Do you want to know a secret? The best small business blogs you may be following online don’t just post their stuff willy-nilly—they have a schedule they stick to. Some of the best blogs also only post the content monthly, but the quality of the content they’re creating and sharing online helps them build an audience as well as generate interest in their business, which leads to sales. The biggest reason they are also successful blogs is because they, too, have a schedule in place.
If you’re planning to blog or create content regularly for your business and want to find long-term success, having a schedule put into action is your best plan. (If you don’t have a blog at all, stop reading here and contact us. A blog can help you grow your business and your website—seriously!) Here’s why else a blog schedule is your best course of action for next year.
Reason 1: Organization
If you or your staff have already been blogging or recording video content for some time, you may think of an idea that you think would be really great to post on your blog. The bad news is, you already did. There’s nothing worse than writing a great blog post or creating a fun video only to find out you’ve already gone over that specific topic.
A blog schedule will help you and your staff be better organized when it comes to creating new content. Even if it’s been created in a Word document or written down on paper, it will help you and your staff keep track of your business’s content goals for the remainder of the year. It can also help you stay focused on creating new topics based on your industry without accidentally repeating yourself.
Reason 2: Consistency
The best content creators know that being consistent with posting new content will contribute to a successful blog. Don’t just start up a brand new blog and then get a single post published only to not do so until six months later (or—and we’ve seen this happen before—years later).
A blog is very similar to search engine optimization (SEO) in that both are not a one-time-only magical solution to attract new leads and sales—they’re both a process that requires planning. Being consistent by posting regularly, whether that’s weekly (like us) or a few times a month, will be more beneficial to your business. Having a blog schedule can help you figure out the best times for posting new articles, videos, podcasts, etc.
Reason 3: Communication
There’s nothing worse than finding out a staff member of yours isn’t on the same page as you—especially when it comes to things related to your website! Without a blog schedule, no one will be able to meet the goals you have in mind nor will they be able to focus on achieving those goals for your website’s blog.
A blog schedule can be a great visual aid and even a powerful tool when everyone on board can see it, because then everyone will be on the same page. Clear communication is a huge contributing factor to a successful transaction between you, the business owner, and your customers—it should be exactly the same for your staff and the blog schedule. It’s also a great idea to review this schedule every so often with your staff and then make adjustments based on any new information that may arise.
Reason 4: Timing
Life changes, and sometimes those changes can impact even your own business’s blog. Creating a blog schedule that spans even months in advance can create much-needed room in the event something goes awry with posting your next article or video.
This tip relates to organization too, in the sense that the best kinds of schedules for business’ marketing strategies and content are prepared in advance, rather than creating new ones from month to month. It also allows your staff in charge of creating content to come up with new topics in a more strategic, rather than haphazard, manner. (If your staff happens to be looking for how to come up with new topics, don’t worry, we have a post about that too!)
Reason 5: Flexibility
Deadlines can help some people meet their content and website-related goals, but a blog schedule offers flexibility as well. Not everyone on your team may have time to create content, but a guest contributor might.
A blog schedule can help include aspects such as guest blogging as well as help you figure out which kind of content should go where, both on your website as well as your social media. Not all content is created equal on each social media platform (but having it in the first place does help!). It can also be adaptable should new trends or data emerge in your company’s industry and you want to share your opinion about it.
Start off the New Year with a bang by being organized and getting a blog schedule set up! Do you need assistance with your blog though? Or do you not have a blog on your website, period? If you answered “yes” to the first question and “no” to the second, you could be missing out on some serious business growth. Contact us at V3 Media if you need a blog set up or a website set up to support your blog, or if you need assistance with your content marketing. Whether it’s getting blog articles written or sharing content online, we can help!