Has the following scenario ever happened to you?

You (or a member of your team) write a post for your company blog and click “Publish” with a certain sense of excitement and anticipation and then … nothing. Nothing but digital tumbleweed and crickets.

If only content marketing were as simple as learning the tricks of a video game, or some formulated secret hack you could try right now that could ensure your company blog posts not only got more clicks, comments and shares, but actually resonated with ideal customers and compelled them to take action.

Supercharge Your Company Blog, Today

But wait! There is and it’s called a blog editorial calendar. (I know … a boring name for a power move that has the potential to supercharge your company blog. But stick with me…)

[pullquote]”In today’s Internet landscape more content isn’t going to set you apart from the crowd – better content will.”[/pullquote]A plan is literally like a power up for your company blog. If you want to create a blog that sells, you have to provide valuable content over time that serves a sales function — and that is the essential piece that most small business owners forget.

If you’re blogging for business, you could simply write whatever comes to mind, whenever inspiration strikes… and hope for the best. Hope the right people will find it and hope that they’ll be compelled to purchase your wares or services.

Or you could do what successful company blogs do and create a “power up” plan. Because here’s the real kicker: In today’s Internet landscape more content isn’t going to set you apart from the crowd – better content will. And an editorial calendar is the secret power up for your blog’s content. It will ensure that everything you post is irresistible and relevant content for your readers.

5 Questions to Determine Content Purpose

Every post you write for your company blog should serve your larger purpose, what Simon Sinek calls, “Your why!” Maybe your why is educating seniors about health care, or entertaining teenagers and young adults. Maybe the reason your company exists is to bring publicity to an important cause or solve a particularly large problem. Whatever it is, it’s bigger than selling products or making a lot of money.

Beyond this, each blog post should also serve a purpose for your business as well. When you’re brainstorming blog ideas and formulating your editorial calendar, ask yourself these five questions:

1. Who is this post for? Is this content valuable to my ideal reader? Could I make it more valuable?
2. What purpose does this content serve to support my business? Is it generating attention for our company blog? Does it help retain existing readers? Should it increase desire for our products and services?
3. When should we publish this post so that it has the most impact? How does this content support our sales cycle? Does this content positively impact a seasonal business?
4. Where does this content fit into my overall content marketing strategy? How is it moving my business forward?
5. Why are we sharing this particular content? How does it fit within our bigger “why”?

By considering these five questions for all of your content your company blog can stand out amongst a sea of “average” company blogs, because you’re content serves a purpose that supports your reader’s interests and your small business.

So, take the next step and make these questions a part of your content planning process as you build your editorial calendar. And of course, knowledge without action is kind of useless, so I invite you to grab the ultimate power up by downloading my free ebook, “The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Editorial Calendar”.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Lacy Boggs is a professional ghost blogger who has been telling stories since she first learned to talk. In 2011, she gave up her 60-hour-per-week job as a magazine editor to become a full-time mom and write-from-home freelancer. After using her mad storytelling and journalism skills to grow her personal blog more than 800 percent in a single year, Lacy realized she could help other small business owners do the same and launched Ghostblogger.co—a service to help small business owners amplify their voice, gather their tribe and become authorities in their field. Lacy eats like a foodie, reads trashy YA novels, and sings along with the Muzak in gorgeous Colorado with her husband and daughter.

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