If you’re new to blogging, you might have experienced feeling overwhelmed by the amount of actual work involved in order to create a successful blog. In fact, feelings of overwhelm can actually lead to a state of paralysis which then can cause stress and anxiety. One way to help decrease or even eliminate overwhelm is by using a blog content calendar.
Not only will you feel less stressed, but you will eventually become more focused and productive in your blogging efforts.
As a new blogger, you also might not be sure of when you’re going to write your next blog post or what it will even be about, which can be both frustrating and time wasting.
In this article, I’m going to go over what a content calendar is and how it can save you time, and increase your daily productivity and blogging success.
What is a Blog Content Calendar?
A content calendar, sometimes referred to as an editorial calendar, is a planning tool that helps you execute your blog’s content strategy.
Content calendars used for blogging typically include a list of content marketing tasks detailing when and what to do throughout the day such as writing blog posts and sending emails.
Why You Need a Blog Content Calendar?
If you’ve ever wonder why no one reads your blog, having a content calendar can definitely help.
By writing down your goals, you are 42% more likely to achieve them. A content calendar is no different. Think of the daily tasks written on your calendar as miniature goals.
By completing these miniature goals, you are slowly chipping away at the big one.
Similar to a marathon, building a six-figure blog is achieved one step at a time. By using a content calendar, you’re really setting yourself up for success.
On the contrary, bloggers that don’t use content calendars not only publish less often, but also tend to neglect other areas of their blogging business as well such as updating old blog posts, emailing their lists, and promoting new posts.
This might not seem too bad now, but over time, it all adds up. When you don’t build a solid foundation, you’re likely not going to see the results that you were hoping for, and kill any momentum or excitement that you once had.
Benefits of a Blog Content Calendar
Keeps you organized
Keeping your to-do list all in one place eliminates having post-it notes all over the place. (Side note: I have a large white board in my office that I use as a content calendar. There’s colorful post-it notes all over it, letting me know what’s on the agenda.)
Increases productivity
Having the day already planned before you wake up saves you so much time. You don’t have to sit there wasting time thinking what you need to work on. You can simply pour yourself some coffee and get to work.
Minimizes distractions
By creating a clear plan on what you need to accomplish that day, you’ll be too busy working on your tasks instead of playing on social media or watching random videos on Youtube.
Decreases overwhelm
Knowing that you only have to finish a few tasks a day and don’t have to accomplish everything at once is a huge stress relief.
Keeps you on track
Having all of your goals broken down into bite-size tasks is a whole lot easier to accomplish than being all over the place. You’re also able to make much more progress than you would be able to without a calendar.
Increases consistency
By planning when and how often to write, you become consistent, which Google rewards you for. It also benefits your audience because they know when to expect your next blog post.
What is a Content Strategy?
A content strategy is the plan of action designed to accomplish a goal.
They don’t call it an online business for nothing. There’s a lot of work involved. That’s why it’s so important to have everything planned out and
A content strategy for blogging might be used to plan:
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Blog post ideas
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Publishing frequency
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Guest blogging opportunities
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Content promotion
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When and what to email your list
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etc.
Why you Need a Content Strategy
Before creating a content calendar, you first need to have a content strategy to help execute your blogging business goals.
It’s not enough just to write blog posts whenever you feel like it. You need a plan.
Like the old saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
A content strategy is what’s going to help you turn your blog into a blogging business.
This is something that has helped me tremendously through my time blogging. When I first started blogging, I wasted so much time it’s embarrassing. Long story – short, if you don’t have a plan, you might waste a lot of time like me.
What should a Blog Content Calendar Include?
A content calendar isn’t only to plan out the content of your blog, but to keep you organized, focused, and on track to accomplish your goals. What to include in your content calendar will depend on your content marketing goals.
Some fields to consider including in your content calendar:
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Publishing dates
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Article topics
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Types of posts
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List of keywords
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Assigned author (if outsourcing writing)
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Due dates
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When and what to email your list
How do I make a Blog Content Calendar?
Before you can create a calendar, you first need to establish your content marketing goals with your blog.
Have a clear vision
It’s always good to have a goal in mind before you start. You are likely to accomplish so much more when you’re clear on the end goal.
When you think about the future of your blog, what do you see?
Where do you see yourself in one year? Five years?
Anything in particular that you hope to accomplish?
What is your blog’s intention?
Write it all down.
Set Realistic Goals
While I’m a huge advocate of setting large goals, I also believe in setting realistic goals.
The importance of setting goals that you can actually achieve is to keep you from overwhelm. Sometimes setting goals outside of your possibility can actually hinder your progress.
If you have a full-time job and plan to write one blog post a week, great! If your goal is to write multiple blog posts a week, you might start to feel overwhelmed and burnt out.
Remember, blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. In the beginning, start off slow. Try writing one blog post per week and if you feel like you can take on more, bump it up to two blog posts per week.
Break your goals down into smaller goals
Once you set your content marketing goals, you should then break them down into daily tasks which you will then incorporate into your content calendar.
Write down your blog’s categories and brainstorm potential articles or keywords for each of them. In the beginning, try planning out a whole month. If you plan on writing one blog post a week, you only have to think of four topics.
Over time, you’ll get better at this and will be able to plan out many months in advance.
The Blog Plan
Suzi Whitford from StartaMomBlog has an incredible FREE 12 month blog plan in which I highly recommend using. It’s the same blog plan that she used to take her blog from zero to $9,000 in less than a year.
I’m not an affiliate. I just love Suzi’s simple approach to blogging.
Conclusion
99% of bloggers fail. Not because blogging is hard, but because they quit on themselves. So many aspiring bloggers come and go. The ones that reach success are the ones that had a plan and put in the work.
In order to have a successful and profitable blogging business, you need to be crystal clear on your goals and where you want to go. You also need to have a plan of action. And your blog content calendar will be your plan of action that keeps you from becoming a blogging statistic.
If there’s one thing that you take away from this blog post, let it be this. Success is achieved by taking small amounts of action over and over till you eventually accomplish your goal.
I have no doubt that ANYONE can become successful at blogging. Blogging is actually pretty easy. Being consistent is the hard part. That’s why it’s so important to have a content calendar. It doesn’t have to look beautiful. You can use an excel sheet, Google docs, a piece of paper, whatever you like. Just have one.
You got this!
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