Creating an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog

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A few posts ago, I celebrated my two year blogiversary and shared with you the top 10 ½  things I have learned during my two years of blogging. After that post, I received loads of positive feed back, as well as questions as to how I do it all. So to follow up and answer those questions, I've decided to share my work process with you all as well as how to make your own editorial calendar. 

So, if you're anything like me, you're constantly working out of at least 20 browser tabs, a yellow legal pad or two, a myriad of Post-it notes stuck around your computer monitor, and you probably have ran out of tabs to color code your calendar with on your phone. To the average person (and definitely to John) this scene looks like nothing more than pure chaos. Though to me, it's an organized system, erm, organized mess--at least that is what I continually tell myself. But nonetheless, it works for me and I never miss a deadline, even if it takes four to six Americanos to make that happen.

However, back when I started Stark Raving Chic in 2015, I wasn't quite as efficient with planning and scheduling for it as I am today, and you're probably wondering how I got here. Well, during my hiatus during the summer of 2016, I did a lot of regrouping and planning, as well as reading tons of articles about blogging productivity. (Which you can have a look at on my Pinterest board, here!) So, during that 6 month break, I learned so much on my own and by talking with other bloggers online. (One of the best people I got advice from is Brittany, of the blog Thrifts & Threads, I highly suggest you check out her "blogging tips" section.) And one of the things I have learned, and that has honestly been the biggest help to me, is how to make and keep an editorial calendar, which I'm now going to share those steps with you!

First Things First: What is an editorial calendar?

An editorial calendar is more than just a calendar. You see, an editorial calendar helps you develop a blogging strategy. It allows you to set your goals and achieve them seamlessly as well as acting as a great organizational tool. Keeping an editorial calendar is a great marketing strategy due to the fact it makes your blog work for you instead of you working for it. By having an editorial calendar, you have all of your posts for an extended period of time, all laid out and scheduled ahead of time, for instance, I have posts ready to go all the way through the beginning of June. So by having all these things ready to go in advance, this puts less stress on you so you can pursue even more projects and collaborations, which really strengthens your brand. This also helps your business because it attracts new collaborators, builds relationships, and helps you get more recognition.

Step One: Set Your Blogging Schedule

When setting up your editorial calendar you need to decided how often you are going to generate new content. For me, I post roughly 2-4 times a week, but that is just due to the amount of sponsored posts and affiliates that I have, not to mention that I have the time to post at that rate. So my advice is to be realistic with your blogging schedule, for instance, if your schedule is hectic and you do not have the time to post daily/weekly, it is better to post consistently twice a month than posting every day one week followed by three months of silence. There are plenty of successful blogs that only post once or twice a month, and that’s because they do it consistently. Every. Single. Month.

Step Two: Identify Who You Are Blogging For

I’m going to make this easy and give you the answer: you are blogging for the readers within your blogging niche. Sure, of course you enjoy blogging for yourself, but to have a successful blog (which I honestly feel that is what most people set out to have when starting a blog) you have to keep in mind what your audience wants as well as the audience you want to have. For instance, if you have a monthly column (mine used to be "Wish-list Wednesdays") and you notice that your readers are getting bored with it, you then know it is time for a change or your readers will drop like flies and you won’t hook any new subscribers. So your job as a blogger is to keep engagement within your niche, so therefore you need to blog for your readers, and keep them interested.

Step Three: Determine Your Blog Categories

I actually did a post featuring some of my own changes involving this last month, and I can’t stress to you enough how important it is to set your categories, considering this is a key element of being successful within your niche. If you are anything like me, you probably already have blog categories, but they were probably randomly assigned based on whatever post you wrote at that time. To set your categories the right way, you need to start from scratch and determine the best categories for your niche. For example, I split up Stark Raving Chic into nine core categories that I cover here which would be, Personal Style, Style Guides, Beauty, Lifestyle/Travel, Blog Life, Interviews, Events, Miscellaneous, and Look Book. The reason I chose these specific categories is because they blanket many of the tags that I use, and because these nine things are what my blog is most known for, in that specific order.

