Sometimes, you just have to take it old-school. 2011 is going to be a very busy, content-driven year. I’ll be writing Help Desk tutorials, ebooks, recording video tutorials, webinars, writing blog posts (both here and at Diverse Solutions), recording podcasts and more. The goal is this:
- 3 blog posts per week on the company blog,
- 2 (at minimum) blog posts per week here,
- Ongoing tutorials, webinars and video recordings,
Why not keep it digital?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Google Apps and I love that my calendar syncs with my blackberry and all that magical stuff. But I’m always running around. I don’t always carry the laptop with me. And I love stopping by Barnes & Noble on my way home from work. Having a post-it note and my calendar to jot down a blog post idea is the most useful thing ever!
For the most part, I’m a visual person. I keep the calendar in plain view next to my dual monitors and I’m always planning the days/weeks ahead. What if I mess up and I need to erase something? Simple, I just move the post-it note from one day to the next 🙂 But writing it out almost sorta sets it in stone for me. Basically, it’s my way of forcing myself and keeping myself accountable.
Will it work? I don’t know. The New Year kicks off next week. So far, I’m on schedule. But I’d also like to get a week ahead if not more.
What does your editorial calendar look like?
How do you write out your editorial calendar? Do you use Google Calendar? Do you even have an editorial calendar? How do you plan out what your going to write about next?
I don't have one yet, but I plan to make one as I figure more things out. 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration.
Jenny: You more than anyone I know strikes me as the type of person that is always around on some adventure and maybe doesn't always have a laptop handy. I use my blackberry to jot down notes when a blog post idea strikes. Usually for me, it starts with a title. Then sometimes, I forget to go back and check my notes, heh.
Having this big fat DayMinder lets me write things out and spread them out visually. And I always have it on me.
Maybe you don't need a big calendar like this, but carry a smaller notepad and pend and keep it handy. Either way, I think you do a phenomenal job of staying consistent and managing your growing community!
Happy New Year!!
I usually have notes on a thousand different pieces of paper. Lately I have a big word file with all my ideas. Need to get a bit more organized since I'll be mobile from now on. LIkely end up with a moleskin to carry around.
The problem with me is that I stopped carrying my laptop around so I don't have access to that Word Doc or Google Docs on the road. I use the notepad feature on my Blackberry and that works well enough.
Tell you what though, those moleskin's sure are sexy! Definitely a good place to jot down notes and ideas for new content. Riddled with chicken scratch, notes for post titles and filled with post-it notes here and there 🙂
Good luck on the travels and Happy New Year!!
Great post, Ricardo! I have an editorial calendar for 2011 with very specific ideas for the first quarter on five platforms.
I also prepared a sample editorial calendar for niche marketing HUD Homes that is part of an online class I am getting ready to launch. I was a magazine editor for years in NYC before I went into real estate. You are the first person I've heard talk about editorial calendars outside of my media sphere. Nice job!
Today's project is a Kindle product … I'm determined to lunch it this year … not much time left. Back to work!
Frances: Great work! You're making me feel like I'm way behind 😛
I think editorial calendars are completely useful for new bloggers. Most people undermine it's usefulness. But I've always said it, consistency matters. The success of your blog is dependent on your ability to develop fresh new content consistently.
Thanks for dropping in and for the comment 🙂
Happy New Year Frances!! Cheers to a great (and productive) 2011!
Yay! I just set up a calendar for my two blogs. It's nothing like this but I'll be using Evernote since the iPhone stays pretty close to me anyway vs a journal but wow, best of luck to you!
w00t w00t! Way to get organized Suki. It really does feel good when you have topic ideas calendared a couple of weeks out.
I use my blackberry to take notes when I'm out. But having my calendar this way and my moleskine notebook ensures that I cut out any and all distractions (*ahem* Twitter *ahem*). As long as you're calendaring things, no matter what your system, your making progress 😉
Wow, Moleskin makes planners? I always see their notebooks and like the look and feel. Where did you get yours?
No, it's just a regular day planner from Staples. But I do also have a moleskin notebook that I use to jot down random notes/thoughts.
I stopped lugging the laptop around and carry the moleskine notebook with me everywhere. I find that I have less distractions and more ideas written down and thought out as a result. Totally effective!
My circumstance is very different, but we have a strict and detailed editorial calendar for the entire year. Daily news is categorized as “X number of news stories every Wednesday” and so on. We revise it quarterly, but now have it down to a pretty exact science. Some articles are daily, others weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually and so on and so forth.
We host it on Google Docs so all staff can see it. But on a scaled down version, I think an editorial calendar is useful for any real estate content producer even if it's just a weekly post!
Lani: You know, as I think back to the early days of AgentGenius, it's amazing to see how far along things have some along (and grown). I'm sure growing that community (feeding it with content, etc.) has been quite the process and learning experience!
I haven't gotten as far as laying things out for the entire year. I'm in that “learning experience” phase where I'm trying to identify “X” number of a certain type of post daily, weekly, etc. You know, the way you've categorized it as in your comment above.
I do have a simple Google Docs account at DS. No one's forced to contribute, but they can if they wish to. Just give us the Title, (client question), etc. and put your initials next to it along with any other notes.
I haven't really committed myself to an editorial calendar before. At least not like this where I'm writing things out a month in advance. But I agree, it's totally helpful (for a team, a business, and or the individual agent) even if you are writing only a blog post per week! It's a great way to lay out ideas, and hold yourself accountable.
Thanks for the comment Lani!
Now how about publishing that AgentGenius time-line from your first post to where you are today, design and all 🙂