Creating an editorial calendar is crucial for maintaining an up-to-date blog. Sustaining a blog keeps viewers interested in the products and services your business offers while providing a great place to generate new content for SEO purposes.
A blog post produces a substantial amount of text that an SEO team can optimize to try to drive traffic to your site. This is done through adding in keywords and areas of focus specific to your business and industry. By having new content posted to your site, it provides another avenue for viewers to land on your site over your competitors.
However, many businesses struggle to come up with inventive content ideas to keep their blog up-to-date. So, if you feel that you have exhausted the list of blog topics here are a few tricks to try to reinvent your editorial calendar.
Define the big picture
- Who is your target audience?
- What is the goal of the blog?
- Increase revenue? Display new products? Engage viewers in your industry happenings?
- What is the best posting schedule?
Produce a list of ‘events’ that you know about
- Holidays
- Annual events
- sports, film, music
- Industry specific ceremonies and events
Brainstorm local, regional, national and international seasonal events
- What are important changes in this season?
- What connections are there with this season and your business?
- Generate a list of memories associated with this season – is there any connection?
Create a Calendar
- Add in all the concrete events with specific dates
- Fill in the gaps with the blog post ideas you have generated that seem most fitting
If you are still finding holes in your calendar, ask a co-worker to do the same exercise. Did they come up with one or two new ideas? Remember, each new blog post provides a great opportunity to drive business so each addition counts.
Keep in mind current trends are a great way to engage readers and drive interest. If you know of a current trend that directly relates to your products or services, business, or industry, don’t be afraid to shift the schedule to create a new relevant post. This is a great way to generate content that will engage readers in seasonal happenings. Remember, be flexible to generate the highest quality and significant post.
If you are not the only one who works on your blog, attach each blog post to who is in charge of writing and posting the new addition. Do you have a method to make sure that each blog is written, edited, and posted? Add this to your new editorial calendar to keep everything in one location.
So, once you have tackled the brainstorm and created your editorial calendar remember to keep the posts current. Upholding your blog posting schedule is a great way to keep your website active and create new opportunity for business.