So to successfully categorize your blog, you need to brainstorm 5-10 solid categories that you blog about consistently and that your niche has an interest in. For example, if you are strictly a beauty blogger, some categories you should have are a personal look book, client look book, makeup tutorials, product reviews, hair and skin care. The reason I list these categories is because though they are pretty broad, they are still specific to your niche and brand.

Step Four: Brainstrom Blog Post Ideas + Evaluate Upcoming Post Deadlines

Before you can actually create your editorial calendar, you need to brainstorm 5-15 post ideas (depending on how often you post to your blog) that you would like to cover on your own, as well as posts that you have to write on a deadline such as collaborations and sponsored posts. How I do this is I decide what topics I would like to cover within the next 3 months, as well as what ongoing sponsored posts and collaborations I have going on. I then come up with titles for the deadline posts and schedule them accordingly with their deadline, and then I think of topics I would like to cover in between.

During this step in the process, don’t hold back and write down any possible ideas so that you have some variety to work from, for example, here are some posts in my drafts right now:

  • Easter Sunday style guide

  • Light In The Box + SheIn sponsored OOTD

  • StyleWe OOTD

  • LIKEtoKNOW.it User Guide

  • Easter Sunday Style Guide

  • A Day Downtown

  • Metisu OOTD

  • Soufeel Post

  • Easter OOTD

  • Coachella Style Guide

  • Spring cleaning series (3 posts)

  • Fourth of July party planning DIY

  • SPOILER ALERT

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Notice that these blog post ideas are not necessarily about my brand, but provide useful information to my readers and stand out within my niche which can attract new readers. (Especially if they’re interested in my *spoiler* point.) The reason this is, is because many people in my audience are my age, so they will be searching for cute outfit ideas for concerts this season, and people are always looking for party planning inspiration, therefore, for my fellow American readers, I will be doing a lifestyle post about fourth of July party ideas. So when people google these topics, they will land on my blog, discover all the info I share and potentially come back and read more!

Step Five: Identify Holidays + Events (AKA Personal Days)

This is where you determine what and when to post special topics to your blog. For instance, around Christmas time many people are interested in holiday themed posts. So if you are a lifestyle or fashion blogger like me, you’ll want to make sure that you have Christmas or other holiday related posts on your blog in December. You also want to take life events into account too, such as vacations. For example, if you will be away for an extended period of time (think back to my hiatus in 2016) you want to let you readers know that you are on a trip or will be absent for an extended period of time for whatever reason and let them know when you will return. The reason you want to do this is, is because if you simply go silent, people might be confused as to why you are not posting and just assume you have quit your blog, which in turn could cost you audience members.

Step Six: Putting Your Editorial Calendar Together

Now that you have organized your blog, brainstormed your post ideas, and now have the dates you would like to post your article in order, it’s time to put everything together and make your editorial calendar! First grab a physical calendar, planner, or your phone/tablet and bring up your calendar app.

Start by filling in you sponsored posts that are on a deadline, considering these posts should be your high priority posts. Next, fill in any of the posts that you chose to keep from your brainstorming session, though these are not as high of a priority as your deadline posts which are the backbone of your blog, these posts are the extra hooks you need to reel your readers back in. After you have those posts scheduled, you then want to schedule any upcoming holiday posts or make any notes of possible vacations or time away from your regular blogging schedule.

While you are organizing these posts, make sure to mix up the blog categories and types of posts to add variety. For example, you might have an outfit of the day post, followed by a product review, followed by a list of favorite life hacks for storing and organizing you clothing.

As I stated earlier in this post, I like to schedule posts 2-3 months in advance. This is because it gives me enough structure to keep my blog running smooth, but also enough flexibility to move posts around as needed. You’ll find a balance that works best for you the more you use your editorial calendar, but to start with I suggest only schedule on month of blog posts, until you get the hang of it!

Step Seven: Write Your Blog Posts

Now that you have organized your posts and have their dates set, it’s time to write your posts! Due to the amount of posts I do per week, I generally write 4-5 posts in advance. However, if you are only posting once a week or biweekly, I would suggest writing at least two of your blog post as a start. Most blogging platforms, like Squarespace and WordPress, let you draft and schedule posts in advance, so write and schedule your two most pressing blog posts on the days you marked on your editorial calendar, and there you have it, you successfully used an editorial calendar!

