Your Editorial Calendar doesn’t need to feel like a set of creativity-handcuffs.

It should feel like a comforting & inspiring guideline. One that allows you to be more creative. Not stifled & uninspired.

I’m an idea machine. I’ve always been a “creative person,” whatever that means, & I operated under the assumption for a long time that being creative meant that ideas should simply come to me – without any forethought or planning.

Spontaneously! And covered in fairy dust…

But like my youngest daughter realized with all kinds of sadness at the age of 6 (that’s a story for another day), fairies don’t actually exist. And if they do? They aren’t carrying inspiration to me on gossamer wings.

It’s up to me to make sure that my ideas are ready when I need them to be & when my Reader (that’s you!) wants to hear about them.

Because sometimes I come up with an AMAZING idea about copywriting for your website in September, but we’re busy talking about blogging, so it won’t fit right now. I don’t want to lose that amazing idea, but I want to make sure that it makes sense in the greater conversation we’re having too.

I always say that blogging is a conversation.

If that’s the case, I’d rather not change the subject so much that you can’t remember what we’re talking about, but I’d also rather not tell you all kinds of boring stories about my new coffee maker, if you’re not into that.

So I have an editorial calendar to keep me on track with our ongoing-chats. And I am so thankful for it. I built it about a year ago, & it is hanging on my wall behind my desk still – to keep me on topic.

But it’s also flexible.

Because I can’t handle commitment! I need to know that I can share an important thing with you if something changes in my business – or in your lives – without destroying hours & hours of planning.

So we don’t do the hours & hours of planning, & we make the calendar easy to change around!

Win – Win!

Here’s my simple 3 step process to flexible editorial planning:

1. Get to know your Year.

Look at what the year will look like, so that you can plan ahead with the real world in mind. Grab a calendar (or draw one if you’re into that) & start jotting down some important dates.

• Does your Industry have any trends or shifts, based on the seasons?
• Does your Reader have important events or timelines that she will want to be talking about at different times throughout the year?
• What’s happening in your business during the year? Do you have launches or events planned ahead?
• Your own life. Yup. Your life matters too, kitten. Take a damn vacation.

2 . Decide on some Series ideas.

These are the big rocks you want to place into your jar first, so that they’re sure to fit where you want them (I wrote about Series & Segments a few weeks ago). I usually reserve 4-6 posts in a row for an in-depth Series.

• A blog Series covers a topic that is really important to you & your Reader. It’s like the long, late-night conversations you have with a close friend: lots of important stuff gets covered & you connect in a big way.
• These Series should cover topics that will help your Reader overcome resistance, warm up for a product launch or see your unique value & expertise.
• I think of them as pre-requisites too – like the basic sewing class you need to take before you start a fancy textile design class. The information I give you in my different Blog Series is information you need before we work together on big stuff.
• It’s about education & empowering your Reader to make changes in her life for the better.

3. And finally? Drop in some Segments.

These stand-alone posts are the pebbles you can pour into your calendar, around the big rocks. They’ll fill in holes & give your Reader a break between the bigger & deeper conversations.

• A Segment is a fun post that doesn’t need to have all of the background & forethought of a Series. It’s like the quick (but oh-so important) coffee-dates you have with your friends: light & fun & just as important as the meaning-of-life talks.
• These Segments should cover topics that are related to your relationship with your readers & the problem of theirs you solve (yes you solve a problem – even if you “just” create cute things…stop saying, “just” about your art though, by the way. That’s not cool).
• I think of them as electives. Your readers have a significant interest in this other thing & it relates nicely to your message & the reason they come to you, but it’s not as much about your expertise & teaching.
• It’s about fun! Because fun is a reason.

Pretty clever, huh?

The best part of this kind of planning is that it is all about building that conversation in a genuine way – like you would with a friend – and still making sure that you are offering effective & helpful information to your Reader when she will most need it.

And you can change things around if you need to – or if your inspiration fairy arrives with THE BEST POST EVER while you sleep, or if something happens in your life, your Reader’s life or your industry that needs addressing.

Those Segments can be moved around outside the times you’ve blocked off for important Series, based on what you feel works best at the time, & your Series can be built out & planned in more detail, closer to the actual publishing date, to keep them relevant.

Do you want to learn more about building great Series or you struggle to come up with great Segment ideas & topics? Stay tuned, because I’m creating something delicious just for you!

And in the meantime? Continue to Blog Your Voice with confidence. Your readers are waiting.

xo

Kris