When it comes to your marketing strategy, what’s one of the biggest headaches you face every week or month?
I reckon it’s fairly safe to say it’s coming up with new content ideas for your blog.
To maintain and drive engagement you have to generate a constant stream of great content that’s going to be of value to your customers.
When you first start out with that initial burst of enthusiasm, the ideas flow freely. But then, as time goes on, it gradually becomes harder and harder to come up with ideas. Before you know it, the fountain of inspiration as dried up and you end up churning out re-hashed articles.
That’s why you need an editorial calendar.
What is an editorial calendar?
An editorial calendar helps you schedule and organise the publication of your blogs, newsletters, social media updates etc.
It might sound like a boring task, but it can be surprisingly creative and will help you out no end in the long run.
A quick brainstorming session will soon get your creativity firing.
Why do I need an editorial calendar?
The whole idea behind your content marketing is to boost engagement with your customers.
Brainstorming ideas for an editorial calendar will help you come up with interesting topics that will:
- Develop stronger relationships with your customers
- Boost conversion rates
- Boost lead generation
Plus, with a list of topics ready and waiting for you, you’ll avoid the dreaded writers’ block.
Of course, they’re not set in stone and other items can be added into the mix as you go along, so don’t worry if you think you’ll be too restricted by a calendar. It should be a fluid guide that sets the core of your content, which can then be supplemented with other items.
How to generate ideas
There are many ways you can generate ideas.
Start out with brainstorming in your team.
Think about your customers and what will be of use to them. For example, a local gym could write about nutrition, latest exercise fads, exercise tips etc.
You can also contact your customers and ask them what they’d like to read. A simple survey will help you gather this information, perhaps with a thank you in the form of a voucher to encourage them to participate.
How about checking out what your competition are up to? I don’t mean plagiarise their work, but it could offer the inspiration you need.
Finally, you mustn’t forget your search engine optimisation, so creating a list of keywords that are relevant to your business will also help identify subject areas to write about.
Getting started
Once you have your calendar set up (you could use Google Calendars), allocate tasks to your team (assuming it’s not just you doing the writing).
By spreading the workload like this, you’ll find it much easier to ensure the content is produced on time.
Editorial calendars are a great way to organise your content production and focus your marketing activities on the needs of your customers.
Why not give it a try and see how you get on.
Remember, producing high quality, relevant content for your readers is the best way to drive engagement and your brand.