Step Eight: Consistently Check + Update Your Editorial Calendar

Lastly, in order for your editorial calendar to work, you need to keep up with it. To do this, you will need to check and update your calendar on a daily basis. For me, I check mine daily and update it about twice a week or as I complete and publish scheduled posts. The reason this is important is because this is the key thing that will keep you organized while using an editorial calendar. So, when you come up with new post ideas, schedule them as needed!

And in order to keep your post schedule running smoothly, set aside some time once a week to write and schedule a couple more blog posts for publication. And honestly, some days you’ll feel like writing more than others, and that’s okay. But my advice to you is, when you get into your blogging zone, write as many posts as you can, it’ll be totally beneficial in the long run and make less stress for you later!

What are somethings that you do to keep your blog posts organized and running smoothly? Do you keep an editorial calendar? Let's chat about it in the comments below or you can tweet me at @StarkRavingChic! Have an awesome blogging tips post yourself? Feel free to tag me in the comments of it's corresponding Instagram photo at @StarkRavingChic, because I would love to check it out. Happy blogging, babes!

Xx, Bree

What I Have Learned in 730 Days of Blogging

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Wow, I cannot believe that this post marks my second blogiversary! I really find it so surreal that today my blog turned two years old and how far it has come since my first ever post. So, in light of Stark Raving Chic turning two years old today, I've decided to change the pace a little bit and get a tad bit more personal with you all today.  To do this, I've decided to feature the top ten and a half things I have learned since I began my blog, along with featuring some of my favorite photos/posts from the last two years and how each of them have helped me get to where I am today. 

1. Quality Not Quantity

Throughout my two years of blogging, I have read so many articles with so many differing opinions on how much is too much in a blog post. Personally, I've learned that there is no right answer to this question, however it is up to the discretion of the author. For instance, my Style Guide posts tend to be more lengthy, consisting of 1500-2000 words. The reason this is, is because unlike my personal Outfit of the Day posts (usually anywhere between 500 and 800 words) they are more in depth and cover five or six different outfits opposed to just one. The key to having successful blog posts is not simply finding the magical number of words, but is to have quality writing skills and to engage your audience. If you have compelling posts, it doesn't matter if your post is two paragraphs or two pages, people will want to read it because they enjoy what you have to say.

2. Quality Photography is a Must

One day I swear I'm going to write a blogging for beginners book and one chapter will be titled "PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY!", and not just because I have my Bachelors degree in photography. You see, the reason the photos on your blog (especially blogs relating to fashion, beauty, or lifestyle/travel) are so important is because much like having quality writing, you want your images to be captivating. You also want your photos, of you or your subject, to be styled and flattering. For instance, nobody would subscribe to Vogue if the photography was not stunning and the models did not look attractive. Hence why you always want to show yourself (or your model) in the best light because that's what will reel people in. Not to mention, if your photos look like garbage, it gives the impression that you do sloppy, last minute work which in turn makes your brand look like garbage.

3. Copyright & Protect Your Work

My website's DMCA Certificate

My website's DMCA Certificate

And we have yet another chapter title in my book, which would be "Protect Your Intellectual Property" simply because within the two years I have been doing this, I have been amazed at how little my peers in the blogging community actually know about protecting their brand, when in all reality it is quite simple and inexpensive. As we all know the internet can be a great place for creatives, but it can also lead to many issues, such as people stealing your hard work and claiming it as their own. However, the best way to prevent this is simply by working with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), whom monitor and protect your work from potential copycats online, and if by some chance someone does steal your work, the DMCA will have the fraudulent work removed. This service is only $10 a month (or $100 per year), which if you ask me is a small price to pay for protection. 

4. Keep A Positive Attitude

If I'm being honest, sometimes keeping a positive attitude can be very challenging especially when you have an online presence. The reason I say this is because when you do have a public presence online, everything is out in the open for everyone to see, and not everyone is as nice and kind as we would like them to be. However, when/if you ever come across something that is negative about you online (note, if it is something serious, such as defamation and could actually do damage to your reputation, then I would suggest contacting the DMCA), simply take it in stride and ignore it. The truth is not everyone is going to like you, and sometimes the things that hurt us the most when we hear or read them, hurt because there might actually be some truth in it, so instead of being upset, simply take the criticism and use it to your advantage and better yourself.  

