You started your hobby or niche blog out of passion and now you're dreaming of earning a little side money with it. Before you start inserting ads and seeking sponsorship deals, make sure you're providing a steady stream of content by building a simple editorial calendar. A little planning in the beginning pays off in five different ways as the months unfold.
1. Equal Targeting
By laying out your lists of topic ideas and audience research, you can make sure you're reaching out to everyone at least once a week or once a month. For example, product showcases targeting expectant mothers get interspersed evenly with tutorials for advanced users of your premium services. You'll keep your audience growing steadily by spreading out content targeted towards specific groups like past shoppers and newcomers.
2. Fresh Ideas
It's not always easy to come with something new that draws the reader in. Brainstorming around common topics and building chains of related post ideas is a fast way to populate your entire calendar with content. Imagine knowing exactly what to post about next for six months or more!
3. Season Changes
As a new set of holidays approach, how do you plan to address them on your blog? Maximize your ad conversions or product sales by keeping your topics related to the concerns of the current season. Doing some planning work with a blog editorial calendar makes it much easier to stay on top of your seasonal post responsibilities.
4. Consistent Content
You begin a new series of posts about a specific topic or idea, but soon forget to add part three, four, and more. Blogging calendars remind you to stay on track and finish your thoughts. This is crucial if you use promotions and giveaways to drive traffic and to keep your blog profitable.
5. Fewer Repeats
Readers stop tuning in and visiting daily when you start repeating yourself over and over again. With a glance, a filled in editorial calendar shows you an overview of common topics. You can see gaps in your coverage and make a plan to freshen up your posting routine.
A basic editorial calendar takes little more than a piece of paper and a pen, but you can also find a range of free and paid software solutions. Even a wall calendar doubles as a posting guide when you fill it out with your post topics or prospective titles. Both the smallest and biggest blogs benefit from putting this efficiency technique into practice, especially if you want to make money from blogging.
Share18 February 2015
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