Happy New Year! Starting a new year means (or at least used to mean, pre-digital days) hanging up a new calendar. Each month featured a different seasonally-appropriate photo of pumpkins, tulips, snow-capped mountains etc. This got me thinking about editorial calendars and I was surprised to read this post from my friend Joe Pulizzi at the Content Marketing Institute that points many marketers don’t use an editorial calendar. WOW! Not only do editorial calendars keep you focused on developing and curating content that’s relevant to your audience, you can use the calendar to tie content to seasonal terms that pop up in search. During last year’s Content Marketing World I learned Kraft Foods religiously plans their editorial offerings tied to what people are likely to each each season (it’s no surprise that low-calorie foods are a hit this time of year!).

So, whether you prefer the paper calendar with pictures of cute kitties throughout the season, use something digital or scrawl something on a hotel notepad, make editorial planning a New Years resolution you keep. Look at what’s coming up during the year (trade shows, events, etc) and set those as your anchors. Then look ways you can tie your content to seasonal events. Naturally, that is more appropriate in some industries than others. I certainly can go on, but I recommend you read this post from Copyblogger to get a good primer on planning.

Still need help? Contact me! I’d be happy to lead your team in a planning session!