Once you start using content calendars for your blog you can’t go back to a chaotic routine of posting on random topics. Content calendars help you upgrade your blogging game with consistency and fresh new ideas. So, how do you do it?
If you haven’t created a content calendar, ever, there’s no need to be intimidated. With our quick guide, you can create one within mere minutes and increase efficiency in your blog publishing routine and variation in content formats. You can also get blog writers for hire to stay ahead of schedule.
Steps to create a Blog Content Calendar:
1. Choose A Template
Once you decide on a content calendar platform, be it Trello, HootSuite, or something else, it’s time to choose a template. While templates differ across platforms and according to your editorial needs, according to SEO blog writing services, all of them have a few basic elements. They include:
- Categories – Broad sub-niches you cover.
- Title or Topic – Since there’s no strict need to create headlines while making a calendar, drafting topics at this stage helps you cover necessary subject matters, avoid repetition, and make sure that they are relevant enough for interlinking.
- Due Date and Publish Date – The due date is supposed to be the final deadline and the publish date is the date on which the post becomes live.
- Keywords – Your topics should also contain important keywords you are targeting for SEO and make sure nothing is repeated.
- Status – This should show the current status of the blog post, is it assigned to a writer, approved by the editor, or published on the website?
- Writers – Finally, the writer section allows you to assign writers for each post. This is especially helpful if you also hire freelance content writers for expertise in certain niches.
2. Choose Publication Channels
Your website blog is a great place to post your content. It helps you talk about your business, and your industry and helps you rank higher on the search engine. However, there are other publication channels you must use to send positive signals to the search engine algorithm and improve the credibility of your brand.
You can hire SEO article writing services to write guest posts for other blogs and websites and earn a backlink from them. You can also post on social media channels to increase audience engagement and boost brand awareness. If you have email marketing on your radar, add it to the content calendar as well.
3. Decide On How Often You Want to Post
How often do you want to post on all your publishing channels? Do you have the capacity to saturate all the channels with your team’s capacity? Answering these questions gives you a reality check and helps you manage expectations. For instance, if you want to kickstart the blog for your restaurant, make sure you are consistent with your posts.
If you’re sure that your team can create at least one approved post every week under all circumstances, it’s best to stick to one post every week. You can also get help from blog content writing services to cover important topics that increase the odds of ranking on the search engine and switch to a less frequent but consistent routine later on.
4. Maintain a Spreadsheet For Ideas
Your content calendar is powered by great topics, and they tend to be fickle. Ideas can hit anyone at any time. That’s why it’s important to maintain a spreadsheet with content ideas that can be updated by all the writers and editors and referenced by everyone. You may analyze your competitors for the topics they are ranking on.
This can help you address gaps in your content strategy and prioritize them on your content calendar. As a business, you can write blogs on new products or services you are about to launch to improve public awareness. You also have the option of hiring SEO content writers to write on topics with high search volumes, but closely related to your industry. This helps you drive more organic traffic to your website with an ethical approach.
5. Don’t be Rigid With it
Content calendars are like a weight-loss diet or workout plan. You should leave a bit of wiggle room to accommodate last-minute changes to your plan. Be flexible with your approach and make sure that you are able to address and fill in gaps at the last minute.
Content calendars are excellent for bloggers and the blog section of businesses as long as you treat them as a springboard instead of a strict cheat sheet. Use it as a living tool that evolves with your content and enhances audience engagement.