As an all-around creative person, I was never a big planner when it came to writing. Copywriting for my day jobs was always assignment-based, so I usually didn’t have much time for research. I just learned to turn around compelling copy in a short amount of time. When it came to personal blogging, I only wrote when I felt like it. Granted, when I was younger and people on the internet usually kept their disagreements contained in that realm, I felt like writing often – even if it meant sharing unpopular opinions. These days, writers need to consider a lot of variables that could end up hurting them in the future. And it’s that kind of calculus that kills inspiration, which is one of the many reasons why an editorial calendar is a necessity.
1. You Will Always Know What to Write About with an Editorial Calendar
For me, this is the most important function of an editorial calendar. Marketers need to constantly create valuable content to fight for mindshare and eyeballs. So much time is spent thinking up and researching appropriate and relevant topics that it doesn’t make sense to restart that process every week. Even something as small as a tweet can be paralyzing if you’re trying to craft something impactful on the spot. Instead, building an editorial calendar for the year (or whatever cycle works for you) helps you create these topics while you’re in the mindset of topic research and creation. I think of it like meal prep days for the health-minded. Yes, you could prep your meals every day, but doing all of the preparation on one day reduces all of the repetitive actions, like washing and portioning, to one day instead of multiplying them by five days. Creating the topics ahead of time and aligning them with events throughout the year will ensure that your content is relevant when you need it to be.
2. Editorial Calendars Give You a Complete View of Your Content
As a content creator, it’s easy to lose yourself in the individual pieces your creating without realizing the pattern you’re creating for your audience. For instance, if your company or brand is multifaceted, but you’re mostly focusing on only one aspect, then you’re only being partially effective. It’s in our nature to write what we know best, and we may neglect other topics without realizing it. Even if we have an equally strong grasp across all the relevant topics, it’s still important to know that we’re covering them with the proper amount of marketing at the appropriate times. Some lines of business are responsible for only a small percentage of revenue; you should devote a similar amount of marketing to them.
3. Stay on Schedule with an Editorial Calendar
Knowing when to write content is just as important as knowing what to write. An editorial calendar allows you to align with your company, customers, and industry. The calendar I created has different columns for internal events, external events, promotions, official holidays, and unofficial recognized days. For social media managers looking to raise brand awareness without burning out their audiences on self-promotion, aligning social posts with current trends is a good solution. An editorial calendar will help you identify those topics ahead of time.
4. Keep Stakeholders Informed on Marketing Activities with an Editorial Calendar
Every department in a company serves a specific and distinct purpose. As such, there is always a danger that departments will silo themselves off from other departments, eliminating the possibility for synergy. A socialized editorial calendar can address these visibility issues for marketing. When Sales knows what Marketing is promoting, then Sales can complement that promotion with their call-down efforts. Likewise, Sales can provide input on the editorial calendar by suggesting lines of business to promote based on lead and opportunity performance. Finally, the editorial calendar is proof of performance for leadership whenever they wonder just what the heck Marketing is doing spending their days on social media.
5. Stay Motivated to Create with an Editorial Calendar
This point is more philosophical than practical, but motivation is a large part of content creation. Most likely, the products and services of your company don’t change very quickly. Or, at the very least, they don’t change fast enough to match your personal desire for fresh topics. That’s when you need to start managing burn out, because it will show in the content you produce. But, while the subjects of your marketing may not change quickly, the way you market them can. Preparing those angles of attack early on can give you something to look forward to when you’re stuck in an off-season that doesn’t inspire you.
BONUS: Keep Historical Marketing Records with an Editorial Calendar
It’s not enough to just perform marketing; you must also measure marketing. What campaigns were effective last year? Should you try them again? You don’t want to recall previous years’ marketing activities from memory. On top of that, what about turnover? What happens when someone with a piece of the tribal knowledge separates from the company? Is that information just gone for good? No, keep as much marketing knowledge as possible saved in central location to minimize these knowledge gaps. An editorial calendar is good start.
Are you using an editorial calendar? If so, then how so? Is it for your personal or professional writing? Let me know in the comments below!
