Developing Your Brand Voice in 4 Easy Steps

January 4, 2019
Branding
Comments Off on Developing Your Brand Voice in 4 Easy Steps
by Liz Convissar

Let’s talk about developing your brand voice.

First of all, I won’t ask you to sing (unless you’re reading this in the bathtub, then by all means take advantage of the acoustics.)

All I ask is that you think about the way you communicate for your business, everywhere and anywhere.

There’s what you say, your message. And there’s
how you say it, your voice.

If you’ve seen your new-ish business grow over the years but you’re starting to see a profit plateau, this is for you.

If you can’t figure out how to talk about your products or services in a way that sells, this is for you.

If your engagement metrics constantly fluctuate, this is for you.

If your bounce rate makes you wonder if you built your homepage out of elastic, this is for you.

If that IG follower count is driving you nuts, this is for you.

What you’ll get:

A sneak peek of my Brand Style Guide
4 simple steps to develop your brand voice
An easy-to-reference, good-as-gold guide for anyone writing for your business…anywhere.

Instagram followers and The Mirror of Erised

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My best friend has a magic mirror.

You look in it and are transformed, instantly 3 inches taller and 10 pounds lighter.

When we were younger, we’d get ready for a Saturday night out, mesmerized by this thing like it was the Mirror of Erised.

We knew it wasn’t real, but ooooh if it didn’t make us look great.

That’s what your Instagram follower count can do to you too.

If you watch it go up and down, you can drive yourself insane. Was it something I said? Was it the filter I used? Was it the wrong emoji? Was it my hashtags? Posting time? Aesthetic?

I love to split test, but with that many variables, it’s too easy to throw your hands in the air and say “It must be me. They don’t like me.”

But that’s just not true. They didn’t “like” your picture, or your feed. Or maybe they did but you drew the short end of the selfie stick on the last #UnfollowFriday. (She just wanted to create more margin. We all need more margin.)

And the people who did unfollow you because of what you said? Let. It. Go, Elsa.

Because those followers were your skinny mirror.

They added to a vanity metric, but they weren’t real! They weren’t there to interact with your post or probably ever do business with you.

So don’t try to write in a way that pleases everyone, attracts every DM TO PROMO! account out there, and doesn’t do your business any real favors.

Write to your people.

Do you know how to talk to them in a real, profitable way?

Do you own your brand voice?

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I use Instagram as the example, but the same principles apply to your email list, blog readers, Facebook group, Pinterest, Twitter.

Speaking in your brand voice with total confidence lets you see those unfollows and unsubscribes as a good thing. Your voice subtly communicates your brand’s values and value – the right people will like what you have to say.

And when those people opt-in, loyally follow, and double tap on the reg, your marketing efforts become much more effective.

What is a brand voice?

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Your brand voice is how you talk to your people. And if you think it’s not important, I want to nudge you over to this particular definition:

“It’s the interplay of personality, substance, tone, and style.

Though our voice is constant regardless of who we’re talking to or what we’re saying, we adapt our tone—from serious to empathetic to lighthearted—to fit the context and the customer’s state of mind.”

That’s from Microsoft’s (thorough!) Style Guide.

The major brands you know and love use style guides just like this. They’re designed to help employees and contractors (like, you know, copywriters) maintain consistency no matter where they’re talking about the brand, what they’re saying, and to whom they’re speaking.

This includes, but is not limited to:

website copy
direct marketing
customer service communications
instructions
newsletters
press releases
captions and comments on social media
product labels
billboards
prank sticky notes slapped on your sister/CFO’s back

A cohesive voice communicates stability, trustworthiness, and professionalism while differentiating the brand.

And you don’t need to be a multibillion-dollar corporation to make brand voice work for you.

Small biz. Big voice.

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Like I mentioned above, a brand style guide is clutch for anyone writing for your business. If my copywriting, content, or ghostwriting clients don’t have one, it’s the first thing I create for them.

Not only is it useful for me, it gives them and their other contractors or employees a guidebook to use for years to come.

So when you’re struggling to write a month’s worth of IG captions that will attract the right followers…brand voice guide.

When you add a new product or course and DIY the sales page copy…brand voice guide.

When you delegate comment response and non-client email to your VA…brand voice guide.

When you outsource the email sequences for your next promo…brand voice guide.

The brand voice section of my style guides is always one of my favorite parts to write.

It blends both business goals and personality, encourages creativity, and makes a powerful tool for connecting with my clients’ clients. And connection = cash (or PayPal, Square, or your preferred secure checkout method.)

While my whole style guides are giant, juicy tomes of brand nerdery, this brand voice slice is a great way to get a taste.

Work through these steps to establish a consistent brand voice that you can use whenever you talk about your products or services.

Step 1. Establish communication goals

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In order to know how to say something, you gotta know why you’re saying it.

Everything you say to your audience needs to have a purpose – otherwise, you’re just adding more noise to an already buzzing world. But when you consider your communications strategically, you can assign a desired outcome to everything you say.

Taking the time to do this will save you thousands in marketing costs and will earn you many times that in closed sales.

Start by answering:

What do I want my audience to feel when they interact with my brand?
What do I want my audience to do when they interact with my brand?
What do I want to make my audience aware of?
How can I educate my audience?

Example:

If I were developing a brand voice for an upscale, eco-friendly, exclusively 5-Free Polish nail salon this might look like:

To make our clients feel…Healthy, relaxed, and chic.
To encourage our clients to…Pamper themselves with a service that makes them look good and feel good (without the harmful chemicals.)
To make our clients aware of…The 15 gallons of water waste that a typical salon pedicure entails.
To educate our clients on…The hygienic and cosmetic benefits of a low-water or waterless nail spa service.

Refine and edit until you have goals that are broad enough to apply to everything from email subjects to your FAQ page.

Step 2. Create ground rules

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Peter Kavinsky shake to make it official.

You can’t break the rules until you learn them. But when it comes to your brand voice rules, DON’T BREAK THEM.

Instead, make them broad, easy to follow, and focused on your audience. You can delve into the nitty-gritty (parentheses, em dashes, title case, etc.) in other places.

For your brand voice, keep the ground rules focused on:

What makes your brand different? Refer to your onliness statement if you have one (you should have one.)
How does your audience talk about the problem(s) your product or service solves?
How you want your audience to feel?
What action do you want them to take?

Example:

For an online home decor boutique, this might look like:

We apply an editorial experience to online shopping.
Communication is direct, friendly, and sounds like a real human wrote it.
Everything we write sounds natural, conversational, and inviting.
Sensory language is used to engage customers and increase their average spend.

Copywriter pro tip – start with this as your #1 rule:

Communication is clear and written in the customer’s own words whenever possible.

Step 3. Brand tone of voice

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Again – your brand voice isn’t about what you’re saying, but why and how you say it.

So now you’ve:

Determined what kind of action you want your audience to take whenever they read your sweet talk
Established ground rules for how you communicate

In this step, you’ll figure out the way you talk – your tone of voice.

Your brand’s tone of voice should reflect your brand’s (or your own) values and should help build connection with your audience by showing them the humanity behind the brand.

Think of your brand voice as the meal and your tone of voice as the flavor – here’s where you let your glorious personality shine through.

Think about 3-5 adjectives you’d use to describe your overall brand voice. You can stop there, or you can elaborate with specific guidelines that also demonstrate your tone.

