Do you know the difference between an editorial plan and an editorial calendar?

What is an editorial plan

The editorial plan is a document that has a particular importance for the communication and marketing strategies of a company. Its main purpose is to establish the guidelines for publishing content on the website. It contains information on the media and channels used, publication frequency, target macro category, content types and format choice. The different elements are customized according to the needs of the brand and with reference to the set communication and marketing objectives.

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Editorial planning is an essential part of any content creating strategy and is not an isolated step in the editorial process. It is based on a thorough analysis of the industry, the results of audience surveys, content monitoring, target analysis and competitive and business analysis. The editorial plan into which this information is compiled establishes the priorities for content production, which will be later translated into a calendar that determines the schedule for publishing articles.

An editorial plan is a critical document that should always be available for perusing while you are drafting your content. It sets forth the themes and formats you want to include in your content, based on what insights have been gained. It’s a guide into which you put both social goals and essential information for developing strategies.
The editorial plan aims to integrate the planning process and its follow up, thus serving as a tool for everyone working with content marketing.
A well-defined editorial plan ensures that every piece of content will fit into a larger framework. This will help you see connections between previously unrelated topics or ideas, making it easier to find new angles for stories or to see potential intersections between different parts of your site or your social media presence.

Editorial plan tips

The first step in creating an editorial plan is defining clear, measurable goals. Once you have defined these goals they need to be incorporated into all the pieces of content so that everything you publish is working towards those goals. To do this you need to have a good idea of who your target audience is and what they care about. If not, your efforts are wasted because you’re publishing content that isn’t relevant or engaging to them. So once your goals and target audience are defined, you will be able to work on your strategy.

Bear in mind that content topics may change over time, therefore your editorial plan should be flexible enough to accommodate these changes on a short notice. If your original plan called for six pieces of guest-authored content by the end of the month, but one of your guest authors has suddenly become very busy with work, you need to be able to adapt your plan in order to deliver the same amount of high-quality content on time. Also, if an unexpected and important event occurs in your industry, you will need to adapt your content to take advantage of trending topics.

What is an editorial calendar

An editorial calendar is a great practical tool for your content marketing strategy, as it allows you to plan in advance what you are going to publish and when you should publish it.

An editorial calendar effectively puts an editorial plan into action, helping you track content and schedule its publication. It can be seen as the foundation of a successful content strategy, as it allows you to stay organized and keep track of what you’ve done—and what still needs to be completed.

In fact, the editorial calendar gives a broader view of all the material you have on hand, the content that has already been published and the content that is planned, so that the whole team can be sure to stay on the same page at all times.

What an editorial calendar can do for you

It will help you stay focused on your goals and prioritize content that can really take off with your readers. In addition, planning ahead gives you the time to get creative in ways that will help you develop new concepts and make them stand out from those around them.

Editorial calendars are a great way of organizing your content and planning your strategy. They allow you to work smarter, not harder: you can see all your content in one place, at a glance, so you can make sure you’re releasing the most important pieces at the right times. You can also see what’s already in the pipeline, so if you have a special event or seasonal campaign coming up, you can make sure that plenty of time has been left to prepare.

An editorial calendar is particularly useful if you publish a lot of content, as it helps avoid overlap. If there are multiple things happening at the same time, you don’t want to publish about the same topic twice. A well-crafted calendar will give you a quick overview of what topics have already been addressed.

Conclusion

Creating a schedule or a chart may seem complex at first. It is important to be able to adapt it to your editorial needs. Once you understand the general principles and have completed your initial plan, you will be able to easily adapt it on the fly. And that’s really when these tools can be useful: keep them updated on a regular basis to keep your work distributed smoothly and your calendar always up-to-date. Even if you are free-lancing, the editorial plan and calendar can help your clients organize themselves so they can provide informed feedback in a timely fashion.

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