Your Business Needs a Blog Content Calendar
Many business owners have found themselves staring at a blank screen and wondering what on earth to write for their company’s blog. In the hustle and bustle of business, others forget to update their blog at all. Problems like these lead to haphazard posting schedules, lackluster topics, and missed opportunities. Fortunately, there’s a solution: content calendars. Scheduling content ahead of time provides a host of benefits. Regularly scheduled posts keep readers coming back since they know they’re guaranteed to find great new content. Planning ahead also gives you time to brainstorm and thoughtfully plan which topics you’ll cover when, preventing last-minute rushes and gaps in content. It’s smart to match content to scheduled promotions and seasonal events, and a content calendar makes that easy as well. Content planning is also great for SEO. Search engines reward blogs that post high-quality content on a consistent basis, and it gives you more room to establish your business as a trustworthy authority.
What Makes a Blogging Calendar Effective?
Now that you know how helpful a content calendar can be, it’s time to talk about the details. Creating an effective blog content calendar requires careful thought, at least in the beginning. Content topics are the most obvious thing to work on. When coming up with those, make sure to keep both your business goals and your customers’ needs in mind. Each scheduled topic should include a title and a short description of how the post will address the topic. A sensible publication schedule is critical, too. Stay realistic when picking dates and times. Though updating daily sounds great to many business owners, it’s not practical for most of them. Weekly and biweekly posting are both popular options. When scheduling each post, remember to include time for writing and editing. Other tasks that eat up time include SEO research, looking up relevant sources, and finding the right images to accompany your post. Your calendar should also include notes on ideal content length, where you’ll promote each post, and whether you’ll include the posts in planned email newsletters. Planning internal links ahead of time is also helpful—each post should link to other posts on your blog.
Here are some of the best content types for business blogs:
- Listicles
- Infographics
- Q&As
- Tutorials
- Case studies
- Interviews
- Behind-the-scenes posts
- Relevant news and commentary
- Resource lists
Content Planning: Creativity and Value
Here are some of the best Knowing what type of content to create and when you’ll post it is all well and good, but it’s not enough. Brainstorming specific topics ahead of time is critical for preventing writer’s block when you finally sit down to write. Letting your customers pick the topic is the easiest method: Just choose one of the questions you often get, and provide an interesting, informative answer. Holidays, changing seasons, promotions, and industry events also provide fertile ground for content. Researching competitor blogs is another smart way to get ideas for topics. You’ll likely spot gaps in their information, allowing you to swoop in and fill them on your own company’s blog. Once you’ve got a fair amount of content on your blog, generating ideas will be even easier. Some lengthy posts can be broken down into smaller pieces. High-performing content is good inspiration for follow-up posts. Last but not least, leave some slots in your calendar open to make room for timely reactions to breaking news and fresh developments. types for business blogs:
Getting Started
Though your brain is your most important content strategy tool, it’s far from the only one. Many people choose simple spreadsheets with easy-to-use templates that accommodate each post’s planned publication date, title, keywords, and description. Other platforms offer tools like visual boards, task management, social media scheduling, visual content planning, and reminders. Some are free or have free tiers with limited options, and many paid tools are budget-friendly. Others are quite expensive. It’s wise to stick with free or low-cost tools in the beginning. Ease of use is an important consideration, too. Choosing a trusted web marketing company to help is wise.