Example:

Using the home goods boutique example again, check out this tone of voice mission statement:

Our voice is all about warm hospitality. We want our customers to feel like we’re welcoming them to our home on the web. Talking to our customers in a way that’s friendly, conversational, excited, and professional reflects our commitment to providing a sensory online shopping experience.

Our voice is:

Friendly – we want to make our customers feel like they walked into our perfectly styled boutique. We want to welcome them, hand them a virtual espresso, and invite them to browse through the beautiful home goods we’ve curated just for them.
Conversational – we “chat” with our customers while they shop. We share our favorite things, from our newest collection to the best eggs benedict in town.
Excited – we match their enthusiasm for creating a beautiful home (have you seen our throw pillows?!)
Professional – we take customer satisfaction seriously. Especially when writing for customer service, we remain conversational and informal, but always highly professional.

Step 4. Talk it out

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We can talk shop for hours about the tone and style of your brand voice. I should go put on my coziest jammies and fluffiest slippers right now because if we get started I’ll stay up until midnight with you mapping out the perfect brand voice.

But not every contractor you hire may share slumber-party-levels of enthusiasm for your reasoning behind the use of sentence case on your Call To Action buttons.

That’s where concrete instructions and tips come in handy.

When making this list, ask yourself:

What kind of content does your brand share on social media? Why? (Again, paint with broad strokes here – this is your brand voice, not your social media marketing strategy.)
How do you build trust and connection with your audience?
What style do you use? Are you wordy? Hemingway-approved?
What’s your tone? (See step 3!) Are you serious? Bubbly? Sweet? Bold?
What are your top style rules?
What’s your brand voice mission statement?

You might find that some of these answers get long. That’s GREAT. Just break them up so you’ll have even more concrete examples and easy-to-follow tips.

Example:

An e-interior designer who specializes in preppy, Southern-style design might end up with something like:

Our Brand…

Shares client before and afters to demonstrate our skill.
Shares concept boards to attract ideal clients.
Shares decorating tips & tutorials to establish expertise.
Makes use of personal anecdotes to foster connection.
Tells authentic stories to build trust.
Is effusive, colorful and enthusiastic.
Loves Southern-isms near as much as we love family heirlooms and gingham.
Is always positive and helpful.
Asks open-ended questions to start conversations.
Uses first-person plural when referring to the brand. (“We”, not “I”)
Uses sentence case for everything but titles.
Affirms the grace and goodness of the Oxford comma.
Communicates our love for designing spaces that serve as perfectly collected backdrops to sumptuous meals, impeccable parties, treasured family memories, and the art of Southern living.

This is The Voice!

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Taking the time to bring your brand voice to life is worth it.

It might seem kind of navel gaze-y or unnecessary, but it makes you think about why you say the things you say.

Your brand voice will help you build a profitable content strategy, so you’re not just creating more noise on social media.

Your brand voice will help you write copy that converts (to an opt-in, to a follower, to a sale, to a client.)

Your brand voice will help you scale your business with an easy guide to add to your onboarding process for anyone writing for your business in any capacity.

Your brand voice is part of what makes your brand a business – a majorly profitable one, at that.

Tell me: do you have a dedicated brand style guide, or a smaller brand voice guide to help you and your contractors or employees?

How To Write The Perfect Blog Post

September 6, 2018
Content Creation
2 Comments
by Liz Convissar

How to write the perfect blog post, every time, in 13 steps!

Let’s talk procrastisnacking.

My go-to is something salty. Something bite-sized. Something I can mindlessly munch, one handful at a time. Definitely something that requires multiple trips to the pantry, interrupting whatever task I’m avoiding at the time.

I highly recommend Trader Joe’s Thai lime and chilli cashews. But I DON’T recommend procrastisnacking your blog post writing.

If you’re stressed out and frustrated by your business’ blog, put down the nuts and let’s nail down your new process for how to write the perfect blog post.

I’ve been there. We all have! In my past life as a luxury brand’s marketing director, I needed to publish fresh blog posts daily (and that was after years of publishing multiple times a day plus creating the editorial calendar for a team of freelance bloggers.)

I know what it’s like to feel like your blog writing process takes too long and that it’s not benefitting your SEO as much as you want it to.

But I’m here to pour you a fresh cup of coffee, close out of all your open social media apps, and help you write the best WordPress post ever.

It’s not a magic wand you can wave over your brainstorm mind map to spontaneously flesh out whole blog posts…

…but it’s damn close.

Let’s cover:

The exact formula you can use to create an epic blog post, every time.
How you’ll say goodbye to procrastination and writer’s block today.
The ways you can publish high-quality content that draws traffic to your site for years to come.
Why WordPress, specifically, is where you can create the perfect blog post.

WordPress: The Amazon Prime of Blog Platforms.

An endless array of options, highly tailored to your preferences, robust, and near-instant gratification.

The only way Prime and WordPress blogs differ is that WP does have a slightly harder learning curve. WordPress is also less likely to deliver a “surprise” bee venom serum you forgot you ordered while on a deep dive down the K-Beauty rabbit hole.

But the initial challenge of figuring out how to use WordPress? Worth its weight in gold hydrogel & snail mucin eye patches.

WordPress is more than just a blogging platform. It is a comprehensive Content Management System or CMS that comes with all the tools you need to build any site, from E-commerce stores to professional business websites.
– Business.com

While that article pegs about 19% of the web as powered by WordPress, web technology survey firm W3Techs places it closer to 30%. Check out this chart from VentureBeat:

If you go with WordPress over the competition, you’re in good company. But peer pressure shouldn’t sway you – WordPress’ ability to grow with your business and your blog should.

The near endless amount of plugins (which are like apps for your blog) lets you create a powerful website that meets your needs as you grow. Especially when it comes to SEO.

Lindsey of Pretty Darn Cute Design explains some of the main reasons I love WordPress in her post 10 Reasons WordPress Will Always Be Better Than Squarespace.

So now we know how to write the perfect blog post with the most powerful platform. What’s next?

The Million Dollar Question

How often should you write a blog post?

According to Hubspot:

Companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got almost 3.5X more traffic than companies that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts.

Six.teen. 😲

And that’s not all:

Companies with 1 – 10 employees: The small companies that publish 11 or more blog posts per month drive much higher traffic than companies of the same size that publish fewer than 11 blog posts. Those that published 11+ posts per month had almost 3X more traffic than companies publishing 0 – 1 monthly posts, and about 2X as much traffic as those publishing 2 – 5 monthly posts.

Hi, I’m a professional writer and I don’t publish that often. Would I like to? YES! But I love my clients even more than I love nerding out about WordPress, and writing 11+ blog posts a month wouldn’t leave much time for them.

So I’m consoled by this next bon mot:

One of the best things about business blogging is that your posts will continue working for you long after they’re published. If you’re producing relevant, valuable content, then people will find your old blog posts in search, on social media, and through links on other websites — and some of those visitors could convert into leads.

Relevant, valuable content. Quality. Over. Quantity.

The best course of action is to write a WordPress post as many times as you can each month while still making sure it’s valuable, relevant, and evergreen. A 400 word post on last night’s episode of This is Us just won’t cut it.

And speaking of word counts…

How Long Is The Perfect Post?

At least 1500 words.

“But no one wants to read a blog post that long!”

No, but they do want to skim. And the numbers don’t lie.

Per QuickSprout:

Once the word count exceeds 1,500 words, it’s in the golden share zone.

How To Write The Perfect Blog Post With 13 Ingredients

Now that we know where, when, and how long to blog, let’s talk about how to actually do it.

