How do you build a useful editorial calendar?

Ready to plan your content for 2023? An editorial calendar is the tool that organizes and manages what you publish on blogs, social networks, or newsletters.

Whether you live in Excel, Trello, or Google Sheets, this guide will help you build your own editorial calendar. More than a simple schedule, it becomes the ally that keeps you on target on social media.

Illustration: calendrier editorial

What is an editorial calendar? Definition

The editorial calendar is a content planning and management tool used to organize the production, publication, and promotion of content across channels such as blogs, newsletters, social networks, and more.

This visual schedule details the creation, publication, and promotion process, so content marketing teams can anticipate production and distribution. It gives a global view of upcoming publications and keeps publishing regular.

Benefits of an editorial calendar: why build one?

The editorial schedule is one of the fixtures of a content marketing strategy, and for good reason. First, the editorial calendar improves your productivity by letting you plan and batch content production ahead of time.

It also gives you a full view of your content strategy, which makes it easier to connect your channels, whether those are blogs, social networks, or newsletters.

It also gives you visibility into the work, so you can spot gaps early and organize the team’s time.

In short, an editorial calendar for a blog is a useful tool to:

Keep a regular publishing cadence
Anticipate content needs
Plan articles around events
Keep topics consistent
Align blog content with the communication strategy

Get more from your editorial calendar with Semji

Our platform includes an editorial planner that holds useful information such as:

Content status;
The primary keyword the content is targeting;
Monthly search volume for that primary keyword;
The writer.

Once you have planned the calendar, you still need to track performance. That is where Semji’s Content Score earns its keep.

Our SEO performance indicator scores each piece of content out of 100 against precise criteria: keyword density, structure, links, and more. You immediately see the strengths and the SEO gaps in your drafts.

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Building an editorial schedule for a blog

What information belongs in an editorial calendar?

To get the full value of an editorial calendar, you need to include a set of required fields, such as:

Content format: blog article, social post, newsletter, and so on.
Publication date: so you can see what needs to be prepared, and when.
Keywords: to support organic search.
People involved: so you know who owns what.
Goals: for each piece, define the results you expect.

Only with all of that data can you actually run a content marketing strategy.

How do you create a publishing calendar for a blog?

In practice, to build a good editorial calendar for a blog, start by identifying the types of topics that interest your audience and fit your editorial line. Then set the publishing frequency that works for your blog. That frequency depends on your resources and your audience.

The editorial calendar rests on 3 parts:

The schedule: a timeline for each article, including drafting, review, finalization, and publication dates.
Tools: that can be a planner built into a solution such as Semji, or a simple Google Sheets calendar, Trello, or an Excel file to organize and visualize the calendar.
Collaboration: If you work as a team, make sure every stakeholder can access the calendar and understands their responsibilities.

Remember to review article performance regularly so you can refine the calendar and the content strategy.

Example of an editorial calendar for a blog

To show how an editorial calendar works for a blog, take a site focused on health and wellness. Here is a sample plan for the first 4 months of the year. Lean on seasonality so the articles match what is happening.

January: start the year with articles on New Year health and fitness resolutions.
February: focus on healthy Valentine’s Day recipes and heart-health tips for Heart Health Month.
March: plan articles on a spring clean for mental and physical health.
April: focus on fitness tips to get ready for summer.

Treat this calendar as flexible and adjust it from audience feedback and current trends.

Online tools to build a blog editorial calendar

Several online tools offer features that make a blog editorial calendar easier to build. Project-management tools such as Trello or Asana let you create tracking boards with a card for each planned blog article. They also let you assign tasks to the editorial team and follow progress in real time.

Spreadsheet tools such as Google Sheets or Excel are also widely used for their simplicity and flexibility. You can build tables with columns for the article title, publication date, status, author, and more.

More specialized tools such as Semji add advanced editorial-calendar features: post scheduling, SEO tracking, or integration with other digital marketing tools.

It is worth testing several tools to find the one that matches how you work.

Planning content for 2024 with an editorial calendar

To plan 2024 content well, you need to account for several things. First, set a time frame for the content. That can include key dates, specific events, or periods of the year when you want a stronger online presence. Then map your available resources: time, budget, team skills, and so on. Finally, use planning tools such as Semji, Trello, Asana, or Google Sheets to organize publications and track progress.

Time frame: key dates, events, periods of the year;
Available resources: time, budget, skills;
Planning tools: Semji, Trello, Asana, Google Sheets.

Leave flexibility in the editorial calendar. Trends move fast, especially on social media, and you need to be able to adapt. The Kanban method is one way to manage that flexibility.

You also need to watch competitors and market trends so the content stays relevant and engaging.

Finally, do not skip analysis. Use analytics tools to judge how the content is performing and adjust the strategy from there.

Tips to get more from an editorial calendar

For a better editorial calendar, consider these tips:

Adapt the calendar to your needs: every company is different. Shape the calendar around your content types, channels, and publishing rhythm.
Leave room to flex: an editorial calendar is not fixed. It should be flexible enough for surprises, new trends, or audience feedback.
Include every relevant detail: beyond the date and topic, add the content format, keywords to use, distribution channels, and so on.
Use project-management tools: tools such as Trello or Asana make the calendar easier to run, especially in a team.
Analyze and adjust: use analytics tools to judge performance and adjust the strategy.

Optimize your content and your visibility with Semji

Semji is an end-to-end solution for designing and planning your content, and for making sure that content can rank in search engines.

With AI-backed features, Semji supports you at every step: from writing content that lands to ranking it in the SERPs, so your audience and Google can find you.

With our Content Ideas feature, get a large set of suggestions in one click to become the reference site in your field. Analyze the keywords your competitors use, their search volumes, and their performance. Identify the strategic terms to work into your articles.