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A Blog Editorial Calendar Template That Will Save You Time

Do you find you’re struggling to stay consistent with your blogging?

If so, you’re not alone.

Many companies struggle with trying to keep up with the demands of blogging. From writing to editing to publishing, there are a lot of steps to keep track of in the blogging process.

We’ve got the perfect solution for you: A blog editorial calendar.

Having a blog editorial calendar can help you develop the consistency you need to grow an audience of loyal readers.

That’s why we’ve put together a free editorial blogging calendar you can use to help track all your blog posts, no matter where they’re at in the process, to keep things running smoothly.

Skip ahead to what you want to see:

Plus, we’ll address common questions about using an editorial calendar!

What is a blog editorial calendar?

A blog editorial calendar, also referred to as a content calendar, is a tool that helps you keep track of what you need to do to run your blog. Your calendar plans out what blog posts you’re creating, when they need to be published, and other important parts of your process. Essentially, your blog editorial calendar serves as a central hub to track the content you’re creating and the important information to know for that content.

While not every calendar will look exactly the same, starting with an editorial calendar template can help you organize your process and save time — and follow a blog best practice for SMBs, enterprises, and startups.

Free blog editorial calendar template

Need a simple, easy-to-use editorial calendar? Download our free template!

preview of content calendar

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ErVlkUJNu98LBbw37JMOVLH25ptS1qwY3oHeH1W_Q8w/template/preview

This template will help you:

  • Record due dates and publishing dates
  • Track who’s responsible for creating specific types of content
  • Provide an overview of the topic you want covered
  • Record the keywords your writers need to target
  • Assign personas to target for each piece of content
  • Note specific calls to action (CTAs) your writers should use

Benefits of using a blog editorial calendar

Using an editorial blogging calendar offers a lot of benefits to your business, including:

1. Improved communication

One of the biggest benefits of using an editorial content calendar is that it improves communication between you and your content creators. It’s easy for communications to get lost over IM or email, which creates a lot of frustration. An editorial calendar prevents that frustration.

Using a blogging calendar improves your communication because it allows you to have a central hub that everyone can access to know what’s going on with writing projects. You’ll have a record of who’s assigned what all in one document, so everyone is on the same page.

Editorial calendar showing content assignments

2. Documentation of content creation

As you create more content, having documentation is crucial. Not only does it help streamline communication about who’s working on what, but it serves as a record of what’s happening with your content creation.

Instead of fielding dozens of emails about content projects, you have documentation for each, like what keywords to target and who the target audience is. It saves you time from having to answer the same questions for different people because all the information is documented in one accessible place.

Not to mention, it makes it less stressful for your writers, too. They don’t have to continually ask you questions, like “when is this due?” or “what CTA should I use?” and anxiously await for you to respond in time. Instead, they have all the information for the project at their fingertips, allowing them to focus more on creating content than stressing about the details.

Additionally, you end up with a running record of the content you’ve created, so you have an idea of what already exists and what gaps you need to close.

3. Record of responsibility

An editorial calendar for blogging helps you keep a record of responsibility. Not only does it document who’s responsible for creating the content, but it also helps you know when the content should be turned in and when it should be published.

content calendar showing authors for each content piece

That way, if a due date comes around and the content isn’t ready to go, you can easily follow up with your writer to see what’s happening.

4. Improves consistency of content creation

When you create content for your business, it’s important to be consistent with it. Consistency helps set expectations for website visitors and creates a sense of comfort whenever they visit your content.

Using an editorial calendar template for blogging ensures that everyone gets the same information for their projects. Everyone knows what topic to cover, the details needed for the piece, and who to target with the content.

This consistent presentation of information allows your content team to spend more time and energy on creating top-tier content for your website.

Common questions about blogging editorial calendars

Got lingering questions? We’ve got answers!

Who should use a blogging editorial calendar?

Blogging editorial calendars are suitable for all types of industries and the marketers who work within them. Some common areas that rely on an editorial calendar include:

  • Content creation teams
  • Public relations groups
  • Corporate communication teams
  • Social media creators
  • Marketers

Basically, if you’re creating any type of content for your company, an editorial calendar is beneficial for keeping you on track.

Should I use an editorial blogging calendar template or software?

A common debate marketers face is whether to use a downloadable editorial calendar template or rely on software, like Trello or Narrato. So, which is better for your business?

If you have a small content operation or don’t create a lot of content, an editorial content template will suffice. It will be easy to keep track of your content creation process.

On the other hand, if you have a larger content creation operation and product a lot of content, an editorial template could easily become overwhelming with all the data it contains. An editorial tool might be a better fit for you then.

 

What should a basic editorial content calendar include?

Whether you’re looking to create an editorial calendar yourself or download a free template, you want your calendar to have a few basic slots of information.

Your editorial calendar should include a space for:

  • Due dates
  • Assigned author
  • Topic/keywords to target
  • Details about the project

The good news about using an editorial calendar template is that you can take the basic template and modify it as you need! So, even if a template is missing something you need, you can always add it to customize it to your needs (as long as it’s an editable format like Google Sheet or Doc). It still cuts out some of the work for you and makes the process simpler.

Need help with your blog content?

If you’re finding that you and your team are still feeling overwhelmed with content creation even after creating a blog editorial calendar, consider outsourcing your content creation to the experts at WebFX.

We have a team of 100+ specialized content writers that have created content for dozens of industries. They can help take the load off your plate by creating blog content in your company’s voice that’s geared for ranking in search engines.

Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our content marketing services!

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