Whipping up fresh content is similar to creating Sunday dinner. This isn’t a 30 minute, weeknight one sheet pan wonder. What we’re making is a gourmet blog post, with some prep work and planning involved. Don’t worry, the end result is nowhere near as delicate as a souffle.

1. Get Ready

Personally I use the Annual, Quarterly, Monthly method for my editorial calendar.

Annually, I take a zoomed out view of where I want to be when I’m 80, using my Powersheets. I always include my professional goals during my Powersheets prep, but this is my first year owning my own business! So I’m psyched to use the specific Powersheets for Business tools during my annual prep later.

For now, I’m focusing on the quarterly and monthly goals and topics. I’ve found Planoly’s (freeeeeee) tools for this 10x more helpful. As in, they help me plan literally 10 times more content than my previous method of doing a month-at-a-glance check in with my editorial calendar plugin.

I also love Hailey Dale’s comprehensive tools for content planning, and if you don’t have any kind of system in place already, for the love of cheese curds start with her free guide.

2. Get Thinking

Grab your editorial calendar with both hands, give her a quick spin around the living room floor to “This Will Be Our Year” and kiss her on both cheeks.

Because she’s already done 60% of this step for you (80% on a good day.)

Your editorial calendar has your exact post topic and more often than not a couple thoughts, quotes, or ideas to get you started.

3. Get Messy

This is like a rough draft’s rough draft. It could look like:

Intro

Great Point

Point

Excellent Point

Conclusion

CTA

But sometimes that’s what we all need to just start writing. Mine typically include a bunch of weird half points and possible crossheads floating around on the page. That’s okay though. This is just to get started, not to make anything pretty.

4. Get Googling

Research time!

I use Airstory web clipper for my research. It’s the best.

A great alternative is Evernote.

When I wrote in Google Docs I’d have to copy + paste my quote/study/data point, whatever, then go back and c+p the url for my source. Then more copy and pasting when it came time to organize and write. Woof.

Do you need to use Airstory? Definitely not. If you’re easily distracted by shiny new tools and they only help you procrastinate, stick with Google Docs. If you have an efficient system stick with Evernote.

But if you’re looking for something better, try Airstory. It’s FREE.

For a client, I might dedicate 3-5 hours to research, depending on the topic. For my own blog posts, it’s usually a lot less. More like 1 hour for a post like this.

My secret is Airstory. That little web clipper is more intuitive for me than Evernote or Pocket. I use and enjoy those tools, but for whatever reason, when I’m clicking my TBR board on Pinterest or even just being extremely online on Twitter, I remember to reach for Airstory.

When you’re a writer, you’re always researching. Even when you don’t think you are. I can save nuggets of wisdom or awesomeness when I’m catching up with Bloglovin’ or working on personal development.

Then when I have an actual topic, I can pull from my library of existing research, and add to it as the topic warrants.

5. Get Organized

Not a typo! I go back into outliner in Airstory once I feel happy with the amount of research I’ve done.

But now that I’ve got alllllll my info in there, I can create a final outline.

By the end of this step I have a nice, clean looking outline that most humans would recognize as such.

6. Get Writing

Now that you’ve already outlined, researched, and outlined again, it’s time to knit.

Knitting…

Joanna Wiebe of Copyhackers used this to describe her process once and I just…it’s perfect, y’all. It’s more than weaving words together, it’s fusing facts and story and FLAVA into one cohesive thing.

It’s taking the tangled heap of data points, quotes from other people, and allusions to Bachelor in Paradise, thoughts from my brain poured out onto the blank page, and arranging them in a way that slowly starts to make sense.

7. Get Out Your Red Pen

Pasta salad.

Thanksgiving leftovers.

Bolognese.

An open bottle of good Cabernet.

The wild boar ragu at Spiaggia.

I’m not just hungry. These, like your editing, get better with time.

Let those flavors meld. Let your word juice marinate (ew, sorry.) Let the spices intensify. Let it breathe.

And come back to your post with a clean palate and clear eyes.

Give it a day, at least, before you edit.

I had my editing checklist here, but then I noticed Pinterest expert Cath Oneissy‘s process was about the same. And you should read absolutely everything on her website. So start with this, then go check her out (after you pin this post for later, of course.)

8. Get Clever (But Mostly Clear)

Time to write our headline! We saved the best step of writing for last, because on average 80% of people will read your headline, but only 20% will read the rest. So it’s worth writing 25 different versions, then taking extra time to add some shine to your subheadings and ensure they’re in H2 format. Which takes us merrily along to our next step!

9. Get Your H2’s In Order

This post won’t get too in the weeds on how to format your blog post, but I do plan to write a full post detailing the best way to do it. I want to play around with Gutenberg for a little while first.

Essentially you want to:

Write short paragraphs. 3 sentences, tops.
Use plenty of bullet points
No one reads on the internet. They scan.
Make your post more scannable.
Make good use of H1-H5. These are good header tag guidelines:

10. Get Found

I’m not an SEO expert but I’ve been in the digital marketing world for so long that SEO-boosted writing comes naturally.

It’s second nature to me now, but when I started I used this checklist:

Include your keyword in your headline
Include your keyword in your first paragraph
DON’T KEYWORD STUFF
Optimize your images (see below)
Categorize your posts meaningfully
Use relevant tags & make your keyword one of them.
Use your Yoast plugin

Write for humans first, then the engines. Google’s algorithm is almost sentient, anyway. So serve your readers with valuable content, use SEO best practice, and don’t sweat it. If your content is valuable and you consistently keep adding to it, that’s good Internet anyway.

It’s what the pro’s call white hat.

11. Get Camera Ready

Your images are key for your blog post’s performance.

And not just at the promotional phase!

You need to have beautiful, thoughtfully created graphics to go along with your post, or it will not get found. And then it doesn’t matter that you know how to write the perfect blog post: no one will ever know.

Those are the images that will get re-pinned (my favorite source of blog traffic.) Those are the images that will stop people mid-scroll.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer, or a graphic designer.

If you have the budget, get a stock photo membership – I love my Styled Stock Society membership!

If you don’t, sign up for Canva. Create graphics in your brand colors.

And that’s only the beginning. Once you upload your images, you want to make sure your optimizing them for search, too!

One of my clients saw a 78% increase in search traffic, and it was only from Google images.

When you upload your image(s):

change the title
make your keyword your alt text
add a description that contains adjacent keywords. Keep it short and sweet, this is less for SEO and more for any visually impaired readers who rely on visual descriptions.
Select “Link to None” to avoid annoying pins to nowhere
Make sure your file size isn’t too big. It’ll slow down your site’s load speed.

Lindsay Humes of white Oak Creative has an excellent guide to optimizing your WordPress images.

Bloggers spend a lot of time creating beautiful images for their websites, but they often miss out on optimizing these images for their sites. It is one of the most common and frequent mistakes I see. When adding images to your WordPress blog, there are five things you should do to maximize their SEO.

12. Get It On The Calendar

Finally, an easy step! Schedule your blog posts according to your blog’s best performing traffic times.

Preview it to look for weird formatting bugs or broken links.

13. Get Sharing!

How you promote your post warrants another blog post entirely. But I really like Hailey Dale’s philosophy on promoting your blog posts so they work harder for you:

A simple ratio, I work with is 2:1. For every single piece of content you create, spend twice that amount of time promoting it. If it takes you two hours to write and publish? Spend 4 hours marketing it.

