Why you need an editorial calendar | Craig Speaking Hello

Anyone who has to create and publish content on a regular basis, from freelance writers and bloggers to PR professionals and media managers, should use an editorial calendar to stay organised. Editorial calendars are kind of like content management systems in that they allow content creation teams to see what needs to be done, who needs to do it and when it needs to be done by. Essentially, they?re schedules for writing, releasing and sharing written work, video clips and events.

Public relations professionals and marketers should have calendars that cover all media used, from newspapers, magazines, brochures and billboards to blogs, social networks and onsite copywriting. Freelancers and bloggers might only need to include content for social media and personal websites.

Creating an editorial calendar is a commitment. Once it?s down in writing or saved on a spreadsheet or a WordPress plugin, there?s no backing out. It?s like telling all your friends you?re going to go skydiving and then having to go through with it because you wouldn?t be able to bear the mockery if you backed out.

They also help individuals and teams manage their time and prioritise tasks and categorically state who is responsible for what. Furthermore, calendars allow you to set and track incremental goals.

It?s important to remember, however, not to cram your calendar full of non-negotiable deadlines and events. You never know when something unexpected is going to happen that will require extra time or a quick reshuffle of the board. If your schedule is too full or too rigid it won?t be able to withstand the natural course of a media-dependent life.

Rachel Foster (contentmarketinginstitute.com) provides five steps that she thinks go into creating an editorial calendar:

1)???? Get to know your target market: who are they, where are they and how do they consume information?

2)???? Look for gaps in your strategies: are all your initiatives properly supported by the different mediums available?

3)???? Identify themes: these could be as simple as popular holidays (Valentine?s Day, Easter, and Halloween) and seasons.

4)???? Determine a publishing schedule: this should include times for researching, writing, publishing and sharing content, and, if necessary, editing, proofreading and approving content. You should also know how much time will be spent per day on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, how many blog posts are to be published per week and how many press releases need to be written and for which magazines.

5)???? Don?t limit yourself to one calendar: have one great big overriding calendar and several other calendars for different projects and even different media.

(Image by shadowkill, via stock.xchng)

Source: http://www.craigspeakinghello.com/why-you-need-an-editorial-calendar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-you-need-an-editorial-calendar

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