Should you use an editorial calendar for your blog? Good question. I’m not going to lie. I’ve been blogging so long that I rely on my Drafts section in my WordPress backend. I actually added the Drafts section as a menu item under Posts. Writing comes natural to me, so I blog when I feel like it. In doing so, I never feel like blogging is a chore, and my words to come out naturally.
Should You Use an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog?
For those newer to blogging, and not really a writer by nature, I realize my approach just isn’t going to work for you. When you’re building your blog, whether it’s for a business or a blog, to get into a good habit of building a solid schedule, you’re probably going to have to use an editorial calendar.
For multi-author sites and online magazines, editor calendars are useful in seeing who is writing, what they are writing, and when to expect the article to be published.
My method of using the Drafts section in WordPress isn’t a bad idea, but there’s not really a structure. I just list a bunch of titles as good ideas for articles, and tackle them. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see more than 150 draft posts or more, at ANY time in my WordPress backend.
So, in coming back to the question on should you use an editorial calendar for your blog, it’s up to you. Some questions to consider.
- How focused are you on content creating and building your business or blog?
- Do you get distracted or discouraged from blogging?
- Are you needing to create a real schedule that you can visually keep yourself in check?
Probably the best thing to do is to actually try out an editorial calendar and see if it is for you. Some people use an editorial calendar plugin or even have a physical calendar book that they’ve fashioned as an editorial calendar.
You can also try my method of using the drafts section, but it’s not going to be useful unless you find a way to keep yourself on task.
Do you use an editorial calendar for your blog? If so, what type?
Hi Nile,
Nice overview on editorial calendar.
Editorial calendar is really important to manage and schedule blog posts, especially when you are publishing a lot of content every month.
Dheeraj
Nicely saying Neil, as i am a part time blogger, i have to make all things about my blog in schedule and for me calendar is essential. One more thing i like in this post is about natural writing and I think if you can’t write natural then blogging is not for you
I use a paper calendar (spiral) and love it. I keeps track of everything that I plan to write or have written; I can quickly tell sponsors when I can work with them. I also use WordPress editorial calendar which makes it super easy for me to organize my posts.
Hey Nile, people would probably suggest I consider a schedule especially in the summer sun- I can lose weeks. Imagine the stress I would be under if I had to write and publish things on a schedule when I don’t know what day it is. I would be #oneunhappywriter
Hi Nile, I don’t use an editorial calendar, but what I use is a task list where I include everything that needs to be done including blog posts. However, sometimes, it becomes messy and I miss something out… Can you suggest a good plugin for this?
I don’t keep a specific calendar but I try to spend thirty minutes four or five times a week working on content. That results in a decent backlog of draft posts although I’m more than a little short on your 150 draft count. Having that backlog gives me flexibility to write when I have something to say and to not force something when I don’t. I can also spend time editing rather than writing if I am in the mood to work on the blog but not write new content.
Hello Nile , i have never used editorial calendar.. being a newbie this post will help me to create a successfull blog.
Hi Nile,
An editorial calender could be really helpful for a marketer or bloggers to manage his tasks and do them correctly on time.
One of my favorite tools for WordPress is CoSchedule. It comes with many features that can help out to be more productive.
– Abrar
Hi Nile,
I have no editorial calender in my blog. But here got a new idea to be more productive using editorial calender and I’ll surely add an editorial calender in my blog soon.
I’m pretty sure I should use an editorial calendar, because it would provide a way to have an overall plan. I’m not as organized as I’d like to be. I’ve looked at editorial calendars formulated by others, but haven’t found one I really like yet. Right now I work from a draft in my email drafts folder, where I jot down any ideas I have for the next week or so. No overall plan yet, but I’m working toward that.
Hello Nile, I don’t use an editorial calendar and wouldn’t have the foggiest idea on how to go about using one either. As a few others have asked perhaps you could share something with us.
Is there a plug in or something?
Interesting share, really makes me think I should be more organized. Thanks Chery :))
I have been using an editorial calendar but have been also doing the draft idea. Trying to figure out which way works for me best. I do need some type of organization. So I know one of these will work for me. Great post!
I use Google Calendar for my editorial calendar. Why I love it is I can add contributors by sending an invite to them for the event. Then it tells them the deadline and I can add notes in there with what I am looking for. When I am just writing myself, I can make notes on when something is due for a client or sponsor and I won’t forget. I love that I get phone alarms when things are due as well.
So at the risk of sounding ignorant, what’s an editorial calendar? From context, I can tell that it is a way to remind you to write to your blog, but is that all it is?
I just make sure two blogs go up on the website every week. Sometimes I will create a draft with a working title to remind me of ideas I have on the go, but usually I just devote a couple hours per week to writing two posts. If I knew what an editorial calendar was, maybe that would be better.
I guess this blog about Using an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog would be really helpful and inspiring too. Great share!
Hi Nile, I don’t use an editorial calendar but I have a dedicated section in OneNote. The top page is a list of posts I’m planning to do soon.and the other pages contain my notes for these posts. Once the post is done the pages get moved. I keep notes that I may need in the future in a Resources section.
I often find I’m working on a topic when another jumps out at me so I make a note of this for the future. When I come across something relevant to this I’ll add to the notes.. I too have many posts waiting to be written.
I only use WP drafts for those I’m actively working on.
I agree that editorial calendars are important for a multi-author and Magazine type blogs.
Hi Nile !
You had clearly stated the Importance of using an editorial calendar for scheduled blogging. UntilI never use any calendar to keep myself check. But reading your post i came to know that we must track our blogging using a good editorial calendar
I always learn something new from this blog .
Keep writing such awesome stuff Nile..
Thank you.
This is what I wonder why people use Calanders on their blog? What the use of it, or how it will help them.
Hi Nile,
Editorial Calendar help new readers to get in touch with Writer of blog and I believe it also help to writer before publishing content its get views from loyal visitors.
Nile, I don’t use an editorial calendar now but when I first started my blog I did have one and it worked well. Now that my focus is different I only blog part time and so I no longer follow a set schedule for new posts. I may eventually go back to a calender once I have more time to blog.
I do not currently use an editorial calendar and never have. Being the “creative” type I usually write and post when the creative urge leads me to do so. However, since I have been adding more app reviews I think I need to calendar in regular reviews just to get me more motivated to write them :).
I do something similar to what you do, Niles – I create Drafts. Now, I have never had 150 posts in draft mode, but I do have more than a handful. I usually tackle them shortly after I create them; otherwise, the “moment” passes and I move onto something else!
When I had my own blog I tried to stick to posting 3 times a week, but even that burned me out and I gave up.
Recently, I came back to it but as a magazine style site with additional contributors to help spread the wealth around so I can actually push out content every day.
I’m trying to really build up a brand so I feel like I always need to be pushing out new content at least once a day.
But knowing me, I’ll probably flame out again in a month.