Editorial calendars are essentially bulk orders of content outlines that help customers plan out their content needs. They come in 10-topic or 20-topic groups.
Each topic represents an outline that one or more writers on that customer’s writing team will later convert into a full article.
How to create a good editorial calendar
To begin, you need to carefully review the customer's Voice Profile™. Pay special attention to their target audience, tone of voice and competitors.
Additionally, it's important to:
- Consider the relevance of the topics you’re suggesting.
- Use timely and non-competitive reference sources.
- Create a detailed outline, but try to leave some space for creativity.
- Use your personal experience and expertise.
- Do the research for relevant SEO keywords if the customer doesn't provide a list.
- Consider the customer's business objectives.
- Use the suggested content types.
The outline structure
Editorial calendars have certain structural requirements so that you include all the correct information in an easy-to-read format. Here's a template:
- Title: The proposed title of the full blog article.
- Keywords: The main words or phrases that summarize the focus of the article.
- Suggested word count: The recommended length of the full article.
- Introduction: Around 2-4 sentences to introduce the topic.
- Key points: At least three detailed key points on the topic, usually 2-3 sentences each, in bullet point format.
- Resources: At least three relevant, timely and non-competitive links that support the topic and key points, in bullet point format. Please do not repeat the same link on more than two outlines.
Here's an example of a Typical Editorial Calendar
Recommendations
Editorial calendars are part of a good content marketing strategy. If you want to learn more, explore some free online courses and resource centers:
- HubSpot Content Strategy Course - free certification (a little over four hours of learning time).
- Think with Google: How to adapt your social strategy to unpredictable times.
- Coursera: Content Strategy for Professionals Specialization.