This week, the members of Windy City Bloggers were discussing Content Calendars. Content Calendars are an extremely useful tool to help you stay on top of your blog & postings!
The chat started off with the members answering “True or False: I can’t live without my Content Calendar!” The members’ love for their Content Calendars is pretty clear.
After expressing their love for their content calendars, the members dove into discussing what format their calendars were in.Find some of the answers below!
Once the formatting of your content calendar is sorted out, what type of information do you include? See some of our members answers below to decide what type of information to include in your content calendar.
Not everyone uses or has started to use a content calendar! If you haven’t started, there’s no time like the present to begin! However, you can start anything your little heart desires, it is a matter of sticking to your content calendar to really see an improvement in your blogging endeavors. The members shared when they started their calendars and how closely they follow them.
As for posting content and posts to your blog, our members shared how often they post. They number of posts ranged from 1-5 times per week. What it really depends on is your schedule, the content and the quality of that content. As Justin Parker pointed out, you don’t want to sacrifice quality for quantity!
Along with posting comes sponsored posts. For the members who write sponsored posts, the number of posts range from one time per month to six. When dealing with sponsored posts, it is vital to ensure that the content and message sent to your readers align with your blog, your values and your niche! Just because something is sponsored doesn’t mean you have to, or should, do it! If you’re not sure how to go about starting to post sponsored content, read up on the recap of #wcbcchat that has to do with pitching yourself and your blog/brand to companies!
The timeline of sponsored posts can vary. This means that there is potential for scheduling conflicts. Across the board, our members stressed how important it is to leave yourself that “wiggle room” in your content calendar. You never want to spread yourself too thin! Remember, it is ok to say “no” and you can’t sacrifice quality for quantity!
Sponsored post or not, everyone at one point in their blogging career has ran into writer’s block. I (Katie Kelly) for sure have (multiple times), gotten a pot of coffee in my system and I have content for weeks. Our members shared how their content calendars help combat with their writer’s block, whenever it may strike.
Per usual, our members were asked what they were going to do this week to make their blog better. As I say every week, get inspired and make your blog the best it can be this week! Join us Monday 2/22 at 7pm cst for another #WCBCChat. Below you’ll find some additional links to help you create your own content calendar!
How to Use a Content Calendar – Windy City Bloggers
The Best Editorial Calendar for Bloggers – The Fox and She
The Complete Guide to Choosing a Content Calendar – Buffer Blog
Free Templates – Hubspot