Your content strategy revolves around the goal of driving more traffic to your site and converting visitors into paying consumers. Holidays and hot topics are always on the top of Google’s mind because people are constantly searching for trendy content related to this type of information.
There’s a certain timing involved when you’re watching the hands of the clock tick by. If you post your relevant content too late, the event will be long gone before anybody even sees it, deeming it irrelevant and worthless unless you get lucky to get hits on the topic when it rolls around next year. If you post it too early, your audience isn’t the mode for that particular festivity just yet, so you’ll just be wasting valuable cyberspace on words that were released into the world prematurely.
So, how do you know when to schedule your holiday and hot topic content at just the right time such that it grabs Google’s attention in a moment that’s most shareable on your social media channels? Let’s take a look!
1. Start with an Actual Content Calendar
Yes, sticky notes certainly have their places in this world. We love them just as much as you do, and they can serve the perfect when random ideas run into your head that need to be jotted down into real life. But, they might find a more permanent home immediately.
Your content calendar will enable you to visually see the dates for which you should be delivering relevant content. You’ll never miss a National Donut Day or Bike to Work Day as long as you’ve got everything filled in and visually placed right in front of your face.
2. Know How Often You’ll Be Posting on the Topic
If you’ll only be writing about the topic once, two weeks before the event is usually a good time to post your content. That gives you plenty of time for your blog to be seen by your readers, and you’ll have ample time to share social media posts and boost engagement around the topic.
Ideally, you’ll want to work about a month out from the big event. This will give you enough time to generate one blog a week for four weeks. With that, you’ll be able to optimize your outreach on social media and really get people to join in on your conversations. It’s important to have enough different angles from which to approach your topic of choice. You don’t want to churn out the same content four time in a row; that’ll burn out your readers and bore your audience.
New angles on the same idea are essential when it comes to optimal engagement.
3. Touch Base with Your Freelance Writers Ahead of Time
Let’s say you want to post pieces about St. Patrick’s Day, starting one month from the actual holiday, which is March 17th. To post a piece exactly a month beforehand, you’d want to get something on the web around February 17th. But wait! You’ll need someone to actually write the content you’ll be posting.
Remember, some busy freelancers book out a week or two in advance. It may seem silly to start assigning St. Patrick’s Day pieces in the middle of January, but when you do the time math, it’ll all come together right when your content calendar tells it to. Some freelancer writers can squeeze urgent requests into the schedules, but you may need to pay an up-charge in order for them to facilitate your last-minute needs.
To avoid a cluster of content chaos in your favorite writers’ queues, reach out to then a week or three before you’ll need your first piece to ensure you’re all on the same page.
WriterAccess writers are always happy to talk about hot topics. From politics to holidays, celebrity trends, and major marketing revolutions, we’ve got a team of wordsmiths who will do right by the content you want to send out into the universe. Not sure how to get started? Learn how our Content Strategists can put you on the roadmap to success!
Kristin B is interested in anything that teaches her something new or gives her a different perspective on something she already knew. She’s a self-proclaimed Learn Nerd, which means the world is her educational oyster, and she’s always seeking opportunities to learn from life’s experiences and her clients’ assignments.
