? But how exactly do you do all that?
You get strategic about your posting by creating an editorial calendar.
I know, I know – I resisted planning my blog content too. At first I liked to freestyle it…. Okay, I liked to procrastinate and leave writing my blogs to the last moment.
But anytime I rolled out a blog at 6am on deadline day, it never truly felt like my best work. And sometimes the topic didn’t fit with my current business goals. I was sending my readers off on one subject, while promoting my services in another area.
Now that I understand the benefits that can come from a consistent focused editorial strategy, there’s no going back.
Here’s 5 reasons why you should create an editorial calendar:
- Your editorial calendar creates freedom. Yes it does. Freedom from directionless blogging, from erratic and unpredictable posting schedules, from the night-before scramble, from lots of time spent at your keyboard with little to show for it. It also frees you up to go on holiday or just get really darn busy, because you’ve got all your content mapped out in advance.
- It gives your blog a purpose. You’re not just musing away, creating a random body of work and hoping somebody will read it. Your blogs are focused around core themes relevant to your business and your audience, together with related side topics. As a result, readers know roughly what to expect and you know that you’re not wasting blogging time (and valuable web real estate) going off piste.
- Your blog becomes a sales tool – By scheduling your blogs according to your business goals for the month, the quarter, or in my case, the school term, your blog becomes a tool to nurture your customers through the sales cycle. No, you don’t have to turn each blog into a blatant sales pitch. But you do make sure that you know why you are writing this blog, at this time. Each post has a clear objective and a call to action, so you know exactly how it’s going to contribute to the growth of your business.
- Manage and repurpose your blog content – Blogs can be repurposed to provide content for social media posts, memes, infographics, content upgrades, Periscopes and Blab shows. By plotting it out, you can take a global view of your scheduling and make sure you’re providing a good balance of content over time. You’ll also be able to see when it’s time to repost an old blog or revisit one of your core themes or topics.
- Blogging becomes, well, easier – When you sit down to write with a clear plan and a clear focus, you’ll get more done in a shorter amount of time. Plus if you’re working with a VA or a team, they’ll be able to get a head start on helping you out because they’ll know what next week’s topic is going to be.
Have I convinced you yet?
Lately I’ve been having so much fun helping my 1:1 clients create editorial calendars that I’ve decided to run my first Lunch & Learn interactive Zoom workshop on this very topic! You’ll leave this 90-minute live workshop with your next 60 days of content mapped out and an editorial planning system you can continue to replicate for years to come. Click here to find out more.
Now tell me, what’s your biggest challenge when it comes to planning your editorial calendar?