Action Items

Now you know exactly how to write the perfect blog post. Here are the action items you can implement today:

Create your editorial calendar so you can publish high quality, in-depth content as often as possible for your business. If you’re a small business with 1-10 employees aim for as many posts over 1500 words as you can. The ideal is 11+, but the goal is as many as you can write and still make them good.
Choose a post topic, outline, research and write your rough draft.
Take some time away from the post, then come back to edit using an editing checklist.
Write your headlines.
Optimize your post with Images, Formatting, and SEO.
Publicize your hard work!
Bonus: See how you can batch the elements of this process for even more efficient blog post writing.

How To Use Writing Templates (The Right Way)

August 6, 2018
Content Creation, Copywriting
Comments Off on How To Use Writing Templates (The Right Way)
by Liz Convissar

Writing templates are one of the best ways to improve your productivity and your writing.

The productivity part is intuitive: it’s the difference between a long-form blog post that practically writes itself and staring at a blank page humming the Hamilton soundtrack until brilliant copy just appears on the screen.

With writing templates and copywriting formulas, you have a clear map for your brain to follow while it arranges information for your audience. You get the components of good storytelling on a beaded sterling platter. All you need to do is serve up your secret ingredients.

But that still requires skill.

The part where formulaic writing makes your content and copy sound better sometimes surprises people.

“Won’t that sound boring?”

“Won’t I sound like a copycat?”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

If you do it wrong, you can answer “Um, yeah” to all three.

But if you write it right?

You’re looking at juicier content, copy with higher conversion rates and things that are just more fun to read.

This post covers how use writing templates the right way.

Write More With Less Work

Writing templates – aka copywriting formulas – are time-tested rubrics for copy and content that get your audience to take action.

They combine human psychology with decades of advertising research to get you, the writer, the best results possible.

When you write, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. You can rely on the actual Mad Men of the golden era of advertising, who researched and tested the pinstriped pants off the most effective copy.

The way we consume information has changed massively over the last century, but the way we process it? Not so much.

Those same formulas, based on science, still win.

And the templates based on them still help you write better copy, faster.

All you need to do is pay attention to the ones that work, and start swiping them for yourself.

Starting a Swipe File

Every writer uses a different kind of swipe file. My theory? We choose our method based on some algorithm that takes into account our Trello/Asana, Dubsado/Honeybook, Apple/Android, ENFJ/ISTP, Day Designer/Simplified Planner preferences.

I personally use a mix of swipe files, based on the medium of what I’m swiping.

For emails (individual emails and whole sequences) I just save them to a folder in my Gmail.

For templates included in a course or standout opt-in freebies, I save them to my Google Drive.

For copy snippets I read online, I save them to Airstory using the clipper. For copy snippets I read on a billboard, in a magazine, or on a well-branded cocktail napkin, I save them to Evernote using my thumbs.

For pretty much everything else, it’s Pinterest all day, every day. Now that you can segment your boards, I just have one private “SWIPE!” board broken down into sections. Stuff like…

Graphics
Blog Posts
Workflows

…etc., etc.

It seems like a lot, but it works for me. If I want to swipe one of Laura Belgray’s subject lines, I know to check my email. If I want to share what specific wild tree perfumed the morning mist, I know I better check my magazine copy bank in Evernote. If I need a headline for a client’s blog post, I look at my Pinterest board.

Start with a swipe file that’s easy to add to and easy for you to reference.

Writing Templates — A peek of my copy snippets file. Typos and all..

How is This Not Plagiarism?

To plagiarize, per Webster’s, is “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own: use (another’s production) without crediting the source.”

Yeah, I just lived the “Webster’s Dictionary Defines” meme. But I didn’t plagiarize!

Using a copywriting template still demands your own writing skill.

If you try to lift copy wholesale from a template, it’s not going to work.

That’s not your distinct voice, it’s not your exact product or service, and it’s not your word choice. Even if the template perfectly pulls all the psychological levers that great copy does by design, you’ve got to pull your own weight with your brand.

Otherwise, you sound inauthentic at best and off-putting at worst.

For example:

Paul Jarvis includes several email templates that he actually uses in the excellent Creative Class course.

He shares ’em through Google Drive and gives explicit instructions to make a copy and use them with wild abandon.

So I could just fill in the blanks, leaving the (excellent) copy untouched, and start sending them to potential clients.

If I did, I’d need to mentally prepare for nothing but crickets because those emails sound nothing like me.

His brand is built around minimalism. And I fall just short of Gianni Versace on the subtlety scale.

Anyone who got one of those emails from me would sniff out a fake, and I’d lose their trust.

If, however, I reduce the templates to their components, write each of those “blocks” from scratch in my own words, and use my unique voice…magic happens.

I’m taking advantage of the human psychology that informs copywriting formulas with a little sprinkle of secret spice (it’s Everything But The Bagel seasoning) to reach my audience in the same way they speak.

And that gets results.

5 Steps To Using Writing Templates Successfully

1.Start with what you’re writing:

Blog Post
Headline
Sales Page
Facebook Ad
Tweet
Offboarding Email

All of the above improve with a copywriting template. You just need to know what you’re writing, then find the right fit for your message.

2. Reference your swipe file(s).

Look for examples you saved that caught your eye, stopped your scroll, or made you smash that “read more” button. Let’s write a Facebook Ad CTA (call to action) together.

3. Break down your writing templates.

It’s more than looking at the ad you liked and just copy + pasting your name and product in there.

Let’s say I swiped a CTA that read “See why Wired Magazine calls Scribd the “Netflix for books.” (A real example from Wishpond.)

I could write the utter nonsense: “See why Wired Magazine calls Custom Convo the “Netflix for copywriters.”

Except Wired Magazine has never heard of Custom Convo (unless they live tweet #TheBachelorette.) And I’m not the Netflix for copywriters. Netflix is the Netflix for copywriters.

But if I break it down for parts, it reads “See why [Influencer] said [Blank]”

And with that, I could write “See why Lilly Pulitzer said they’ll never launch another collection without Custom Convo again.”

Also not true…yet. But it’s undoubtedly more on brand.

4. Write to One.

Address the people you seek, and them only.

– Claude C. Hopkins, Scientific Advertising

Once you know what you’re writing, and what template you’re using, write with your audience in mind. Write directly to your ideal client, and only that client.

Don’t worry about getting too specific – that’s a good thing. Don’t worry about alienating some people – they weren’t your people.

Fill in your template with the words, frustrations, hopes, dreams, and exclamations of your ideal clients.

Then filter everything one more time through your brand voice and style.

[bctt tweet=””Don’t worry about getting too specific – that’s a good thing. Don’t worry about alienating some people – they weren’t your people.”” username=”CustomConvo”]

5. Write. A lot.

If it’s a headline or another short template like our example, I’ve got a number for you: 25.

Upworthy has eight rules for writing headlines. Here they are, courtesy of CoSchedule:

You HAVE to write out 25 headlines for every piece of content.
You WILL write some really stinky headlines.
Once you start getting desperate you start thinking outside the box.
So you HAVE TO WRITE 25 HEADLINES.
#24 will suck. Then #25 will be a gift from the headlines gods and will make you a legend.
Accept that not every headline will be perfect.
Then write 25 headlines
With practice, you’ll be writing 25 in 15 minutes. Only then do you have permission to lower your limit.

Better Copy, Faster

When you use writing templates, you’re already ahead of the game.

No more starting from scratch, no more reinventing the wheel with every blog post. You’ll know how to convey your message clearly, and the restrictions a template places on your writing actually make you more creative.

