How to Create an Editorial Calendar

How to Create an Editorial Calendar to Publish Blogs, Facebook Pages, Tweets, and Email Newsletters Tim Slavin [email_address] http://LinkedIn.com/in/TimSlavin (516) 234-0607 This presentation is copyrighted by Owl Hill Media. Fair use with an explicit reference to this presentation is okay.

The Big Picture
Overview
The Editorial Process
The Editorial Calendar
Tools to Track Content
Writing and Editing Guidelines
Best Practices
Resources

Overview
Editorial calendars help answer a few critical questions …
How do we ensure we have regular content published to our website, Facebook page, Twitter, email newsletter, blog, and other channels?
How do we ensure the right content is published to the right channel? Twitter can’t publish articles, only links to articles.
How do we manage all the little details required to publish on a regular basis?

Overview
Editorial calendars require a content strategy …
Know your goals for creating content: acquisition, retention, branding, support? Set baseline measurements so you can measure your results over time. Also do surveys.
Content has to be managed by what is appropriate for each channel. Twitter and Facebook are interactive and require you to use an authentic voice. Your website might be more reserved. Content must reflect these differences.
Use your website as a content repository of record. Link to content from all channels.

Overview
Should you publish to more than one channel?
65% of adults use social media
Pick channels based on where your readers gather
Measure results by channel to determine if you should drop a channel, or start to publish on a new one
Basic rule: go where your readers are online

The Big Picture
Overview
Best Practices
Resources

What to Publish?
It’s about your audience/readers:
Who is your audience? Demographics?
What do they like and dislike?
What do they want from you?
What do they expect from you?
Three types of content, at least (can combine, too):
Your product or service
Customers and prospects
Industry news
Can you create recurring features for days of week?
Can you combine content into products?

Examples of What to Publish
Your Product or Service
New feature announcements
How-To Step Instructions
Screencasts
Your Customers and Prospects
Profile Articles and Q&A
Best Practices
Industry News
Latest Research
Announcements, Regulations, …
Also combine these (e.g. a How-To that features a customer best practice)

Different Forms of Content
There’s the obvious:
Articles
Screencasts
Video
How-To Step Instructions
FAQs
Invite customer input, Contests, Surveys, …
And the not so obvious micro-content:
Subheadlines
Blurbs or excerpts
Copy for alt= and title= tags used with web images
Need to track everything useful

Small Business Editorial Process
Develop a list of what to publish and when for a set time period (e.g. a day, week, month, three months)
Write content based on the publication schedule with a cushion (2-5 times your publication frequency)
Edit each piece
Publish each piece

Corporate Editorial Process (1/2)
Develop a list of what to publish and when for a set time period; include backup content items for each item slated for publication; include break points to determine whether to delay or kill each content item.
Assign each piece of content based on the publication schedule
Write each piece of content
Review first draft of each piece of content
Give go/no go based on first draft edits (adjust publication schedule if/as needed)

Corporate Editorial Process (2/2)
If #5 is a go, finish writing each piece of content and submit draft as FYI to layout team
Perform final edit, copy edit, fact checking, and rewrites as needed
Submit for review by legal team
Make changes if/as needed based on legal input
Submit content formally to layout team
Post content on development server and make changes if/as needed
Publish content on production server

Keys to Success?
Find the simplest way to manage your publication process
Develop your content ahead of time
About 2-5 times your publication frequency (e.g. 3-5 days ahead if you publish daily, 2 weeks ahead if you publish 2 times a week)
Makes repetitive publication tolerable over time
Organize and balance the order of content you publish to make it engaging (e.g. mix FAQs with articles with news)
Publish appropriate content based on channel (e.g. use personal voice for Twitter and Facebook)
Reduce complexity in all steps in your process

The Big Picture
Overview
Best Practices
Resources

What to Track?
At a minimum:
Content Title
Author
Publication Date
Publication Status
Notes
At the maximum (pick one or more):
Destination (e.g. Blog, Print, Facebook, Twitter, Email Newsletter)
First Draft (Go/No Go), Final Draft
Backup Content
Team Process: Images, Layout, Legal Review, Test Site
Remember to simplify as much as possible

Basic Editorial Calendar
What to publish based on audience needs
Prioritized list of what to publish
Work effort required to publish each piece of content
Micro-content needed (e.g., page titles, headlines, navigation link labels, ALT tags, footers, blurbs)
Dates assigned for writing, editing, publishing for each piece of content
Publishing destination (e.g. print, blog, email newsletter, Twitter, Facebook)

