By: Chris Gardner. Photo by: Scott Ellis
Your blog needs an editorial calendar for two important reasons: one, it helps you stay organized, provides motivation to get your work done, and all that important productivity stuff. And two? It helps you make money.
Having a consistency to your content is what makes it enjoyable to read, and also what makes it profitable. When you know what you’re going to write about, your audience knows what you’re going to write about, and you can tell advertisers what you’re going to write about, and they’re going to want to pay you to do it, because they know what they’re going to get.
Organizing your media kit or sponsorship packet around you editorial calendar shows potential advertisers and brands and PR people that you’re legit, and that you, your brand, and your audience is a smart place to invest their money and time. Marketing folks are always on the look for collaborators and bloggers that are already doing a specific kind of work, and will be set up to be talking about whatever they want to sell. So, if you’ve done the work and planned your upcoming content it’s easy to just tell them, “Yep. This is when we’ll be covering that, and this is what I’m imagining. Don’t you wanna get in on some of this? ” And you’ve done the most important, week-making thing you can do for marketers and advertisers- you’ve done their job for them. They love that, and they’re happy to pay you money for it.
So, when you’re planning your monthly and yearly calendar, think about the products and materials with which you’ll interact. Make a list: everything from paint or glue for a DIY project to those incredibly expensive pair of shoes that you’ll never be able to buy but you totally hope one of your readers will. Think of what those products will be, and then let a brand help you do more with your original content than you could have done without the extra income and resources. Cause brands sell products, and your job is to sell the lifestyle or projects that incorporate them
So you have to find some way to discuss consumable goods, and incorporate it into your editorial calendar.
