How to Make a Book Blogging Content Calendar

I was asked the other day, How do you make a content calendar? This is such a great follow up post to my how to become a book blogger post because having a content calendar is an invaluable resource to have to make your life as a book blogger much easier. Without further ado, let me tell you how to make your own content calendar.

The Basics

You need to ask yourself, how often you want to post on your (book) blog. Think about what you can reasonably manage and what will not stress you out. Then make a list of those days. It can be just the plain old date, or just even Monday, Wednesday Friday. Whatever floats your boat. I like to fill my book blogging content calendar up to two months in advance so I get a good sense of my larger plan. But start with whatever you feel comfortable with.

The Content

Next begin filling in what you want to post. This can range from weekly memes, or discussion pieces, guest posts, or book reviews. Do not be afraid of an empty space, think of that as wiggle space or a free spot. Try to be flexible, realistic, and optimistic. I know this can sound contradictory, but you will get a sense of this as you go along. I like to keep my Friday’s open so I can write a discussion piece impromptu style like this one today.

You could even do this on a real calendar to save yourself trouble. View this content calendar as a living thing that will evolve and change. Based on your preference you may redo it or it could get soaked in tea and you will need a new one and want to try something else. That may have happened to me. Be open to new ideas and do not be afraid to move things around. Do it in pencil! I do recommend having a physical copy of your book blogging content calendar though, but it’s up to you. Having something I carry around keeps me more accountable and willing to follow it.

Content Calendar 2.0

An advanced or more organized person might want to add stages to their book blogging content calendar. By placing little boxes or circles, or hearts, after your post you can denote whether it is a) planned, b) written, c) edited, and d) live. You can make the stages whatever you want and this helps me when I write down a list of all the books I have been approved for as advance reads. I have a) on my blog calendar b) review written c) feedback submitted on original site d) published. It is a visual reminder of what I still need to do and keeps me moving forwards.

Why?

Having a content calendar is especially important as a book blogger because then you can organize your advance reads or your weekly memes. For advance reads you can tell authors or publishers when you will publish your review and this will make you seem more professional. It also makes me feel better to see my book blogging content calendar so I can schedule myself enough time to read the darn book. The biggest help, besides organization, is that my content calendar keeps me responsible and on track.

Let’s Discuss: what do you use to plan your blog content?

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If you liked this post, check out my first post about becoming a book blogger

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