How to evolve your editorial calendar

We need to reimagine editorial calendars.

Planning matters. A lot. A good editorial calendar can be the GPS for your content strategy, map out how to serve your audience, and align teams.

But editorial calendars can also feel too confining -- how can we be nimble and responsive to audiences when we're deciding, sometimes far in advance, our content plan?

The key is updating how you approach editorial planning.

Start with audience data.

• What’s your audience talking about? What do they care about?
• Lurk in their communities, analyze behavior, and uncover what drives them.

Align with your organization’s goals.

• Take into consideration your brand’s growth goals, major moments – launches, events – and more specific business challenges, like persistent sales pain points.
• Know your brand’s vibe and value. Then, figure out how to connect those dots with what your audience wants.

Filter ideas through your formats.

• Brainstorm ideas within your signature content types—Q&As, explainers, infographics—with a small team.
• Lay out your ideas and the justification for them.

Present choices.

• Share ideas with your larger team, explain why they’re valuable, and get input.
• Refine together – debate and decide what to move forward with.

Plan frequently.

• Monthly or quarterly sessions help you adjust for demand and resources.

Make it transparent.

• Share your plan—and the reasoning behind it—with everyone in your organization.

👉 Want a walkthrough of our content planning presentation template? Reply to this email to schedule 20 minutes with me.

KRYSTLE KOPACZ CEO, Revmade krystle@revmade.com

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P.S. On Monday at 2 p.m., I’m hosting a small meeting about content monetization strategies and presenting fresh ideas for publishers and associations. If you want in, let me know!