Tell me, do you have a favorite formula?

How to Create The Perfect Blog Content Calendar

July 31, 2018
Content Creation, Content Strategy
Comments Off on How to Create The Perfect Blog Content Calendar
by Liz Convissar

Still operating without a blog content calendar? Let’s change that.

It’s Thursday. It always happens on a Thursday, doesn’t it?

Your final blog post of the week is set to go live tomorrow. Except it’s not written.

You stare intently at your screen, willing words to start appearing.

You hit play on your GSD Spotify station.

You get your third cup of Bulletproof coffee.

You smell something coming from your kid’s room on your way back to your desk.

You find it. The final, missing Easter egg. And it’s well past the 4th of July.

Before you know it, you’ve disinfected the entire toy chest, loaded two vanilla scented Hefty’s, and emailed your entire family to tell them you are now a battery-operated-toy-free-household please plan for birthdays accordingly.

Emily Ley would be proud, but honey that blog post is still not done.

Time for a Blog Content Calendar

No more scrambling at the last minute for post ideas.

No more 10 pm the night before slapdash posts.

No more avoiding your blog because it takes so. much. time. you can’t get to your other work.

What if you could enjoy writing for your blog?

What if you could feel prepared and excited for your next post?

What if you knew, more assuredly than you know a Jane Austen heroine will end up happily married to a rich dude, that your blog served your readers? Supported your biz goals? Built your brand while you sleep (or watch The Bachelor?)

A blog content calendar makes that happen. Here’s how to create one and fill it with posts your readers devour faster than peanut butter Halo Top.

What a Blog Content Calendar is

If you’ve read my post about why you need an editorial calendar, aka content calendar, you’re probably already familiar. But just in case, here’s a snappy definition from one of my faves:

A content calendar is basically an overview in calendar form of all the content that you are planning to share and post on your blog or various social media outlets. The purpose of a content calendar is to plan it out in advance, so you know exactly what you’re posting each day. It’s helpful because it’s visual and easy to quickly glance at and know what content is coming up for that month.¹

3 Steps to an Epic Blog Content Calendar

1. Tool Time

Use whatever tool works for YOU. Paper planner? WordPress plugin? Evernote? Trello? G Cal? This beautiful calendar from Lindsey Letters? Just pick a tool that brings you joy and excitement, so you’ll look forward to mapping out your content.

2. Plan it

Break out your shiny new calendar and get planning.

Plan it annually, quarterly, and monthly. Here’s one of the best tools I use.

If you’re going back to the drawing board each week, you’re already fighting uphill.

What happens when your 4-year-old gets preschool plague and your Tuesday goes the way of Lion Guard and saltines on the couch? What if you win a Tahitian vacation but you absolutely must leave that Friday without even time for a wax appointment?

Your content doesn’t have to suffer when life inevitably happens.

Have a month’s worth of posts at your fingertips. Here’s how.

3. Fill It Up

Ready for the fun part? Let’s load up your editorial calendar with nothin’ but the best.

Set Categories

Who are you talking to?

Write all your blog posts like an email to your dreamiest, Volcano candle scented, caramel filled dream client.

That’s who you want to reach, after all. So what do they want to hear about? What’s important to them?

Combine those topics with the ones that fire you up. The topics you just can’t stop talking about. The ones in your zone of genius.

How many times do you want to post weekly or monthly? That’s how many categories you need.

For example, I blog once a week, 4x monthly. And I want to evenly distribute my content across my categories. That looks like:

Week 1: Content Creation
Week 2: Copywriting
Week 3: Branding & Content Strategy
Week 4: Mompreneur Tips & Tricks

Remember Your Biz Goals and Quarterly Goals.

Zoom out and analyze your promotional calendar.

The blog posts that support your business go in “permanent ink.”

When is your eBook publishing? When is your course launch? When do you need to start promoting your fall collection? Get those dates on the blog content calendar.

If one of your income streams comes from collabs and sponsored posts, these go on your calendar next. They get priority because strict deadlines make them hard to swap with other posts on the schedule.

Next, look for major holidays. Plan seasonal promos like Black Friday and Cyber Monday at least a quarter in advance. They’re likely the highlight of your marketing season, so make sure you put your best, pedicured and Stuart Weitzman-clad foot forward with content that matches the rest of your efforts.

Theme your promotional, sponsored, and seasonal posts according to your topics and schedule these posts accordingly.

Get Your Stalk On

See what your clients are talking about. Then take the conversation to your place.

Look to see what people are saying on:

Twitter
Reddit
Quora
Facebook Groups

Now you can get topical. Try to solve problems and answer questions with these posts.

If your fellow group members all keep asking “For the love of La Croix why can’t I get my IG captions to format properly?”

Well, you know a post about IG captioning would bring all the female entrepreneurs to your yard. Write it, and answer with your link to put an end to their frustration.

RePurpose

You’ve already got a gold mine of content, you beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox.

Take a quick peek at your analytics. Those immensely popular posts that bring the traffic year after year? Those are ripe for repurposing.

Try approaching your headline from a different angle. If you wrote an amazing, lovingly crafted blog post called “Why You Need an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog” then write another one called “How to Create The Perfect Blog Content Calendar.”

Try writing an “evil twin” post.* If you’ve written about “The Best Ways to Choose a Wedding Photographer” more often than you’ve washed your hair this year, write a post called “How NOT to Choose a Wedding Photographer.” Then try this.

*Guard your tone carefully with this approach. A business coach once evaluated a post I wrote with this technique and she was concerned about how negative it was. Don’t devolve into snark if that’s not your brand voice, and strive to serve above all else.

Try a different format. What’s your most-watched YouTube video? Transcribe that puppy. What’s your top performing tutorial post? Make a video version. Most clicked Pinterest graphic? Get some throat lozenges and record your first podcast. A group thread on Facebook that you keep returning to with new intel? Time to make it a blog post. Look at the hard work you’ve already done and make that content work harder.

I’ll keep it brief, just like your Pinterest search for content ideas should be. Promise me. Set a timer and whatever you do, don’t click through. Let the headlines jog your imagination. We can talk about apple cider sangria another day.

Helpful Hints from Content Queens

You don’t have to take my word for it, though you totally could. Some of the best content creators are open-handed with their ideation process.

Lauren Hooker has 50 blog post ideas for you, plus these tips:

Chaitra from PinkPot has an excellent headline swipe file download that she explains here:

Melyssa Griffin swears by mind mapping:

And Marie Forleo has 5 tips you should check out, but this one is my favorite:

Make It Good, Make It Useful

The whole point of your blog content calendar is to make sure the content you create supports your business goals and your brand. But the only way it’ll work is if it serves your readers.

You’ll do this when you:

Plan in advance
Write to your ideal client
Answer the questions they’re actually asking
Write content that excites you and interests them
Make it valuable and irresistible.

Your Turn

In the comments, tell me your favorite way to build out your content calendar. Or your favorite Leslie Knope compliments.

Podcasts for Mompreneurs: The Ultimate List

July 31, 2018
Mompreneur Tips & Tricks
Comments Off on Podcasts for Mompreneurs: The Ultimate List
by Liz Convissar

35 Irresistible Podcasts for Mompreneurs

You probably know about many of the best podcasts for Mompreneurs, but I’ve assembled 35 in this ultimate guide.

Some are inspirational.

Others are motivating.

And others are the No-BS equivalent of your favorite grueling FlyWheel class.

But they’re all here.

