{"id":1594,"date":"2012-07-25T09:39:16","date_gmt":"2012-07-25T09:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sanctuarymg.com\/academy\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2022-05-19T16:02:30","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T20:02:30","slug":"marketing-planning-how-to-create-an-editorial-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sanctuarymg.com\/academy\/content\/marketing-planning-how-to-create-an-editorial-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Marketing Planning: How To Create An Editorial Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Perhaps the biggest challenges in launching an inbound marketing campaign as part of your Digital Marketing Strategy<\/a>, is coming to grips with \u00a0the sheer volume of content you’ve committed your company to.<\/p>\n

It isn’t an insurmountable task. It just seems<\/em> that way.\u00a0How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. <\/em>The key to ensuring success in achieving the lofty goals you’ve set…. breaking down the process into easily digestible tasks.<\/p>\n

Ideally, you’d focus on only those tasks to which you provide the greatest value within short bursts of focused time. Everything else? Delegate.\u00a0We addressed this topic in a recent post:\u00a0How To Create Great Blog Content in 9 Simple Steps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another key is getting visibility<\/strong> on the work at hand so you can manage the content creation process effectively. This will allow you to delegate, monitor the quality and sleep well at night knowing with confidence your blog content will go out on schedule…and be something you’re PROUD of.<\/p>\n

Enter the <\/strong>Editorial Calendar<\/strong><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Editorial Calendar (or Content Calendar) has been employed by publishing houses and news agencies for years. Think about it. \u00a0The Wall Street Journal <\/em>isn’t starting from scratch every day hoping they can fill 50+\u00a0pages of content. \u00a0Yes, they are a daily news organization feeding the latest business news to you within hours of it happening. \u00a0BUT how many of their content have been in development for weeks or even months in advance? \u00a0I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Mossberg and All Thing Digital <\/em>have their editorial calendars blocked out for the next 3-6 months. \u00a0Guaranteed, they’ve got something on the books for the next generation of iPad and are gathering relevant information they’ll need when it comes time to sit down write the article.<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s how every publisher ensures quality… by giving themselves just enough lead time to do the hard thinking, research, editing, and refinement to deliver timely and engaging content.<\/p>\n

How Can You Employ a Editorial Calendar for Your Blog Content?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As in the example above, publications have regular, predefined columns and \/ or ‘beats’ with assigned writers producing content on a set schedule.<\/p>\n

Where the Wall Street Journal will have Personal Finance, \u00a0Management, Media & Marketing, Retirement Planning, & Energy to name a but a few, you might have anywhere between 3-10 key topics you want your blog to focus on for maximum SEO return on investment.<\/p>\n

In Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (New Rules Social Media Series)<\/a> <\/em>Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman touch on one method one site uses by identifying each of the types of content they will produce on a cycle of 1-7-30-4-2-1 (daily-weekly-monthly-quarterly-semiannually-yearly).<\/p>\n

For a mid-sized company’s blog seeking to get 4-5 posts out a week. You might try saying something like…<\/p>\n

Weekly: <\/span><\/p>\n