Editorial-Calendar

If you are a blogger with a busy life, you know how important it is to have some sort of calendar. In Blogging 201, we were recently assigned the task to use our blog stats to set up a 30-day editorial calendar.

My stats show certain days are better for publishing posts. This may show different results for different bloggers. The stats can reveal a lot about your best posts, best times and best days to publish. If you use WordPress, the stats page is built in and easy to understand.

After several publishing schedules over the last year, I found that my best days to publish are Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays. Not only do my stats reveal this to be true, my life and schedule work best around these days.

sticky-notes-stock-photo
Is this you?

Creating an editorial calendar for blog posts may seem daunting to some folks. One may ask, “Why do I need a calendar? I just post on my blog when the feeling moves me.” Or, “I am not organized enough. If I try to keep a calendar I’ll just lose it or forget to write in it.”

If you fall into this category, then embrace that and go with the flow. That is your choice.

Being an organized and a time-oriented person, I cannot exist without a planner of some sort. I have tried a variety of digital calendars view-able on my phone, a try at “something”-note, and a good, old-fashioned notebook planner. Guess, what? I like the notebook planner. Above, the featured post shows an example page I used to illustrate my planner.

My blog’s “About Me”page explains what I blog about.

Here is the editorial calendar to which I adhere:
Sundays: Weekend Coffee Share
Mondays: A general post or a submission to a photo challenge*
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: No posts. On these days I still read others’ blogs via e-mail. I also spend some time on social media and link parties promoting my posts.
Thursdays: This is the day I focus on my Leisurely Thursdays feature and my link-up The Leisure Link. The Leisure Link restarts in October!
Fridays: Weekly Photo Challenge*. This is usually my best day for posts. I love photography and taking part in these challenges.
Saturday: No posts. Everyone needs a day off.

I still allow room for a random post if inspiration strikes me, like today’s post for Blogging 201.

*Images. I asterisked this because it takes time to create your own images. My post, How to Get 500+ Followers: 3 Reasons to Use Images On Your Blog was featured on Janice’s Mostly Blogging. Several bloggers commented that they found this information helpful! Be sure to plan your time accordingly. It takes me an average of two-three hours to write and prepare a blog post with an image.

I also schedule most of my posts ahead of time. I prefer to schedule my posts to publish at 6:00am Pacific time as I have readers all over the world.

For more, detailed information, visit WordPress’ article on editorial calendars. 

Blogging takes time and organization. If you are new to the wonderful world of blogging, consider the time you have and what you want to write about. It is time well spent.

Published by Terri Webster Schrandt

Now retired, I am former university adjunct faculty, self-published author, and retired recreation and parks practitioner living in Eastern Washington State near the Idaho border. Second Wind Leisure Perspectives is my blog about living a leisure lifestyle that includes fitness, photography, and fun.

52 thoughts on “What’s On My Editorial Calendar?”

  6. Before the summer I knew where and what I was posting each day. I have since lost my way and apart from the weekend coffee share. I’m going to work on adding another posting day into my calendar today.

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  7. Great to hear that you’ve found what has worked for you.

    I’ve been blogging for 3 years and not found the golden nugget yet for me. So many variables such as the type of article, time of promotion through social media, content, length, connections, hot topics in your niche and even time of year (holidays suck).

    Ultimately if my posts are still being read 6-12 months later I am happy.

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  8. Have always considered these courses, but wasn’t sure I could do it with my 2 job lifestyle. Often stuff will come up with 1 job that requires my immediate attention, and other stuff will have is relegated to the backburner.

    But that is really interesting what you mention about 6:00AM Pacific Time, which would make it 9:00 AM my time. I might try that sometime! 🙂

    Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    ~Carl~

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  10. I’m trying to get more organised with my blog. I’m not generally good with statistics and things like that, but I’m at least trying t post regularly. I envy those who can work through all that stuff and make sense of it!

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  12. Nice article, and a good reminder to me too. I have made several attempts at editorial calendars, and these have helped when I did them. However, they tended to only last for a while, and I failed to keep it going. Maybe I should have taken Blogging 201 again to jump start some of these topics.

    I think it helps that you keep it simple. I want to maintain a digital calendar, but sometimes the blog stuff gets lost in all the rest. So maybe a paper calendar might be worth trying for a while. In fact, one time I did print out blank monthly calendar sheets and wrote my blog schedule on them, and that actually worked fairly well.