So pull up your podcast player and get subscribing.

Podcasts for Boss Moms

1. Boss Up! Podcast – Lindsay Teague Moreno struts through your earbuds, grabs you by both shoulders, and tells you what your business needs to hear. “An original, authentic, experienced, and no BS business podcast for momtrepreneurs by Lindsay Teague Moreno. Around here, we stick to the 3 F’s rule: No Fake, No Fluff, No Fairytale.” You need her in your life.

2. Brilliant Business Moms – Beth Anne Schwamberger, a former pediatric RN turned brilliant business Mom herself, has created an Etsy shop full of e-resources. Her podcast features practical business advice with excellent tips for Etsy sellers in particular.

3. The Boss Mom Podcast – It’s hard for me to even type this without tearing up a little. As a newly minted Mama in 2016, I emerged from the “4th trimester” along with the daffodils and tulips that line Chicago’s sidewalks every spring. I remember strolling my new baby all over Lakeview, emerging from a mental and actual winter. And I took Dana with us on many, many of those walks…in my earbuds. This is the podcast that opened my eyes to a future where I could have a career and precious time with my baby. I’m forever grateful I found it, and I still shout “YASSS!” when I listen to a new episode.

4. CEO Mom Talk – Kristie is a homeschooling boss Mom who coaches other women to build profitable blogs and businesses, even if you don’t sell a thing. Her podcast is perfect for blogging Moms who want to monetize or uplevel and turn their blog into a fulfilling (and money making) career.

5. The Coffee + Crumbs Podcast – This one isn’t about biz but it deserves a mention. Coffee + Crumbs feels like a lunch date with best friends, and these Mamas explore what it means to create art and humans. Topics cover everything from Mom uniforms to date night to interviews with female business owners also raising their families. In the sometimes isolating roles of Mom and entrepreneur, this podcast feels like your girlfriends showing up with hot coffee and an offer to watch the kids while you take a minute for yourself.

6. Mompreneurs in Heels – Demetria shares her tips as another homeschooling Mompreneur, interviews other successful business-owning Mamas, and actionable steps to take in your own business…all so you can support your family and your dreams.

7. Naptime Empires – Nikki Elledge Brown has the wildest journey, but basically, she went from making 14 bones an hour to creating a million dollar empire. Her podcast features interviews and conversation about mindset, money, your brand voice and more. One of my favorite podcasts for mompreneurs!

8. The Mom Biz Solutions Show – Lara covers business basics and mindset shifts with an expert touch – she’s the Mom Biz Coach, after all. This podcast helps solve the real and different challenges that uniquely affect Moms trying to run their business and their families.

9. The Power Squad Project Podcast – Imagine attending a conference with speakers like DryBar’s Alli Webb and ThinkHuman’s Meredith Haberfeld. You chat in between sessions about meal planning and your mompreneur fitness routine. Now imagine you’re in your fancy yoga pants and you can attend for free while you make dinner. Welcome to the Power Squad Project with Ashleigh Blatt.

Podcasts for Business Owners

10. Being Boss Podcast – What happens when two majorly successful entrepreneurs get together to give you real talk about mindset, business boundaries, marketing on ethically-questionable huuuuuge social media platforms, and running your creative business like the boss you are? This podcast. Emily and Kathleen consistently deliver killer advice, interviews, and sometimes permission to own your biz like, you, well, own it.

11. Bosses + Booze Masterclasses – Meghan Maydel invites you to drinks with every major female entrepreneur you’ve ever Instagram stalked. You in? Me too.

12. Business, Life & Joy with Shunta Grant – Shunta is the brilliant attorney-turned maven behind Because of Zoey (cutest hairbows ever) and the Peace Pace Progress course. She “teaches entrepreneurs how to maximize their most limited resource, time, and then how to use that time most effectively to grow an impactful business.” You’ll come away feeling super motivated, and ready to set your alarm a lot earlier.

13. Courage and Clarity – Steph Crowder of Fizzle hosts this excellent podcast that’s part big picture + mindset and part actionable, tactical steps you can take about that episodes topic. The first part (the courage) is all about being bold enough to have that idea in the first place. The second part (the clarity) is what makes it work. Too much clarity, and you forget the entire reason you’re doing your work. Too much courage, and you never get into the nitty-gritty of making your biz happen. Too much of this podcast, doesn’t actually exist and you should listen to every ep.

14. Do it Scared – Ruth Soukup wrote the book on blogging for profit and is the creator of Elite Blog Academy. If you blog for profit (or want to) you’ve probably heard of her. With her new podcast, she interviews other experts and shares her own heartfelt advice about overcoming obstacles to launch the business you dream of.

15. Don’t Keep Your Day Job – Even if you’ve never heard of Cathy Heller, you’ve probably heard her. Now, she uses her podcast to feature other women who crafted a life they love by ditching their day job. This podcast is inspirational and the interviewees read like a guest list for a Grammy’s after party.

16. Fueled With heart Podcast – Reina always leaves me feeling lighter and like the world is a better place. This is my go-to when I need a positivity boost, a mindset re-set, and a reminder of why running my own business is so important to me.

17. Impact Driven Entrepreneur – Mariana is a business coach that helps entrepreneurs turn likes and comments into profit. This podcast features interviews and advice for women who want to use their business to impact the world and design a life they love.

18. Law and Wit – It’s good to be legit. And Brittany Ratelle, ESQ makes it fun while we’re at it. She talks contracts, privacy policies (the dreaded GDPR), copyrights and copycats, plus brand strategy. It’s excellent and you’ll feel smarter when you listen.

19. She’s Building Her Empire – Stacy Tuschl delivers twice weekly episodes that range from strategy deep dives to one-bite-brownies of wisdom, inspiration and motivation in her Flash Friday episodes. I love her insight and strategy episodes where she covers digital products – you’ll want to take notes!

20. She Did It Her Way – Come for the motivation, stay for the productivity ideas. Amanda Boleyn shares tips for mindset, marketing, entrepreneurship, money and “The LEAP” plus interviews with household names. I’m all 😍 and not just because she’s a Chicago gal.

21. The Graced Podcast – Natalie Weber Hamilton discusses and educates about all facets of small biz ownership. From Instagram marketing, to how to handle copycats, to entrepreneur hacks, every episode has great advice.

22. The Strategy Hour – This show by Abagail and Emylee of Think Creative Collective is just as much a powerhouse as their business is. Like, it’s almost overwhelming how flipping useful and actionable it is. Just like I do on their website, I listen to this podcast while nodding vigorously and trying to implement everything all at once. They interview what seems like every superstar of the creative entrepreneur world. And they don’t let them get away without sharing tips and strategies that will rock your business.

23. Think & Grow Chick – Courtney Sanders provides training, coaching, and workshops to female entrepreneurs, and every week she shares her expertise (for freeee) in her podcast. You’ll get mindset coaching, interviews with other women entrepreneurs, and now that she’s a Mom, advice on balance. Literally. She and I share the same trick of bouncing baby on an exercise ball to get sh*t done.

24. Wit + Wisdom Podcast – Wish you could sit down with your BFF’S to talk mindset, content strategy, and entrepreneurship without their eyes glazing over? Now you can. Erin + Kirsten are actual besties who combine their female entrepreneur superpowers to create this epic resource.

Podcasts for Mompreneurs with Creative Businesses

25. Brands That Book – hosted by Davey Jones, co-founder of Rising Tide Society, not the mythical pirate. This show features interviews with creative, service-based entrepreneurs who share their greatest advice for booking more quality clients and building your brand. It’s like the podcast equivalent of #TuesdaysTogether and every episode is delightful.

