October 4, 2021 in Articles

Build An Editorial Calendar You Can Actually Manage

Build An Editorial Calendar You Can Actually Manage

Simplify your content management with an editorial calendar.

For many of our clients, being active on their blog, with their newsletter, and through their social media channels is most challenging. And it’s not the idea of posting that’s overwhelming – it’s keeping a consistent flow of content on their feed that makes “content” hard. 

What if I told you that you could take a lot of the stress out of your content strategy, simply by using an editorial calendar and being diligent about the planning process? That you could worry about what to post once a month, and just implement your calendar on an as-needed basis throughout the month. 

Truth be told, this is how we work with the majority of our clients – and I’m going to walk you through the basics of our process below:

Build Out Your Content a Month At a Time

While it may be appealing to build your editorial calendar months in advance, it can actually cause you more harm than good. Planning too far in advance will prevent you from adding trending topics, and will set you up for failure if too many projects get pushed back, rendering your entire calendar useless. 

On the same token, many of our clients feel a push to create content on a weekly or even daily basis, which can cause inconsistencies in when you post (because everyone gets busy, and content seems to be the first thing to fall off their plate), or they get content burnout: they just can’t think of what to post. 

Instead, make it a habit to build out your content – or even content prompts, if you plan to add on-the-fly content throughout the month, once a month. It will help you stay on track, delegate when you can’t do the work yourself, and stay accountable to your strategy.

 

Use a Scheduling Tool to Make Life Easier

Scheduling tools have made posting your content on time a breeze. Once you have made your content, you don’t have to think about double-checking your calendar to make sure you are staying on track. Instead, your scheduling tool will post for you- ensuring that everything goes out exactly at the time you planned. Putting your social on autopilot saves you precious time, and frees you up for more strategizing.

Consider programs like Tailwind, Hootsuite, Postfity  or Later. There are many scheduling tools available, each serving a different need, and at a different price. Take some time to think about what features you want your scheduling tool to possess, and what your budget is before settling on any specific program.

 

Ask for Help When You Need It

Editorial calendars can be an arduous affair- even if you are using a scheduling tool. Strategizing, and creating the content takes a significant amount of time, and not everyone has that kind of time in their schedule. Sometimes the best option is to hire a team, like Amplify to take care of it on your behalf. You can rest assured that the outcome will be of exceptional quality, and you will be able to dedicate your time to other valuable tasks. Between the excellent content calendar, and your freed up time- you are looking at an even greater ROI.

  




Expertise

Get the latest marketing insights

from our newsletters.