SportsBusiness Journal has one. So does eSchool Media Marketing, GeneaBloggers Genealogy Blog, SheKnows Magazines, and REALTOR® Magazine. Not only do they have one, they redo it every year. What could these very diverse companies have in common? An editorial calendar.

An editorial calendar is critical for the online publisher and web worker today. In traditional media, an editorial calendar was the year planned out in advance on editorial topics, articles, themes, article series, and events. Today, the editorial calendar goes even further covering social media, marketing, advertising, and virtual and direct social interaction. Whether for the individual blogger or a company, an editorial calendar sets goals and deadlines to keep you on track.

Every business with an online presence should spend time every fall or early winter preparing an editorial and social media calendar. In general it begins with a list of all the events and holidays associated with the business, such as industry fairs, conferences, and meetings. Look for seasonal events and activities for timely topics. Then all advertising and social media campaigns should be added to the mix so everyone in the company is on track with deadlines and monthly activities and how to tie them into blog post articles and social media coverage.

The next step is the same for everyone. Dive deep into your site’s content topics, categories, and tags. Have you said all needing to be said on a single topic or is there more to add? Where are the holes? Start filling them.

You can schedule posts by the day or the week to keep things loose. The enforcement of the deadlines are up to you, but the better planned your editorial and social media calendar, the more likely you are to stick with it over time.

Here are some articles with tips and helpful advice on how to develop an editorial calendar for yourself or to help a client create one for their business.

• Blogging For Web Designers: Editorial Calendars and Style Guides – Smashing Magazine | Smashing Magazine
• How to Put Together an Editorial Calendar for Content Marketing | Content Marketing Institute
• How Brands Are Borrowing From Publishers’ Toolkits | News – Advertising Age
• The benefits of an Editorial Calendar to keep your community on track | Blaise Grimes-Viort
• The Dirt on Editorial Calendars « Brain Traffic Blog
• Can An Editorial Calendar Help Your New Year’s Resolution? | Textbroker
• How to Create an Informal Editorial Calendar for Your Blog | FreelanceFolder
• Timing is Everything: Why You Need an Editorial Calendar | Heidi Cohen
• Editorial Calendars: Where All Content Marketers Should Start
• Why You Need An Editorial Calendar For Your Blog | Outspoken Media
• How to Build a Blog Editorial Calendar Even If You Don’t Know Where to Start | @PushingSocial
• How to Create a Social Media Editorial Calendar – Search Engine Watch (#SEW)
• Create an Editorial Calendar in Four Steps by @lisagerber of Spin Sucks
• 5 Keys to an Editorial Calendar that Keeps Your Content on Track | Content Marketing Institute
• Editorial Calendars 101
• Editorial Calendar: Tips for Creating an Editorial Calendar | LinchpinSEO: SEO, Content, Design Agency
• Editorial Calendars: An Age-Old Collaborative Work | Nate Riggs is Social Business Strategies | Content Marketing and Social Media Consulting
• Using Those Special Months on Your Editorial Calendar
• Develop an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog [Day 12 – 31DBBB] : @ProBlogger