26. Creative Class – This show is the best place to start if you want to launch a freelancing career. “If you’re like most freelancers, it’s the business stuff that keeps you awake at night, not the actual writing, programming or designing. That’s where the Creative Class podcast comes in.” This podcast is so good I bought the course as soon as the last season ended, and it’s the best investment I’ve made in my business to date.

27. Ellechat Podcast – Ellechats are Lauren’s weekly in-depth webinars that feel like a group coaching session is warming your heart and toasting your earbuds. I cannot take notes fast enough when I watch one. Lauren recently started releasing them in podcast format too. Excellent for designers, like Lauren, but also for any small business owners and solopreneurs.

28. The Creative Empire Podcast – Wanna know how I have all these podcasts in my Overcast rolodex? I subscribe to them after Reina Pomeroy (Reina and Co.) and Cristina Scalera (The Contract Shop) inevitably interview them on this show. It’s like a who’s who of the creative world. And they always share their inspiring journeys to CEO plus the business strategies that got them there. Solid rose gold, ladies.

Podcasts for Mompreneurs Running Product-Based Businesses

29. Creative Biz Rebellion – Kelly & Caroline are two successful business owners who rebel against the mystery that shrouds the product-based biz world. They believe that creativity is the ultimate rebellion, and their interviews, rap sessions and real talk help you ” totally rock your product based business.”

30. Positively Creative – hosted by mixed media artist Dorothy Collier of Dorothy Art. This podcast has something for all creative entrepreneurs but features product-based biz geniuses that will have you hitting pause to take notes.

31. The Femtrepreneur Show – Do you sell your own online courses? You need this podcast all up in your iTunes/Stitcher/Overcast. Mariah Coz and Megan Minns share honest, in-depth details about everything it takes to build, launch, and profit from an online course. It’s the only one of its kind, and it’s so good there’s no competition anyway.

Podcasts for Marketing Mompreneurs

32. Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield – It’s Amy Freakin’ Porterfield, need I go on? Well, you know me, I will. She didn’t invent online marketing, but she’s pretty much perfected it. Interviews with A-listers like Marie Forleo and Russell Brunson, heartfelt discussion about Amy’s own business journey, and pro advice with actionable steps abound in every episode.

33. The Goal Digger Podcast – Jenna Kutcher describes her podcast as “the live-workshop style business podcast for creative girl bosses” but I had to include it in marketing because those are always the best episodes of this podcast! No surprise there, Jenna’s a marketing guru.

34. The Influencer Podcast – Julie Solomon is a NYT bestselling publicist with a resume that would make Samantha Jones jealous. She explores how the top influencers, bloggers and elite marketers make their magic happen (hint, it’s hard work.) If you want to leverage your audience in a meaningful way, this is a must-listen!

35. The Simple Pin Podcast – Kate Ahl, Pinterest manager & consultant, talks strategy and solid advice without “crazy hacks to ‘game the system’ (ugh.) She interviews people using Pinterest in creative and productive ways, and this is another one you’ll want to enjoy with your pen and paper handy.

How to Possibly Listen to This Many Awesome Podcasts for Mompreneurs

Did you know that Podcast listeners subscribe to an average of 6 shows and that 64% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting”?

I’m willing to bet that number is a lot higher for Mompreneurs.

While we nurture our babies (business and human), we become experts at switching between both roles.

And you already know that sometimes we do multitask, even when we commit to being fully present in our families and our businesses.

Ideal times:

Every time we load the dishwasher. Pop in the earbuds and you’re also attending a masterclass on brand voice.

Walking the dog. I do enjoy the occasional unplugged walk. But my girl goes out 3 times a day, and the circus monkeys come along for a few of those strolls. My podcasts come too, and no one minds the fresh air or time to think.

Carpool. You can listen to the same 5 songs on every single radio station, or you can laugh appreciatively while a mom boss shares just what her “work/life balance” really looks like.

Laundry. Can we even determine with manmade metrics how much better baby sock matching gets when you’ve got sweet, sweet business strategy tactics filling your ears? Science has not come that far.

If there’s a medium more perfectly made for Moms, I don’t know what it is.

So tell me – what are YOUR must-hear podcasts? Let me know in the comments below!

Why You Need a Blog Editorial Calendar

July 31, 2018
Content Creation, Content Strategy
Comments Off on Why You Need a Blog Editorial Calendar
by Liz Convissar

Running your business without a blog editorial calendar is like throwing your best friend a party without any prior thought.

Imagine it’s the morning of the party. You blink back the too-bright sunshine letting you know that your alarm failed. You’re an hour behind schedule.

You jump out of bed and forgo washing your face. You just grab your toothbrush and run to your closet to choose your outfit.

You settle on a “meh” moody floral dress that’s not super flattering because you didn’t plan time to grab something cute at the Nordstrom sale. It’s slightly wrinkled and you get a little Crest on it, but that’s the least of your worries.

You haven’t planned the menu, or gotten extra ice.

Party games? You figured inspiration would strike the morning of.

The decorations you carefully Pinned and ordered are still withering away in their Prime box.

Playlist? LOL that’s a joke, right?! You can’t even find your bra right now.

People will still show up. You’ll probably have an okay time. But this party is a sad likeness of the soiree you pictured in your head.

[bctt tweet=”You wouldn’t throw a party without some planning. You shouldn’t invite everyone over to your blog without some either.” username=”CustomConvo”]

That’s what it’s like running your blog without a blog editorial calendar.

You wouldn’t throw a party without some planning. You shouldn’t invite everyone over to your blog without some either.

Maybe you love blogging, but sometimes you don’t know how to blog for your business.

Maybe you’ve got content ideas that would make Jenna Kutcher herself stand up and cheer for you! But you struggle with consistency and don’t really know how to plan everything.

Maybe your method of flying by the seat of your pants is creating stress for you – not the actual writing and publishing process.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to shake up your systems with a blog editorial calendar.

Blog Editorial Calendar AKA Content Calendar

An editorial calendar is a plan for your blog’s content. It also goes by “content calendar.” Though content calendar also refers to your content across all channels, including social media, you can use the two terms interchangeably.

No More Struggling to Plan & Organize Posts

You know how important your blog is for your business. It’s where you establish trust, build authority, and develop relationships with your clients and future clients.

Working from a blog editorial calendar lets you sit down, brainstorm for a few minutes, and have a strategic plan for the entire month…or even the whole year.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have themes planned out instead of rushing around at the last minute?

Wouldn’t it be great if your blog supported your business’ goals?

Wouldn’t you be less stressed if you had time to create a story and pick the right pictures too?

A blog editorial calendar will help you stop procrastinating. It will save you time in the long run. And it will help your business grow.

This post will:

Tell you exactly why you need a blog editorial calendar
Give you tools to create one
Provide insight into how other successful female entrepreneurs use theirs
Get you planning ahead

You Need a Blog Editorial Calendar

A blog editorial calendar helps you establish consistency. And consistency is more important to your blog than the cheese to sauce ratio is to a Neapolitan style pizza. Which is to say it’s life or death.

According to CoSchedule:

Folks who publish consistent content get as much as 30% more traffic for every post they publish, all while saving about an hour per post.

