The editorial process revolves around deadlines. Every piece of content needs a publication date, from blog posts to email campaigns. To visualize these deadlines, you can turn to an editorial calendar. Whether you’re just starting your editorial operation or running at full capacity, an editorial calendar can benefit your content creation and publishing process. Learn how to create your own.
What is an editorial calendar?
An editorial calendar, or content calendar, is a visualization of your content schedule across your owned media channels, such as blog posts, emails, and social media posts. The most detailed calendars capture your content workflow from ideation to publication, making your editorial calendar the source of truth for your content team.
Editorial calendars range from calendars that map out content dates to project management systems with multiple views that incorporate every step of the editorial process from writing to delivering visual assets. The more frequently you post—especially across different channels—the more you must track.
Elements of an editorial calendar
These are some common items included in editorial calendars:
- Content types. The calendar will specify what type of content you’re creating, such as articles, social media posts, emails, and videos.
- Content categories. Content types often include categories based on your content strategy. For example, you might break down your blog articles into guides and listicles, while your social media post types fall into categories like event promotion, external links, or product posts.
- Topics and subtopics. Listing topics and subtopics in your editorial calendar can help paint a broad picture of what themes your content is covering at any given time.
- Keywords. SEO keywords are terms you target to rank in search engine results. If SEO is part of your strategy, you can include keywords and additional context in your editorial calendar.
- Content marketing channels. Channels are where you share your content, such as your email list, social media platforms, and your blog. An editorial calendar will break down how you plan to distribute your content across channels.
- Key dates. Editorial calendars include publicationdates for all content across owned media channels. They may also include draft due dates, art due dates, and review periods.
- Contributors. Your calendar can include the name of the author creating content. You can also use it to track everyone who moves a piece of content from one stage to the next.
- Content statuses. As a piece of content moves through the editorial process, statuses keep everyone involved on the same page. Statuses can include “Assigned to writer,” “Fact checking,” “Awaiting art,” “Ready to publish,” “Scheduled,” “Published,” and so on.
3 types of editorial calendars
Editorial calendars vary from a single spreadsheet to a customized project management tool. Here are four of the most common types:
1. Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet-style editorial calendar is an accessible option; it’s easy to use and affordable—and you can even use a free tool like Google Sheets. Create drop-down menus in columns for statuses and content categories, add fill-in sections for contributor names, and use calendar formulas to track dates. The downside is, it’s all manual, and it doesn’t provide a true calendar view, so you may need additional tabs if viewing your content by week or month is important for your process.
2. Calendar
You can use a tool like Google Calendar to visualize your publishing schedule by week, month, or year. However, a calendar’s focus is on dates and not statuses or steps in the process, meaning it’s not as detailed as other methods. You can still see the topic and date, and you can write additional details in the note section. You can also color-code each entry to show content types or distribution channels.
3. Project management tool
Project management tools like Airtable and Asana offer multiple views, such as calendar views and spreadsheet views with status, category, and contributor details. They often let you expand any element for a detailed overview of the content piece.
A project management tool is an efficient type of editorial calendar because it updates in real time as any team member makes changes. You can also tie important actions to trigger other actions. For example, if a writer files a draft, the tool can notify the editor that the draft is ready for editing.
Benefits of using an editorial calendar
Here are three benefits of using an editorial calendar for your business’s content marketing efforts:
Plan strategically
A content strategy is your roadmap for how content can help you achieve your business goals. An editorial calendar breaks down that strategy into actionable steps. By planning ahead, you don’t have to create content last minute and your team knows what they should aim to create at any given moment.
Work efficiently
A tight, transparent process captured in an editorial calendar can help everyone on your team work more efficiently. When statuses and responsibilities are easy to see, it creates greater accountability for everyone. It also makes communication easier and faster because everyone can access the details for each piece of content. The most advanced editorial calendars also empower people to manage their own responsibilities and even communicate and tag team members within the tool.
Publish consistently
Without a calendar, it’s difficult to stick to a consistent posting schedule for your social media, blog, or newsletter. When you tie your content to deadlines, you’re more likely to post regularly.
How to create an editorial calendar
- Consider your content strategy
- Determine your steps
- Choose your editorial calendar type
- Pick your channels
- Assign roles
- Update regularly
- Track engagement
Here are seven steps to follow when creating and using editorial calendars:
1. Consider your content strategy
A content strategy lays out how you’ll use content to reach your goals. Before you organize your editorial calendar, refer to your content strategy to guide everything from the topics you’ll cover to posting frequency to promotional channels.
2. Determine your steps
Generate an outline of your step-by-step process for creating each of your content types and turn each into a status. Anything that defines a piece of your content deserves a spot on the calendar. For example, while the publish date is important, so are due dates for first drafts. Your process for a blog post may look like this:
I. Assign to writer
II. Edit first draft
III. Fact check
IV. Add visuals
V. Final approval
VI. Upload to CMS
VII. Publish
3. Choose your editorial calendar type
Decide what type of editorial calendar works best for your business. For example, if you have many details to track, you might use a project management tool. If you plan to publish sporadically, a spreadsheet may be plenty for the job.
4. Pick your channels
Three of the main marketing channels for your business are likely your website, email, and social media. Account for every place you wish to distribute your content so that you’re tailoring content for each. For example, if you use X and Instagram, you might post about the same topic, but your approach to that topic might differ according to the platform.
5. Assign roles
Assigning roles ensures everyone knows their responsibilities. You can include a variety of roles, such as writer, editor, reviewer, approver, and artist.
6. Update regularly
An editorial calendar is only useful if it’s up to date. For example, if you schedule a social media post but forget to change the status on your calendar, someone else on your team might try to schedule the same piece.
Update your calendar every time there’s a change so it can remain the source of truth for your team.
7. Track engagement
After you publish a piece of content, you might not give it any further thought, but this is the most important step: analysis. How readers engage with your written content or how followers react to your social media content is invaluable data that can shape your future strategy. Adding performance information from tools like Google Analytics to your calendar can help you evaluate where you can improve.
Editorial calendar FAQ
Who uses editorial calendars?
Editorial calendars are useful for any organization creating content, from print media like magazines to an online beauty brand that posts on its blog and social media.
How do you create an effective editorial calendar?
To create an effective editorial calendar, consider your content strategy, determine the steps that go into creating each piece from start to finish, choose the editorial calendar type that works best for your team, and assign roles. Once you create your calendar, update it frequently and track engagement on published posts.
What is the difference between an editorial calendar and a content strategy?
An editorial calendar visualizes your content schedule across your owned media; a content strategy is your roadmap for using content to achieve your business goals. An editorial calendar helps you plan how to execute your content strategy.
