How to Create Content Calendars that Actually Work

You know you have to publish content, yet somehow your company blog is gathering dust and that white paper series you promised your email list is nowhere to be found. You’ve got an editorial calendar problem – and you need to fix it. Yesterday.

Here’s why it’s a problem –

• In and of itself, content is strategic. It requires thinking about a number of different elements – from format to author to buyer stage. A content calendar is a way to see the overall editorial strategy and make sure there’s balance and function to the strategy so it gets results.
• Editorial calendars make you more consistent, which makes everyone happy. Writing down your plan for publishing is empowering for your brand. Whether you’ve outsourced creation to a content marketing firm or are trying to manage content creation yourself, a calendar provides focus. This makes creation easier and content quality better, which your audience will appreciate.
• A plan helps you avoid big gaping holes in your publishing. If you’ve been using content marketing as a tool for a while, you’re likely circling back to the same topics or the same formats of content. With an editorial calendar, you can plan out themes, take advantage of special events and provide a mix of content.

It’s time to get your content calendar whipped into shape. With a few simple rules for your calendar, you can have a tool that helps you collect ideas, schedule pieces for publication, manage social updates, gather new leads and move prospects through the buying cycle.

In order to have a content calendar that actually works, your calendar needs to:

1. Have a designated section for gathering ideas from the team.
   Great content marketing starts with ideas – and whether those ideas were brainstormed in a team meeting or received like a lightening bolt from above while in the shower, you need a place to put them. A content calendar should include space for ideas. Try an additional tab on your spreadsheet, a shared Evernote file or a Trello column for idea collection. Let your team get involved and see what they come up with – the more ideas the better.

2. Map out a pattern for publishing.
   Consistency is one of the pillars of successful content marketing. How much consistency does your audience expect? It all depends on your market, but you won’t know until you start publishing and tracking important metrics. We recommend starting with one post per week and at least one larger asset, such as an ebook or case study, per month. From your initial baseline, look back over your traffic, conversions, views, etc. and make refinements for your calendar moving forward.
3. Make it easy to keep track of essential details.
   Spreadsheets are popular tools for content calendars for a reason – they make it simple to list a lot of information in an organized way. You don’t have to use a spreadsheet (we don’t) but you do need to keep track of a lot of essentials for each piece of content you produce. You’ll need to detail the subject, keywords, titles, assets (like graphics or photos), notes/outlines, author, persona that the content is aimed for, where the content is aimed at in the sales funnel process, social media essentials (like hashtags and titles) and due dates.It’s a lot to juggle – but with the right tools you can keep it simple. For example, we use Trello to keep track of all of the elements that go into great content – from the type of content to the resources and ideal audience. Planning content at the front end in detail will help with creation and ensure that you’re publishing strategically.
4. Work in variety and buyer journey into your mix.
   Content needs to resonate with your audience in order to work – and unfortunately, your audience members are all at different points in their journey. A buyer who is comparing options needs different information than someone who is just beginning to understand their problems.The same goes for content format – different buyers will have different needs for content. Some will prefer blogs and others will prefer white papers or more in depth forms of content.A content calendar that works will help you balance different buyer needs as well as different content formats. This way you’re engaging multiple audiences in balance.
5. Make visual sense of your marketing strategy for the entire team.
   Creating effective content takes time and energy. It requires a laser focus on what will work for your audience and drive specific audience action. Just like a personal calendar helps you understand what is coming next, your editorial calendar can help the entire team see what is coming up for the marketing calendar and overall business goals. This makes content brainstorming, creation and publishing even more effective. It’s like driving at night with your headlights on – you can see further and make smarter choices.

It’s time to turn those headlights on! Create a content calendar that really works so you can act more strategically and get better results.