The deadlines are nearing. The clock is ticking. You are stressed about what to do next and feel absolutely helpless about it. Or worse, you may be suffering from blogger's block. (If only you had a content calendar)

So, the immediate reaction would be for you to surf the internet for hours looking for ideas and inspiration for your next blog post eventually getting exhausted and all your efforts go in vain. If this phase keeps on, you will for sure end up losing your passion for blogging and begin treating it like a chore.

Wondering, what happened? How did you end up in such a situation? First of all, you are not alone. Many bloggers have been in a state where they used to be brimming with ideas at all times, but sometimes it’s even difficult to pick a topic to write on.

This leads to a chain of problems, like the inconsistency of content, not enough time for writing, being burdened with what to write next, etc.

Even though you still have the drive in you to produce stellar content, you feel yourself lagging somewhere in the process.

The only way to get out of this ordeal is to plan. Many a time, people come up with a content calendar that would work wonders if followed properly but they often end up doing the opposite.

Create a content calendar by starting with a content plan. It is the central hub for tracking your progress. If you can make your work much easier and hassle-free then why not?

Here are 6 reasons why a content calendar can help you grow your blog.

 

Brings Discipline to Your Writing

A content calendar is a powerful tool you can leverage to build your blog, giving an outline to your blogging journey.

In life, everyone has a plan for something or the other, more or less like a road map of our short-term goals, long-term goals, etc. This helps us work accordingly every day to achieve and take a step closer to our goals. Similarly, having a content calendar means you know what you have to do next regarding your path to achieving your blogging goals. Thus, it will be easy to maintain consistency, and keep up with your plans thereby improving your efficiency and time management.

As a result, writing becomes easier and faster, resulting in less stress.

The content calendar provides flexibility

When it comes to the content calendar, looking a year in advance and planning ahead will help you get a clear view of your idea. It also gives you space and time to adjust your content based on current trends and topics that catch your interest. Or you have the option to leave some open ends so that you could put up something that is trending later on. Having a flexible calendar will make it more functional. This way you could provide content that is rather trending and engaging for your audience too.

Time to review and research

While writing about something new or a topic that requires a lot more research, having a content calendar will help to divide your time and plan accordingly so that you can publish your blog at the right time. It may seem easy at first but as you start your research it would easily take up to hours until you come up with just the right flow of an article. You don’t want to provide wrong information to your audience and lose your credibility.

Also, take your time to study your audience, do a small study on what type of content they like the most, which blog posts of yours get more engagement, what kind of posts gets you a newer audience, etc. Preparing your content calendar beforehand based on this insight drives more traffic to your blog.

Optimize your content marketing strategy

If you want to bring in more traffic, then a content strategy is a must-have. And that can’t be done through a single channel. You have to leverage different social media channels by distributing relevant content to your target audience. Improve conversations and build trust which will in turn allow you to connect with them. To do so, you need a strategy to map out your plan. A content calendar will help you keep your work organized, and will enable you to visualize your idea well in advance.

This way there will be no room for any glitches.

Everything is at a glance away

Preparing a content calendar is like having instant food, everything is already prepared, you just have to heat it. Same way, you can pre-plan a week or months’ worth of content for your blog -which is indeed a big accomplishment. In that case, you just need to take a glance to identify where your content is lagging, where you have to work more, what you have to work on next, or if anything is repetitive or boring.

For example, if you are a fashion blogger and you have planned celebrity-inspired looks for 3 consecutive days, then you can add a different topic in between like the magic of colour coordination to create a balance in your blog.

There is Always a Plan B

As a blogger, there might be a time when you would not be interested in writing about a particular topic. It is not sunshine and roses every day, you might have a bad day too. So, having a backup plan will save you from breaking free from monotony.

And moreover, if you have a plan B, you could be stress-free, not worrying about your blog’s engagement. This will also give you the confidence to move forward with your first choice confidently.

For instance, if you can’t write about a topic for this week then you could go with the next week’s topic and alternate between them. With a content calendar, you don’t have to wreck your brain for a new topic as you could go with your backup anytime.

So, what are you waiting for? Start preparing your content calendar today. If something isn’t working properly, re-work and change your plan and make things work for you accordingly.

Creating the content calendar is only the first step, the real task is following it. Most bloggers don’t end up following their schedule. So, Let’s run down some quick tips for you to stick to the calendar at all costs.

  • Come up with realistic deadlines
  • Give your undivided attention to your task at hand
  • Do a constant check-in with your schedule
  • Keep a balanced schedule (If you take up a few hours for your blog, then do the same for social media channels)
  • Loop in things/tasks that interest you the most

Insider tip: While creating a content calendar try to add some fun elements too or some new ideas that you are excited to try out so that it won’t be as boring as it sounds.

You can check out these blog posts for more ideas.