Consistency also helps with frequency. According to HubSpot:

The small companies that publish 11 or more blog posts per month drive much higher traffic than companies of the same size that publish fewer than 11 blog posts. Those that published 11+ posts per month had almost 3X more traffic than companies publishing 0 – 1 monthly posts, and about 2X as much traffic as those publishing 2 – 5 monthly posts.

Frequent posting helps you build an impressive library of content that keeps working for you. Those posts, called Pillar Posts, prop up your traffic.

As long as you create high quality, valuable content, people will return to it for months and years to come. Those posts give you credibility with humans and Google alike. They refer traffic from social media and other sites.

Most importantly, they convert into leads.

That same HubSpot study found that over 75% of their blog views and 90% of their blog leads came from old posts.

The types of posts that attract so much attention require your expertise. They require planning. They require time (more time than you think, always) to research and write.

They’re about topics that fall in your zone of genius. They’re the topics your audience and clients count on you to talk about.

They’re likely not about the route you and your (adorable!) GoldenSchnoodle took through the park yesterday. Unless, of course, you’re Serena of Pretty Fluffy and that’s what your readers want.

And you obviously know what your readers want, right?

When you write those types of posts, for those exact readers, those are valuable Pillar Posts.

And those blog posts? They make you money, honey.

Companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got about 4.5X more leads than companies that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts.

–Hubspot

But they don’t happen by accident! You need a strategy to plan and execute them.

Nesha Woolery, graphic designer and business mentor for freelancers, sums it up perfectly:

When you have a whole month’s worth of content written and scheduled, you’re more strategic.

Beyond consistency and frequency of posts, an editorial calendar is how you create strategically. And strategy = value.

Why can’t I just keep my list of ideas in my Notes app?

Well, if we’re being honest, is the list confined to your Notes app? Or is some of it in Evernote? And another list entirely on your G Drive?

Do you have all your “stuff” on notepads and pieces of paper here and there? Have you tried going the organization route, but, IDK, you’re just “not that organized”?

You are a strong, independent woman who don’t need no desk littered with post it’s that say “WRITE ABOUT THANKSGIVING”!

You are a v. professional businesswoman. Someone who appreciates an expert opinion.

Here’s what Srini Rao, author of Unmistakeable Creative and host of The Unmistakeable Creative podcast has to say about calendars:

When it comes to task completion the major difference between a calendar and a to-do-list is that the calendar accounts for time. You’re forced to work within the constraints of the 24 hours that you have. Not only that, given that there are only 24 hours it also reduces the paradox of choice. This tends to be great for scheduling time for high-level creative output.

How to Set Up Your Blog Editorial Calendar

Convinced yet? Perf. But still wondering how to fill your content calendar with post ideas?

Two words: content prompts. You already know where to look. It starts with a p and it rhymes with “Babe, you’ve been pinning luxury chicken coops for 45 minutes, can we please leave for the movies now?”

If you, ahem, have an issue getting sucked into the Pinterest vortex (but the messy buns! the quinoa salads! the furniture makeovers!) here are a few of my tried and true sources for content ideation:

Elle Drouin of Wonderfelle Media

I love Elle’s incredible stock photography site, Styled Stock Society. And I’ve been a fan of her blog for years! She consistently provides valuable, enjoyable content. Now you can see why (and how).

Lauren Hooker, of Elle & Co. Design

Another fangirl alert: Elle & Co. is one of my forever favorite reads. Lauren’s systems are just like her designs: clean, bright, and impeccable. I love seeing how she runs her successful blog & business.

Kara Layne & Co.

This blog planner isn’t free, it’s $25. But it’s more than a list of prompts. If you are a strictly analog person, or even if you just need to sketch out ideas before transferring them to your digital systems, this planner looks comprehensive and beautifully designed.

Bre Pea

Bre takes a bird’s eye view of the whole year with monthly content ideas. This strategy gives you an even better blog editorial calendar because you’re taking the long view. If monthly planning gives your blog all the benefits we talked about above, just imagine what quarterly and annual planning could do for it?

Dedicate each quarter to furthering one of your business goals, and use your editorial calendar to support them.

When you sit down to look at the year overall, you just segment your goals (and your content) further and further into manageable pieces.

No more writing the day before. No more panicking when you have a batch day because you’ve got the week planned already. No more freaking out when you sit down to plan the month because you already know your topics from your Q2 refresher. And, of course, no worries there because you sat down with some hot chocolate way back last December to map out the rough sketch of your year.

And just like that, you’re the kind of business owner who plans their content a year in advance.

The Blooming Photographer

Am I a photographer? Absolutely not. My DSLR is forever set to automatic, sorry. But do I love this list? Like I love the Vici Instagram account, baby.

When I feel stuck writing about the exact. same. thing as every other writer, I look outside my niche.

If you’re a photographer, look at food blogs. If you run an Etsy shop, look at DIY home renovation blogs.

Sometimes you just need to shake up your brain to reframe your blog post ideas. Come up with new angles. See how something totally unrelated is surprisingly like [Your Special Thing.]

This will also help you stand out in your field by not sounding like your talented competitors.*

One More Tip

Because I’m a copywriter and content creator, I have to carefully guard my voice.

That means I can’t read too much of what other talented copywriters create.

I’m heavily influenced by the words I consume, so I don’t want to end up sounding like someone else…even if I have an ENORMO girlcrush on her.

It’s like when I spend too much time with my in-laws and develop a Long Island accent. Or when I hang out with my favorite Cheesehead and start saying “oooh’s” instead of “oh’s.” Or when I drink any amount of gin and start drawling like I’m Blanche Deveraux.

All fascinating accents that tickle the ear, and my fancy. But none of them are authentically me.

So to get inspo without picking up someone else’s “accent”, here are some sources I’ll explore when brainstorming:

Fashion Blogs
Disney Blogs
Food Blogs
Interior Design Mags
Longreads
My Favorite Writers on Twitter
Classic Literature
PubMed (trust me, when I can understand what those scientists are saying, they’re using excellent communication.)

What Other Successful Female Entrepreneurs Have to Say About All This

Content marketing has been one of the number one ways we’ve grown our business and without having an editorial calendar we definitely wouldn’t stay on track.

– Andrew & Kathie, Bluchic Media

I keep track of not only which posts get the most traffic, but also the posts that get the most engagement (comments, social shares, opt-ins) and the posts that result in the most revenue.

– Elle Drouin, Wonderfelle Media

I have blogged both with and without an editorial calendar and I can confidently say that it has made a difference to the quality of my blog posts. Most importantly, editorial calendar has helped save my sanity and be peaceful, as getting stressed about writing and publishing a blog post is the last thing you want to do after a busy day.

– Chaitra, PinkPot

After I wrote down a ton of small post ideas and then started scheduling them in a manner that made the most sense to me, I was literally floored to see over 65 posts laid out over the course of over three months. Gone was the feeling that I didn’t have anything to write about!

– Megan Martin, Megan Martin Creative

The Takeaway

You ever grocery shop without a list?

Same. It always ends in disaster. By disaster, I do mean over budget, over my Pub Sub quota, and with unnecessary cookies.

Trying to blog without an editorial calendar is the business equivalent of shopping without a list, after a kickboxing class, on a day you skipped breakfast.

Brain fog, bad decisions, and making stuff that fills you up, sure, but does it nourish you?

Probably not.

If you’re serious about your health, you meal plan, you make a list, you execute both. Or you outsource it.

If you’re serious about your business’ blog, you content plan, you make a blog editorial calendar, you execute both. Or you outsource it.

Your Turn

Have you tried an editorial calendar for your blog? LMK in the comments!