However, there are times when even the most seasoned content creators get stuck in a rut – not able to craft unique posts that the readers would like. Below are ten failproof ways that will help you fuel your editorial calendar every time you feel lost in finding a good topic. Let’s have a quick look.

Find out what your readers need.

You want to maintain that good level of relevance to your readers. Therefore, it’s only appropriate that you provide something they would find helpful whether it’s for their personal or professional life. Finding good topics is not just about generating fresh ideas at all times.

Tap into your readers, ask questions and draw out specific information of their needs.

Check out your most popular blog post.

Do a quick evaluation on the articles that you have posted so far. Which of them received the most number of responses? What does the post contain?

This should give you an idea as to what type of content your readers consume. From this, you can start thinking of how you can spin a particular topic and give it a fresher appeal.

Ask authority sites or industry leaders for tips.

Do not hesitate to recognize the authority of those professionals who already built their names in your industry. Given their experience and influence, they are in the best position to suggest relevant ideas that could spur a potential blog post.

Take some time to explore your social media and LinkedIn circle. Who are those individuals working in your niche? Do they have a huge fan base or followers?

Conduct interviews with experts

After getting in touch with industry leaders, setting up an interview is likely your next best option.  This is your chance to throw in detailed questions pertaining to the topic of their expertise. One good thing when featuring an interview post is you don’t have to create a full, unique content by yourself.

You can transcribe the full interview, upload it as mp3 or even have it recorded on cam. That, in itself, can already count as content.

Read other blog posts.

You will be amazed by amount of ideas you can get by simply reading other people’s post. Explore and see what others are writing about. Which topics from the web resonate so much with your market? They don’t have to focus on the same thing that you are writing about. Even the most farfetched idea can prove useful if you try to find an angle where you can optimize its appeal to the masses.

Read comments

The actual post might be the star of the day, but let’s face it. It doesn’t really enjoy the spotlight unless people are talking about it. It’s by reading the comments that you get to see what your readers think and say about something.

It’s especially important that you engage with your audience as well. Reply to their queries or drop a short gratitude to any good stuff they say about your post.

By reading the comments section, you understand what content they crave. If they are not satisfied with the current post they read, you will know about it. From there you can make a follow-up entry to keep them engaged.

Disagree on something

It’s good etiquette to show respect online. You appreciate something by dropping some good words in the comments and all. But agreeing on everything is not the only way to get engagement. In fact, if you don’t offer something new and just go with that status quo, your readers will most likely find you boring.

Rather than create a supporting post about a news or any recent topic, why not put out something brave and provide reasons and example why it isn’t something like most people believe. Some people may openly disagree with you, but at the end of the day, what matters is you keep them consuming your content and encourage them to get into a discussion.

Play with the search engine

Sometimes, all you need is to really use Google for all its worth. Type a certain keyword on the search box and let the system’s autocorrect provide you with good options from the dropdown. It may not give an entirely unique title for your next blog post, but it will certainly help you get started.

Have a look at some unpopular blog post

We are so much focused on the popular ones that we tend to forget the select jewels found in what Google has categorized as unpopular posts. The truth is, those posts that are not getting enough traffic are not necessarily trash.

In fact, there are some really good ones, with highly informative content, that are buried in farther pages primarily because they do not use SEO and other technical metrics used by Google in ranking pages. By looking into those posts that are not getting enough attention but are focusing on good topics, you get the chance to enhance them and provide your own fresh angle.

Try out tutorials

Last but not the least, consider making a tutorial on a relevant topic you usually speak about in your blog. It’s one way to give back to your readers by teaching them something new. Besides, tutorial videos are rather popular blog types these days, might as well capitalize on it.

Stay consistent in blog posting by crafting engaging content for your readers. Use the list above to  fill out your content calendar ahead of time!

The post Running Out of Blog Ideas? Here are 10 Failproof Ways to Fuel Your Editorial Calendar appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

Editorial calendars have long been used in traditional print publishing in managing book, newspaper and magazine publications. Needless to say, the Internet breathes life to a new breed of publishers who also require organizing and ensuring contents are published on a regular basis.

Bloggers, too, are embracing the editorial process of brainstorming (or brainwriting) content ideas and writing, editing and publishing the contents. Definitely, the most difficult part is preparing what goes into the content. The editorial calendar thereby needs to accommodate the content preparation processes (i.e. researches, interviews, etc.) for the purpose of setting more realistic dates.

Here are the processes leading to the creation of your own editorial calendar, so your blog won’t be out-of-date.

1) Identify your own blogging schedule

Determine by yourself how often do you want to blog, but be realistic when doing this. Consistency is key. For corporate bloggers, the goal is blogging 2 to 3 times per week and once a week for personal bloggers.

2) Identify your blog categories

Figure out which categories you are going to blog about. You may see these categories as your main keywords based on your products or services. For instance, our main category is ‘digital marketing agency’ while our sub-categories are ‘web design’ and ‘mobile application.’

3) Brainstorm/brainwrite your blog post ideas

If you are working with a team, you and the other team members brainstorm. However, if it is a one-man or one-woman effort, you can only brainwrite. Brainwriting means writing what’s on your mind. Come up with at least five blog topics or titles on each blog category.

4) Create your own blog editorial calendar

Start by filling out your calendar. You can use a standard calendar or online calendar tools whatever works best for the purpose. Mix up the categories and topics/titles, again, whatever will give your blog enough structure and flexibility to run smoothly.

5) Write your blog post as per schedule

Diligence is key here. Don’t wait until your deadline is approaching before you start writing your blog posts. You can write as many blog posts as you can in one sitting and just schedule the publication date in advance. WordPress or other blogging platforms will publish a post on a specified date.

6) Update your blog editorial calendar

New topics and events came up every so often. Keep your calendar flexible to allow changes in the schedule and content. Change the calendar only if the need arises. Don’t overdo it. Treat the deadlines as your motivation.

Further, there are many blog editorial calendar tools that can be used to make the process easier for the bloggers to create contents recurrently. Before, blank papers and file folders are enough to create an editorial calendar. Today, however, online publishers are endowed with

• Online calendars,
• Online spreadsheets, and
• Content publishing software programs.

The most commonly used online calendar is Google Calendar. Setting up a blog editorial calendar is very easy with Google Calendar.

Step 1: Create a blog editorial calendar

Sign in to Google Calendar. Under the My calendars drop-down menu, select Create new calendar.

Next, create the calendar by typing in the desired calendar details including the name, organization, description, location and time zone. You can click the box next to Share this calendar with others.

You can also Share with specific people by entering their email addresses and permission settings. Then, click Create Calendar, and you will be carried to an empty calendar.

Step 2: Fill in the slots based on the content plan

You may view the calendar by day, week, month or 4 days. Click the slot and fill in the information. Here’s how it looks:

You may also edit the slot by clicking the name of the slot. While on the slow, you may also click Edit event. You will be directed to:

In the description, you can put the scope or draft of the contents, among others. You may also put the keywords to guide the discussion.

Google Calendar is just one of the free tools that you can use in creating your own blog editorial calendar. Whichever you choose, though, make it a point to follow the schedule otherwise, the essence of having an editorial calendar will be useless if you aren’t going to create and publish contents as per schedule.

The post Creating a Robust Blog Editorial Calendar appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.