Large Group Editorial Calendar
What to publish based on audience needs
Prioritized list of what to publish
Work effort required to publish each piece of content
Micro-content needed (e.g., page titles, headlines, navigation link labels, ALT tags, footers, blurbs)
Dates assigned for writing, editing, publishing for each piece of content, includes copy editors, fact checkers, photographers, layout team, legal approval, and other participants
Backup content identified for each piece of content on the calendar
Go/No Go breakpoints identified for each piece of content and/or within the process (e.g., if interviews are not possible or a writer gets sick)
Publishing destination (e.g. print, blog, email newsletter, Twitter, Facebook)

Additional Ideas
Organize your editorial calendar into tabs in a spreadsheet
Content Ideas
Publication Calendar
Published Content
Glossary and Copy Edit Styles
If you use tabs, repeat common columns (e.g. Title, Notes) in the same left side locations to make it easy to copy/paste rows of content from one tab to another
Include metrics in your Published Content tab
Track popularity based on page views, tweets, Facebook Likes, inbound links, and other metrics
Helps you plan new content

Keep in Mind
Organize your editorial process and calendar to maximize resources (e.g. involve legal review as late as possible when content is complete)
A good editorial process and calendar is essentially a good project plan
An editorial calendar can educate stakeholders about what it really takes to publish and impact of any changes
Keep your calendar as simple as possible

The Big Picture
Overview
Best Practices
Resources

What Tools to Use?
Use simplest technology that meets your needs over time. Might be a sheet of paper. Might be software already in your publishing tool. Might be Google Calendar.
Spreadsheets are the most common and obvious tool:
Use a file on your computer if you’re a one person shop
Use Google Docs if you work on a team
WordPress (blogging tool) has two plug-ins but doesn’t work if you also track content published for print, a Facebook fan page, or email newsletter

Examples of Possible Tools
Sheets of paper and file folder(s)
Paper or electronic calendar
Spreadsheet file
Plugin software (e.g. for WordPress)
HootSuite also appears to provide editorial calendar capabilities but I’ve not used it extensively

The Big Picture
Overview
Best Practices
Resources

Writing guidelines are a key part of the editorial process
Guideline examples include:
Length of pieces published as well as the different kinds of pieces
Examples of appropriate tone and structure for each kind of content
Examples of what to avoid (e.g., first person, insulting the CEO, using less than 2 sources for each fact)
Examples of file names and how they evolve through the process (e.g., to indicate versions, multiple authors)
Grammar, punctuation, and language guidelines
These guidelines ensure a consistent reading experience and simplify editorial process

More Guidelines
Include author name and link to a short biography
Include the publication date with your content
Include “changes” section at bottom of articles to document changes to the article over time

Where to Get Guidelines?
For a small business:
The Associated Press Style Guide
Printouts of a few articles that serve as best practice examples
Large publishing teams might:
Document and publish a style guide with extensive examples and links to resources for the team to follow and consult as needed
Create and maintain a glossary as copy edit decisions are made over time (e.g. as a tab in editorial calendar spreadsheet)

The Big Picture
Overview
Best Practices
Resources

Best Practices
Organize Content Ideas based on recurring features and content types (e.g. your product, customers, industry news)
Use a cushion when you publish content, 2-5 times your publishing frequency (e.g. 3-5 days if you publish daily)
Use the simplest editorial process and tools to track your process.
Track only useful publication data. More data is not necessarily better.
Evaluate your process every 3-6 months and make changes if/as needed

The Big Picture
Overview
Best Practices
Resources

Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial_calendar [overview with links to further reading]
http://www.thatagency.com/design-studio-blog/2011/08/the-secret-to-an-effective-facebook-page-create-a-content-strategy/ [emphasis on Facebook]
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/08/30/the-importance-of-consistency-using-editorial-calendars-and-style-guides/ [emphasis on style guides]
http://www.rodkirby.com/archives/1720 [video showing Google Calendar]
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2007/03/09/how-to-create-and-use-an-editorial-calendar/ [paper based method for low-volume publishing]

Questions?
Tim Slavin
[email_address]
http://www.reachcustomersonline.com
http://linkedin.com/in/timslavin
(516) 234-0607
This presentation is copyrighted by Owl Hill Media.
Fair use with an explicit reference to this presentation is okay.

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How to Create an Editorial Calendar

by Tim Slavin

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