5. Sponsored Posts Are Key 

Though building a reputation and finding brands to partner with can be tricky at first, sponsored posts really do boost your credibility and online presence. So, you're probably wondering how to get your posts sponsored, and my best advice for beginner bloggers would be to sign up for Influenster ASAP! I'm not going to go into all of the details here, but feel free to read up about it in this post. However the reason sponsored posts are so important to a blogger (especially if you want to make some money blogging) is because when you do sponsored posts, you can sometimes make commission on the products/clothing you are featuring. Also, the more sponsored posts you do, considering most are on a deadline, this builds your credibility as a blogger and social influencer, which just makes more brands want to work with you.

5½. Sponsored Posts Should Be 100% Free

Okay so this is where my "and a half" comes in, simply because I did not just want to lump this point in with sponsored posts and figured this bit of advice is useful and strong enough to stand on its own. Firstly, unfortunately, much like the potential of having your work stolen, there will come a time that a fraudulent brand will try and take advantage of you. This happened to me within my first year of blogging, and though I won't name names, this brand ripped off hundreds of girls just to make a quick buck. How did they do it? Well, initially, I did not see any harm in paying $10 for shipping of one of their products (it was heavy after all and coming a bit of a way) however I came to find they were charging other bloggers $70+ dollars for shipping which is absolutely outrageous, and obviously isn't free at all, even if they were charging almost $300 for the product (which as it turned out, they were buying wholesale from China for mere pennies). With that being said, if a brand asks to work with you, they will send you their product 100% free of charge, including shipping. 

6. Network, Network, Network

From my collaboration with makeup artist, Bailey Waterbury, for my post Marvelous Makeup (Feat. Makeup by Bailey Waterbury).

From my collaboration with makeup artist, Bailey Waterbury, for my post Marvelous Makeup (Feat. Makeup by Bailey Waterbury).

I mean it. Network with everyone you possibly can! Whether it be with brands, a local shop or boutique in your niche, or another blogger, get out there and meet people. This also rings true to messaging or emailing potential partners, which I know can be a little nerve wracking due to  the fact no one wants to be rejected, but the worst that can happen is, someone declines your offer and you move on or try again at a later date. Trust me, the first time I applied for half of my affiliate-ships I was rejected but I simply just tried again. 

7. It's a Community Not a Competition

Much like my point about networking, don't be afraid to reach out to other bloggers and help one another. Sure, there are some assholes in the blogging community, but for the most part, everyone tries to be respectful and help one another out. So if you like something someone did with their layout or coding and wanna try it out, simply ask for the plug in politely and chances are they'll help you. Though the blogging game can be competitive at times, ultimately most people aren't going to try and step on you to get ahead, and if they try to, that bad behavior is just a reflection of their character and chances are they are not secure in themselves and/or their own abilities and might see you as a threat. And much like what I mentioned earlier about negative comments, simply let it roll off your back and move on, it is their issue, not yours. 

8. Do Not Speak Negatively About Other Bloggers

Though I feel that this point should be a no brainer, I know sometimes it can be tempting to talk negatively about someone--especially if you do not like them on a personal level. However, no matter how tempting it is, if you do not have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Talking badly about someone is just rude and unbecoming in general. And besides talking badly about somebody in the community is looked at as being tasteless, it honestly reflects poorly on YOUR character and comes off as unprofessional, which could cause many people to not want to work with you. Karma is funny that way, so just keep that in the back of your mind. 

9. Take A Break

During my first year of blogging, I had many lingering mental and physical health issues due to my longtime battle with anorexia. Therefore, I decided that it would be best to take the summer off and start back fresh in the fall. I know many people fear taking a personal hiatus can reduce your readers, and it will to an extent, but honestly after my break I came back with ten times the motivation and grew my following tremendously in only six short months! So needless to say, it was the best decision I ever made, and trust me, if you feel you need a break, take it.