    I agree that the stats provide useful information that can help determine a more effective calendar and give your blog some focus. Also scheduling posts is really helpful, but I don’t always do that. Thinking about days and time for posting is another good tip. I will see if I can get this going for October.

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    1. Thanks for the supportive comments, Doug! that sounds like a good plan. I wonder if WordPress will have another Photography 101 or something similar? Hope to ee some more posts soon. AS I am typing this I am listening to Spotify with some beautiful solo piano music I downloaded from one of your posts 🙂 (Kathryn Kaye)

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      1. I would be interested in another photography class too. I’ve fallen a little behind in Writing 101 this week, so it’s probably good that I didn’t also signup for Blogging 201 at the same time. I’m so glad that you enjoy my music posts.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. When I worked in business, I was trained in time management, so got used to having a calendar, a schedule if you will. The trick often is to realize that it is a guide, not carved in stone. There will always be occasions where something becomes more of a priority. That said, I couldn’t function without the structure (and it still doesn’t always mean that I get done what I want!)
    I too was interested in your posting time of 6:00am Pacific. Having just moved back to the West Coast I may try that, as I am lost. In the Atlantic time zone I was ahead of most of N. America and not too far behind most of Europe – easy!
    Thanks for the useful info!

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  17. Thank you Terri. I was just sitting down to start a blog/editorial calendar and there you were. Thanks for the information. Keep up the good work and I’ll check back to see what else I may need. Hugs and Blessings Susie

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  18. I can’t live without my calendar for everyday life, and I am in the process of learning to use an editorial calendar. I think once I get the hang of it, I will feel I can’t live without it, too! Like you, I have tried so many methods, electronic and paper. Right now I am simply printing out my each month of my regular calendar and using color coded (coded by category and topic) sticky notes to plan the posts. This enables me to see what I have going on that would make a great blog post, and also helps me plan when I will actually get the writing done. If I plan to post on Friday, but can see at a glance that I am busy teaching all day Wednesday and Thursday, I had better block out a chunk of time earlier in the week! Using sticky notes also allows me to easily move the unpublished posts around the schedule if something more time-sensitive arises. Thanks for the encouragement to get more disciplined with my calendar! And thanks for entering this pin in The Pinterest Game! Good luck!

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  19. Hi Terri, I really needed this post! At the moment I am all over the shop and am not spending the quality time with my husband I thought I would be. I will definitely be using your advice so thank you so much for your generosity and sharing with us at #AnythingGoes link up. Have a great week!

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  20. Some great advice there. I think I need to start a diary of when to do things with my blog. I do have a publication schedule but I’m forever changing it because I haven’t done something or other for a particular post.

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    1. When I retired last December and challenged myself to write a post every day, I literally made a running list in the older calendar pages to help myself keep track. Just knowing which days I’m posting and what, helps me stay accountable and focused! Thanks for your lovely comment!

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  21. Pingback: What’s On My Editorial Calendar? | S'mores & Sundresses

  22. I love having a calendar, I know what day I’m posting and on what topic, I tie this in with the linkups I post in so that I have something for the linkups that refer me the most people. It all works on a schedule and I would be out of my mind without it. I think the Editorial Calendar makes me more creative, my subconscious is always thinking about what’s next! Great post.

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  24. Only recently I realized I needed time off from blogging too.
    I like all things about it so much I was overdoing it (while I should have been resting instead).
    Learned the hard way, but better late than never.
    Thanks for sharing it on #tiptuesday.

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  27. Clearly your editorial planning is paying off. I’ve gotten as far as keeping a list of topics to blog on, on a virtual sheet of paper on the desktop. The trouble is, the more I write, the more people visit, and the more people there are to visit. Time has become a big issue. Then again, the more posts happen, the faster, and better the process goes. Will reconsider my once-a-week post on each of two blogs, which have, admittedly, uneven results, and will take to heart your post above. Cheers and thanks —

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  28. Hi Terry!
    Thanks so much for the mention! I think a lot of people could use your idea for a blogging schedule.
    My stats only tell me Saturday is best day for me to publish. How did you find out many days were for you? Thanks for bringing this to the Inspire Me Monday linky party last week.
    Janice

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  30. Pingback: 5 Key Items I Need in My Planner: Choices Notebook Review | Perspectives On....
  31. Pingback: Summer Editorial Calendar Round-Up: Choosing the Right Calendar/Planner | Second Wind Leisure Perspectives

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