This is Day 6 of a 10 Day Course on how to create killer content. Visit Day One to get the full mojo.
You’ve heard from me how important I consider the editorial calendar to be. I truly believe that this is the single greatest process you should implement if you are really down with creating a blog. I think not knowing where you’re headed makes your job that much harder. Quick recap:
- Decide on frequency: how many times do you want to post this week? 3? 5? Test yourself to see how often you can publish quality content.
- Have your week planned out in advance. This doesn’t mean your calendar can’t change. In fact, it should as new ideas hit the runway. But have a plan.
- Execute. Admittedly, this is always the hard part. In everything.
There’s a second half to the editorial calendar coin that’s critical and makes execution considerably easier: deadlines. It’s one thing having a killer idea and knowing what you’re going to post about, it’s another actually creating that content on time. If you aspire to really have a content engine that hums, then writing to deadline is key.
I almost always write my posts at night right before bed. Each post is roughly 400 words, and if I know what I’m writing about (from my editorial calendar) I can usually come up with a first draft in 15 - 20 minutes. Maybe a bit longer. Then I set Wordpress to push my post live at 4:00 am PST.
So really what deadline is all about is routine. Falling into a rhythm that allows you to make it happen, when you want it to happen. Building consistency.
The irony? This post - the one about deadlines - wasn’t posted on time. This one was late. Which is proof again that no matter how much you plan, there will be times when things simply get too crazy or too tired or too much fun elsewhere to post. That’s just the way it is.
But you’ll find that by setting up an editorial calendar and posting to deadline, you’ve set up a framework that actually allows you to be more spontaneous and free in your thinking. More fluid in the approach. At least that’s my experience.
So decide what schedule works for you. And when the deadline comes and goes, know that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just posted. This isn’t license to practice poor work habits (blogs with continual misspellings and/or poor punctuation will lose readers in droves) but it is a license to experiment, have fun, and not worry so much about what everyone else thinks. Remember, you’re creating an engine that delivers quality product - not perfect product.
What do you think? Any other tricks to keeping the engine on track?
