New marketers are usually quick to run to the latest trending tactics to gain attention for their products and services. Experienced marketers, on the other hand, know the value of creating and sticking to a plan.
And while there’s nothing particularly exciting about content calendars, it’s the very essence of strategy. And smart marketers know they must plant their flag on the mount of strategy rather than ephemeral tactics if they desire long-term success.
Here’s why content calendars are more crucial than ever.
Lack of Strategy is the Enemy of Success
Blogging and content marketing have never been more competitive. Most savvy marketers today know all the best tricks, be it the Skyscraper Technique, content upgrades, the latest in backlink building, or otherwise.
If you are not clear on what you’re publishing and when, as well as what keywords you’re targeting and what the competitive landscape is, you will have a tough time ranking for any terms, let alone driving traffic to your website and converting visitors into leads.
Not all content needs a keyword focus, but all content needs a purpose. Mapping out your content plan three months out gives you and your audience a clear picture of what’s to come. It also gives you opportunities to course adjust long before you’re under the gun to produce a long-form blog post on a tight deadline.
Content Calendars Give You a Competitive Advantage
Sure, the best publications already have a content calendar and a good idea of what they will be publishing when, as well as why. But it’s fair to say that most run-of-the-mill bloggers, and even small- to medium-sized businesses, don’t have that kind of foresight let alone acumen to know why content calendars matter so much.
Setting up your content calendar will give you a distinct competitive advantage, especially if you plan your content around themes. One month is generally a good amount of time to cover a topic and generate excitement for.
Further, most of your target audience won’t see all your posts, so by sticking to a specific topic for longer, you have a better chance of reaching a wider audience with your content. This is critical, especially when sharing key messages with your audience.
The Hard Way is the Easy Way
Shooting from the hip and making stuff up as you go may seem like the fun, creative way to remain agile and innovative, especially in creating content.
But unless your company is represented by an attractive character, like Neil Patel, Brian Dean, or Russell Brunson, there’s a good chance talking about anything you want to talk about at the moment won’t get you anywhere in producing measurable ROI. Plus, you’ll probably end up staring at a blank canvas more often than you might expect.
The hard way is the easy way. When there is a plan in place, less time is devoted to thinking about “the what,” and more time and energy can be dedicated to “the why” and to producing a better-finished product.
Final Thoughts
What works for one won’t always work for another, but a content calendar is something every ambitious blogger or company should have. It guides the strategic direction of the content being produced so that better outcomes can be produced short term and long term.