Blogging goes beyond writing a post and hitting the “publish” button. Content creation is a more curated project within itself. Growing an audience through consistent content publishing requires careful thought and consideration of what your readers want to get out of reading your blog posts.
Here are the reasons why every blogger should create a content calendar. We also have tips and tricks for creating an effective one for your blog.
Sets Content Goals
Every blog has a special niche. While it may fall under a larger umbrella within an industry, it may be dedicated to a specific group within that broader scope. Content calendars develop clear goals on how and what a blog communicates to its audience.
For example, blogs on casino platforms may discuss what players can experience when trying certain experiences like baccarat online at NetBet. First-time casino players aren’t going to know all the rules and what to expect, so blog content is a great introductory activity before they start playing.
Casino blogs can explain basic rules on playing different casino games and what to expect when you take particular actions within them. What happens when you bet on all the numbers on the roulette wheel? How does switching slot machines boost your play strategy? All of these questions and more can be answered on a casino blog.
Helps With Time Management
Blogging takes time, dedication, and patience. Every content creator should prioritize time management so that enough time is dedicated to brainstorming, writing, editing, and social media outreach.
Improves Content Quality
Rather than writing a last-minute article, planning content enhances quality. You can give yourself more time to research, edit, and fine-tune your posts. Integrating a few internal links and a couple of trusted external links boosts your blog’s position on search engines when readers type in related keywords.
How To Build a Strong Blog Content Calendar
Building a strong content calendar involves selecting the right tools, choosing posting dates, and categorizing content accordingly.
Pick Your Planning Tools
There are many free-to-use tools you can utilize to reduce your marketing spend. Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel are great for mapping content pillars and making a post schedule. Trello can help you do content mapping for each blog post you plan to write.
Select a Consistent Posting Schedule
Posting a blog at least once a week and consistently building your blog audience. However, you can post as much as you’d like. Choose which days you want to publish blog posts and consistently deliver at least one for each of those scheduled dates.
Choose Content Categories
Break up your blog into at least 3-5 content categories. First-time readers can easily navigate your prior posts by clicking on a category. For example, a casino blog may separate their content by game including roulette, baccarat, slots, craps, and blackjack.
Brainstorm Post Ideas
Think about what your audience wishes to read. Develop seasonal, evergreen, and trending news topics based on these observations to increase blog traffic.
A casino blog may write about trending news topics on developments in their local industry. They can also write definitive guides for first-time players to learn how to play their most popular titles.
Map Out Your Ideas
For each day you want to post, map it out on your chosen planning tool. Make a table that has the following categories:
- The post title
- Target date for publishing
- Primary and secondary keywords to use
- Notes and resources
- The current status (idea, writing, editing, publishing).