10. Most Importantly: Have a Strong Support System

This last point I can absolutely not stress enough simply because without my support system (Hi mum, dad, John, Nic, and McKenna!) I would probably be  completely insane by now. Though it can differ for others, I know without the five people I named, I wouldn't be able to do it all. My mum and dad for giving me all the help and guidance I need (and my mum really is the world's most poorly paid personal assistant, in the history of personal assistants), to McKenna and Nic being there for me when I need a good venting session, as well as being my editor and IT department respectively. And lastly there is John, who is just such an incredibly good sport about helping me with photos and also making sure that I don't over do it and have a complete meltdown over my work load (he always has a glass of wine or scotch neat ready for me when I've had a bad day). He is also such an inspiration to me and really makes me want to push myself to do my very best. Each of them are just such wonderful people, and I can't thank them enough. 

One Last Note

Lastly, I just want to say thank you to all of my readers for yet another fabulous year! You all are truly great and I really can't express how grateful I have been for this wonderful opportunity. I cannot wait to see how much more my blog will grow in the upcoming years, but I am sure it is going to be a great adventure, so please, by all means, stay along for the ride!

Xx, Bree

Spring Cleaning: Updating The Blog

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Ahhhh, it's the beginning of March which means only 15 more days until it is officially spring. (Which means it will also be my second blogiversary too!) In light of the change in season, I am sure many of you are like me and this means some heavy duty spring cleaning is about to take place! And though it is not spring quite yet, I have been doing some early spring cleaning of the cyber variety.

As I am sure some of you may have noticed, my blog looks slightly different than it used to, and that is because I decided, since my whole living space is getting a revamp, my blog might as well too (I mean I spend enough of my time on here, right?)! And though nothing too crazy has changed here, I just added some easier navigation features which gives my navigation bar a sleeker, less cluttered look, as well as some coding and copyright updates. But I figured why not walk through my changes with you all and explain some of the choices I made. I also figured this post would be a good precursor for the other three spring cleaning posts I have planned for this year. (Recall the room revamp that I mentioned earlier this week? Yep, it's going to be a three part post once everything is finished and organized to my liking!) So without any further to do, here are the changes I have made:

1. No more "What's In My..." Section

Yes, I know, the "What's In My..." section was a reader favorite, however, I just did not see the point in keeping it any longer, and here is why: You see, when I first started my Stark Raving Chic on March 20, 2015, I originally started it as a hobby and intended to only do style based posts such as "outfit of the day" posts along with a couple beauty articles here and there. Really, I just started my blog for something fun to do, and since I was solely focusing on fashion and beauty at that time, I thought the "What's In My..." page was a cute touch. However, my blog has flourished so much since then (Like really, really, flourished from my very first post, which was a simple lip balm review.) that I have now branched out into many different genres of blogging, ranging from lifestyle/travel, charity events, and even occasional blogging tip articles. So, needless to say, I am no longer solely a style blogger, but a jack of all trades, which is why I decided a "Categories" menu would be more fitting.

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Aside from no longer concentrating only on style and beauty, I also felt that adding a simple categories menu gave my blog a more "grown-up" feel than the one it had when I first started it as a 21 year old undergrad (and considering I am now on track to get my masters, I'm feeling awfully grown up). I felt that this decision made my blog look much less cluttered as well as making it more organized and ultimately easier for my readers to navigate. And though I'm sure the "Categories" menu speaks for itself, I did want to point out that I did in fact keep my "Look Book" page which was formerly a part of the "What's In My..." section, just so my readers could have easy access to photos of my past outfits. Which leads me to a new feature that I added because I felt it would be helpful to my readers, and that feature is an archive!

The reason I felt an archive of my posts would be beneficial is because while organizing my categories menu, I realized I have a ton of posts, so if someone wanted to find something even from a month ago, they could be paging through one category forever. So, for my archive, I decided to split it up by year and category. And as you can see in the example photos above, you simply just pick the year, then the category, and you are then directed to a complete index of your selected category which includes the post titles and dates, along with links to the specific articles. 

