This is the next post in a very exciting series we’re bringing to you on IFB in anticipation of the upcoming #IFBcon. Each day in the month of August, we’ll have a different post designed to help your blog become – you guessed it – bigger, better and bolder.
People will always tell you that the first step in setting out on a successful endeavor is to get organized. Get those ducks in a row, right? So what are the “blogging ducks,” if you will?
Those would be your posts – so getting them in a row (literally and figuratively) is an essential step to creating a professional presence online and establishing a personal routine that will help you accomplish your goals. Using an editorial calendar is probably the most tried-and-true method of content organization. If you don’t have one yet, let’s start with the big picture and work our way down to day-by-day specifics.
By The Year
- Don’t get scared when I say this, but you may want to structure your entire year’s calendar! Think about how glossy magazines work. Each month has a theme, and they build out their articles and editorials around that general theme. There are posts that stray from the theme of course, but having a broad topic you can come back to will give you direction and focus throughout the year – as well as a fresh approach to your content each month!
- For example: September is always the “fall fashion” issue, and December often focuses on the holidays and gift guides. May is a great month to talk about fitness and skin care, etc!
By The Month
- For most of us, it helps to see a visual of the month ahead, divided by weeks and days. Decide how many days a week you want to post (and be mindful of what’s realistically achievable). To keep notes on this, create a calendar on your computer or use one of those pre-deliniated white boards you can get from an office supply store.
- Is there a monthly feature you want to create? Perhaps a style profile, an interview, a round-up of your best outfit posts… It could be anything really. Just be sure to mark on your calendar when you’ll post it, so you can plan ahead to get it done and ready to go live on time.
By The Week
- For IFB, we have a semi-rigid formula we follow for posting each week. We try to put really interesting, juicy stories earlier in the week, and taper down to more light, list-centric posts later in the week. From studying our analytics and demographics we’ve been able to figure out what our audience will read – and when!
- For a less content-heavy blog (like a personal style blog) you’re probably posting once a day at most. You may want to decide if you’ll have a theme for certain days of the week that you can stick to, to get your readers familiar with tuning in for certain things each day. For example: Shoes Tuesday, Workwear Wednesday, Thursday Style Challenge and so-on. With Eat, Sleep, Denim, I always post street style on Thursdays and denim reviews on Fridays, so I know how to plan my week and readers have something expected that they can look forward to.
- With themed posting, you may want to indicate the theme in the title, again, to make things easier for your readers. Once you’ve been at it for a while, and built up a body of posts, you may then want to create category pages on the side or top of your blog where followers can access similar content all in one place.
By The Day
- I hate to say it this way, but getting your blog posts done can feel a little like homework – and that’s not always a bad thing. Setting deadlines for yourself is a great way to stay motivated and on-track. Just like you had to turn your paper in first-thing in your English literature class, set a time for all your posts to go live each day.
- We find that posts get the best chance to circulate the Internets and be seen by more people when they go live earlier in the day. Especially if you’re posting once a day, you’ll want to give that content it’s best chance for exposure, sharing and commenting across multiple time zones and platforms.
- You don’t have to structure your social media into your editorial calendar, but you may want to include reminders about updating your Facebook page’s image gallery or pinning your latest outfits.
Do you use an editorial calendar already? Share your experience in the comments.
To get your tickets, head to the Eventbrite page and buy either:
Regular One-Day Pass: $125
Regular Two-Day Pass: $185
Corporate/Non-IFB Member Tickets: $600
Wow this was a super timely reminder! As NYFW is approaching it’s so important to have a plan for when you’re going to post everything. And while a year-out plan seems a little daunting I’m definitely going to try it…and your Editorial Calendar. Thanks!