Why Your Blog Needs an Editorial Calendar

If you want your blog to perform at its best, you’d better have an editorial calendar prepared. If not, you need to make a date for some prep work.

If you’re saying to yourself, “I don’t need an editorial calendar. I’ll just write them on the fly” you are setting yourself for failure or procrastination, friends. It’s easy to get sidetracked with this method. Especially when it comes to work, because… hey, look at that fluffy dog! So let’s stay on track and go over how an editorial calendar can help get publishing articles on your blog.

Keeps You Focused

I find that when I have something planned, I always follow through on it. It’s like a promise to my business. And if you keep breaking promises with your business, your customers are going to find love with another blog. With an editorial calendar, you know that you need to sit down and write a post every Monday and Wednesday (or whatever day you choose), followed by updates on your social media networks. People will know when you post regular content and come back often. It makes life less stressful when you can stay on top of keeping your blog fresh and relevant.

Cuts Down on Writer’s Block

Damn you, writer’s block! You’ve been putting off writing your newest blog post because you can’t think of anything to write. You know what? An editorial calendar for your blog helps take care of that. Because you know you have to write a blog post on Monday and Wednesday, you’ll be on the lookout for new topics. Your mind will be subconsciously thinking of cool and interesting things to write about. And when one pops into your head, write those ideas editorial calendar so you know where they are.

Ensure Variety

When you plan out your blog a month in advance, you can make sure that there’s enough variety added. You can go back to see what you’ve covered before so you don’t write about the same thing again and again. Brainstorm a list of topics at the beginning of the month. Look back at previous calendars to see if you’ve covered that exact topic before. If there have been changes, developments or additions you’d like to make to something you’ve written about before, you can link back to that old article while including new info in the current post. If you’ve got an overflow, carry some ideas over to the next month.

There’s no one right way or editorial calendar to use. You can make a monthly Excel spreadsheets or plug your ideas into a Google calendar. Hell, you can jot down your ideas in an old-fashioned daytime planner. Whatever works for you, just use it and keep it some place where you can access it easily. I keep mine on a Word document.

Do you have an editorial calendar for your blog? How do you set yours up? What is your success with an Editorial Calendar been like? Tag us and let us know on Instagram or Twitter.