As a PR professional, part of my job is to review the Editorial Calendars — or EditCals — of major publications in search of coverage opportunities for my client. While not all publications plan and publish their editorial calendars, the ones that you are probably interested in covering your business do. (Check out what Fortune is planning here.)
An editorial calendar is exactly what it sounds like: a calendar that spells out when certain editorial topics are going to be covered. Sometimes it is as simple as a monthly theme (in November we will cover Open Source Technology) and sometimes it is much more complex and detailed.
If you (or your business) publishes any content on a regular basis then you could also benefit from creating and managing to an editorial calendar. Don’t just think of your corporate newsletter or magazine, anything that comes out in your news stream could me mapped to and detailed in that calendar: your newsletter, your direct mail campaigns, your display advertising, your email blasts and even your your blog entries.
Why?
Because it is much easier to plan when you have a forecast that spells out when things are going to happen. In addition, repetition is good. It is that simple. Killing yourself (or your marketing department) trying to come up with new and fresh ideas for each individual marketing project is not only futile but is wasteful. Instead if you can dedicate an entire month or perhaps an entire quarter to a single focus then you can be certain that your target audience will receive the message, even if they aren’t making a conscientious effort to listen.
Break through the noise. Be purposeful in your content. Think strategically and put it down in ink.