13 tips for creating a killer editorial calendar

It’s simple, really. An editorial calendar is a way for you to organize your blog posts and control content; it’s the best way of planning and understanding the overall goal of your blog. Think of the editorial calendar as the company blog’s blueprint. Avoid a smorgasbord of random blog posts and ideas; get organized instead.

A typical editorial calendar should include:

1. Content details.

This is the main topic of your post—a synopsis, really. Why are you writing?

2. Headlines/titles.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a good title. Keep it short, clear, and even intriguing. Think of it as a tweet, where you have limited space to pique your readers’ curiosity. (Your title can change once the blog post is actually written, but it never hurts to plan ahead.) On the Internet, where attention spans wane, titles are super important.

3. Bylines.

Who on your team will be writing this post? Consider introducing guest bloggers—external writers who can contribute to your blog.

4. Deadlines.

Assign due dates. The author needs to know when the project was assigned, when it’s due, and when it will be published.

5. Venues.