2. No More "Badges" Page

So even though this isn't a huge change and all of my badges are still on here, I just figured I would point out where they are now and what I changed the name to. You see, all the badges I have acquired are due to all of the blogging communities that I  am a member of, and urge other bloggers to join. Each of these communities are a great way to build your following and many of the people within them are super nice and helpful! With that being said, I just wanted to let everyone know that now my badges are now simply listed under my "Contact" menu as "Blogging Communities". And as I stated earlier, I am a member of each of them so feel free to sign up and reach out!

3. "LIKEtoKNOW.it" is now just "Shop"

categories-1.JPG

In case you haven't heard, I am now part of rewardStyle and am one of their Instagram influencers on the site LIKEtoKNOW.it. That means my readers can shop my outfits, beauty products, and decor straight from my Instagram feed, and all you need to do is go to my "Shop" page and click whatever photos in my feed interest you. And much like my "Blogging Communities" page, this shop will open in a new tab so you don't lose your place on whatever you were reading! 

4. Updated Coding

Due to actually having my current photography portfolio on here as well as my other work, I decided it would be best to have some coding that would not allow people to plagiarize my work. Okay sure, this does not prevent individuals from taking screenshots of my images and text, however it does prevent individuals from all of the following: 

  • Right clicking to save images and right clicking to copy/paste.
  • Dragging and dropping to save images.
  • Highlighting text to copy/paste.

I also have it set up that if some one does attempt to steal my work, a pop up message (pictured above) with my copyright notice appears. Pretty nifty, am I right? (Also note, if you would like any of this coding just email me and I'll send it your way!)

5. New Copyright Statement + DMCA Certificate 

copyright.JPG

To follow up my new preventive coding, another thing you may have noticed is that I now have a copyright statement at the bottom of my blog. Many of you are probably wondering why I want this big clunky legal thing in my footer, and truth is I honestly don't. However, due to the notoriety my blog has gained in the past two years, I was advised that it would be best to fully protect my work, and along with working with the DMCA, a copyright statement is a good thing to have. Which leads me to my next point:

If you do (and you should) choose to put a copyright statement on your blog or website, it is important to have a well written, full coverage, copyright statement. The reason I say "full coverage" is for example, if my copyright only said "© Bree Fesh and Stark Raving Chic 2017" that makes any articles on my blog prior to 2017 vulnerable to theft, even under certain copyright laws. Where having the full "© Bree Fesh and Stark Raving Chic 2015-2017" prevents this, due to the fact it includes all the dates that I have published work.

So I mentioned the DMCA earlier and you're probably wondering what that is. Though I will be covering this topic again in my upcoming blogiversary post, I cannot stress enough how important it is to protect and copyright your work, especially if it is online. With that being said, I am proud to announce that Start Raving Chic is 100% protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. And though I will discuss it more in my post on March 20th, I just want to point out that the DMCA only cost $10/month and guarantees that if someone steals your work and tries to claim it as their own, and/or makes defamatory statements about you online, the DMCA will investigate and have the stolen or defamatory material taken down.

6. New Branding 

And lastly, while we are talking about very important things to have on your blog or website, I wanted to take a minute to talk about branding, and share with you my new addition of it to my blog! Though I have had my business cards and logo for some time now, as well as incorporating my logo on my Facebook page and Twitter, I hadn't included my logo anywhere on my actual blog. So, now I do I not only have my logo in the footer of my blog's pages (which if you click on it, it will take you right back to my home page!) but Stark Raving Chic also has it's very own favicon now! And in case you don't know what a favicon is, it's simply just the little icon next to my URL that is displayed in your address bar. I know, it's super dorky, but I'm totally stoked about it. And the reason I am so excited about it is because by placing my logo in these two places, it gives the public one specific image to associate my blog with, therefore making my brand even stronger and gaining it even more recognition.

 

So even though these changes were rather minor, and my blog still has its original chic, minimalistic look, I felt many of the changes were worth sharing with you guys to hear some thoughts and feed back, so fire away!

Also, what are some of the things you are updating and revamping this spring? Let's chat about it in the comments below, or you can tweet me at @StartRavingChic! Later, babes!

Xx, Bree