How to Plan Your 2015 Content Calendar

When it comes to achieving content marketing success, planning is key.

According to research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, the most successful content marketers are those who have a documented strategy. Their 2015 research found that B2B marketers “who have documented their strategy are more effective in all aspects of content marketing than those who have not”.

An editorial calendar is key to keeping your content marketing strategy on track. It helps you document your strategy, manage your workflow and collaborate with your team.

You can schedule content such as blog posts, webinars, ebooks, emails and social updates in your editorial calendar. You can also use it to store ideas for future content.

Here are five steps to creating an editorial calendar:

1. Align your content with your target audience.

The better your content aligns with your target audience, the more successful it will be. According to research from TechTarget, B2B technology buyers believe that “media is only effective if the information that it features is relevant to their research and is helpful for them during the process.” If your content isn’t relevant, buyers will search elsewhere to find answers.

Before you create an editorial calendar, you’ll need to understand who your target audience is and what their biggest concerns are. You should also find out what topics resonate with them and what channels they use to consume content. You can do this by creating buyer personas, surveying your customers, or asking your customer service team about the conversations they have with buyers. Once you understand your target audience, you can fill your editorial calendar with relevant content.

2. Align content with where buyers are in your sales cycle.

Your editorial calendar should contain content for early-, mid- and late-stage leads. Ideally, each piece of content should contain a call to action that motivates leads to view the next piece of content in your sales cycle. For ideas for your editorial calendar, see “How to Create Content That Converts Early-, Mid- and Late-Stage B2B Leads”.

3. Pick content themes.

Selecting a theme for the month or quarter makes it easier to come up with content ideas. You can relate the themes to your customers’ key challenges, industry trends, product launches or your major events.

Themes are also useful for guest contributors and advertisers. Guest contributors can submit content that relates to your themes. Advertisers will also need to know your editorial themes in advance so they can align their ads with your content.

4. Fill in the gaps.

Before you fill your editorial calendar, you’ll need to conduct a content audit. This will show you if you already have content that aligns with your buyer personas, sales stages and themes. You can likely turn much of your older content into new ebooks, blog posts, webinars, etc.

You’ll also find gaps in your content For example, you may lack enough content to support a new product launch or a major trend in your industry. Finding your gaps early is key to avoiding panic when your deadlines approach and you need to create content pronto.

5. Decide on a publishing schedule.

For regular content – such as blog posts and e-newsletters – it’s important to stick to a regular publishing schedule. Your fans will expect to receive your content on specific days, and you don’t want to disappoint them.

Add your regular publication dates to your calendar in advance, so you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to come up with a topic for your next blog post.

Tools for Creating an Editorial Calendar

Your editorial calendar doesn’t need to be complex. It can be as simple as an Excel sheet with the following columns:

• Title
• Format (e.g. blog post, white paper, webinar)
• Author
• Associated campaign or buyer persona
• Keywords
• Call to action
• Publication date
• Link to published content
• Status (e.g. in development, scheduled, published)
• Notes

Upload your editorial calendar to a file-sharing program, such as Google Docs, so your content team can view the latest updates at any time. I’ve put together a sample calendar that you can use to get started. Click here to download the editorial calendar template.

If your content marketing operations are large, an Excel chart might not cut it. Content marketing software with built-in workflows or editorial calendars might be a better choice. Two good options are DivvyHQ and Kapost, as they both allow your team to collaborate on your content calendar.

Key Takeaway

An editorial calendar is key to keeping your content marketing on track. I’d recommend planning key pieces of content about three months in advance. That way, you have enough time to create supporting content and align everything with your top marketing goals. However, your editorial calendar doesn’t need to be rigid. Leave some flexibility in case you want to respond to major news in your industry or you come up with a great content idea.

3 Ways to Apply This Information Now

1. Download the editorial calendar template to plan your 2015 content.
2. Share this article on LinkedIn. Sharing quality content increases your visibility and credibility with your existing contacts, creating conversations and potentially new business.
3. Leave a comment below. Let's start a conversation about creating and managing your content calendar.