Possibly the second-biggest dilemma (right behind “What should we have for dinner?”) is “What social media content should I publish?”
Writers know we’re supposed to post something on our social media profiles—but not just anything—we must post something engaging.
If we don’t publish engaging content, few people will interact with our posts. The fewer people who interact, the fewer people will see our content in their display feeds. And if nobody is even seeing our stuff, why bother, right?
And we wouldn’t bother if it weren’t for the fact editors and agents ask about “platform” numbers. Which brings us right back to the “What, oh what should I post today?”
Are you stuck in the rut of posting random content just so you can check social media management off your to-do list? Or perhaps you’ve given up on growing your platform to the levels most prominent publishers desire.
If so, the social media planning calendar for writers was developed for YOU!
That’s right. No more banging your head against the keyboard in frustration over what to post. This calendar doesn’t just list a bunch of random ideas, it’s geared toward content of interest to readers and writers (who are also readers).
Are you ready to take control of your social media content planning?
Great! Click on one of the images below to get started.
With the One-Month option, you will receive the current month’s calendar. If it is after the 25th of the month, you will receive the upcoming month’s calendar. Between now and September 1, 2019, you can use the coupon code HALFOFF and get the September calendar for a special introductory rate of just $8.50. After that, the regular rate will be $17/month.
Annual subscribers will be charged $10 each month for 12 months, at which time you will have an option to renew. For a LIMITED TIME (until September 1, 2019), you can subscribe to the annual option for just $8.50/month, PLUS, you’ll receive a BONUS gift – Hashtags for Writers, a PDF that includes over 280 reading/writing-related hashtags in one handy document.
Note: If you choose to purchase just one month, you will be notified when new calendars are available. You can unsubscribe to these notices at any time. If you choose to subscribe for the year, the new calendars will be ready the 25th of each month, and you will be charged on that date and your calendar will be delivered on that date. You will not be charged for the entire year up front, but only each month when your calendar is ready. The special rate requires a one-year commitment.
If you want more information, scroll down to keep reading or watch the video below …
This video explains what’s included in the calendar and shares tips on how to use it:
What’s included in the calendar? Each month starts off with a Progress Tracker to record your stats. You can monitor your growth month-by-month. Next you’ll find 30 ideas for various post types. If you’re wondering what to blog about, the calendar includes 15 blog post prompts, too.
After that, you’ll find specific post topics relevant for each month along with tips on how to present these ideas to your readers in a way that encourages engagement. For example, Grandparents’ Day is celebrated in September. The prompt for that date suggests asking your audience how their grandparents influenced or inspired their love of reading. Oh, and if you want to dig a little deeper into a special observance in case you want to write a blog post instead of a quick social media post, the calendar includes links to sites with more information.
Most readers enjoy learning behind-the-scenes tidbits about books and authors. The next section offers a day-by-day sampling of literary events, such as birth anniversaries, publication anniversaries, historical events related to the publishing industry, and, just for fun, dates for some fictional events are included.
You won’t need to worry about every author around posting the same thing as you with all the content types and variety of topics stuffed within each calendar. Plus, you’ll be able to choose the topics you want and put your own spin on them to relate them to your writing and your audience. To help you do that, the section after the various content sections is a post planner calendar. Each date has a space to make notes on your post’s caption as well as the type of image you wish to include. Posts with images are proven to increase engagement. You can find royalty-free stock images (at no charge!) on Pixabay or Unsplash, or if you use Canva to create your graphics, there are plenty of free photos to choose from there, too.
Next you’ll find another tool to help you keep track of things—weekly post checklists. You can use these as a simple checklist to track published posts or if you want to monitor your analytics from week to week, you can record post engagements for each platform to keep up with what is working best.
After the weekly checklists, you’ll find a list of hashtags relevant for whichever calendar month you’re using. If the hashtag is for a specific date, that date will be listed beneath the hashtag. And if you need a post idea quick, fast, and in a hurry, scroll to the page following hashtags for a list of simple conversation starters. Sometimes you may not have time to create a graphic or search for an image, but you still want to publish a post. This section can help you out.
Finally, there’s a lined page for you to jot down notes and/or goals. That page also has a motivational quote on it to encourage you.
This calendar isn’t designed for you to try and use every single suggestion. You can also use a handy scheduling tool, such as Hootsuite or Buffer or even Facebook’s scheduling tool to get those posts ready to publish.
Here’s a suggested method for using this calendar to plan/publish your content:
- Pick a time where you have a few hours to dedicate to social media content creation.
- Browse through the content topics/post types and make a note of the ones that are most relevant for your audience or that you are most interested in.
- Then, use the planning calendar section to make notes about what you want to use on which date.
- Find images (making sure you have usage rights for them) and save them into a folder on your desktop so they’ll be handy.
- Create your graphics using Canva, Photoshop, or another tool.
- For video content, use your favorite video-creation tool.
- Now, schedule your content to publish on the days you’ve planned. You can use a scheduling tool, such as Buffer or Hootsuite (or others) or, if the platform has a native scheduling tool, like Facebook does, you can use that.
- I try to create all my social media content for each week and schedule the posts on Sunday afternoons. I do social media management for several sites, and I can plan, create, and schedule posts for an entire week for all of them within about 3 or 4 hours. Then, throughout the week I can relax and respond to comments and maybe make a quick relevant post about some current event that is trending.
- You can buy just the current month’s calendar or if you want to ensure you don’t miss any future editions, you can subscribe and receive a discount off the normal monthly price.
Choose how you wish to buy and click one of the images below to get started with your social media planning calendar for writers today!