Editorial Calendars: a Blogger`s Best Friend
(Page 1 of 4 )
Have you felt stuck for content for your blog lately? Maybe you're brand new to blogging, and feel overwhelmed at the thought of producing all that content. Or you've been at it for a while and feel like you're running out of things to write about. An editorial calendar could be just the thing to help get you on track. Keep reading to find out how.
So what exactly is an editorial calendar? It's a tool that some bloggers have shamelessly stolen from the print world. Magazines use editorial calendars because their issues need to be planned weeks or sometimes months in advance - they have to assign writers to stories and tell their sales staff the issue's theme or nothing will get done in time. It's easy to understand why they'd need one for the writers, but why do they cue in the sales staff? Well, if Car & Driver publishes a special issue featuring the top ten hybrid vehicles, the sales staff can then go to hybrid vehicle makers and let them know they'll have a very targeted audience for their ads that issue, which should make it easier for them to get the sale.
But why should you use an editorial calendar? You can have a blog post finished and live within minutes. You don't need to deliver your camera-ready content to the printers, get your publication on the newsstand, or leap over any of the hurdles that the staff at major magazines face every day, right?
Not exactly. You do face a few of the same problems. First, you need a regular supply of fresh content; without it, you will see your traffic drop off. Which of course brings us to our second point: you need a readership, and thanks to magazines, many readers expect to see new content on a regular basis. Third, if you're doing this for money, you probably need advertisers - and advertisers like to know what to expect.
An editorial calendar can help you with all of these issues and more. Not everybody uses one, but they seem to be a manifestation of the increasing professionalism of bloggers these days. If you want to be taken seriously as a journalist, it helps if you act the part. The responsibility for creating an editorial calendar usually lies with the editor-in-chief, but if you're a blogger you're the equivalent of your publication's "chief cook and bottle washer," as my dad used to say - string reporter, publisher, and yes, editor-in-chief.
Next: Advantages of an Editorial Calendar >>
More Website Promotion Articles
More By Terri Wells
