When you have written several years worth of content, it gets challenging to write a new spin on something that you’ve done time and time again. You don’t want to appear out of touch because you aren’t writing that same content and repeating yourself. However, you need a way to remind your audience that there is content available to them, that is timeless and relevant today.
But how do you keep track of it? How do you inform your audience what you wrote about 5 years ago? Whether you make a spreadsheet containing links of your evergreen content or place those links on a page on your site, keep track of the content so you can easily refer to it when people ask those questions or when you see trends and need to capitalize on potential traffic drivers.
We created a spreadsheet that can help you do this. Download it here (save to your own google drive to make edits). There are several tabs in the document and a brief explanation of each tab is below.
FYI, this is a scaled down version of the document that Andrea uses for those who have been asking.
Goals
This one is simple. Keep track of what your goals are this year and actually track how you are accomplishing them. It can be something as basic as getting an HTTPS certification. Be sure to include the budget associated with each so you can stay in line with what you have forecasted for the year.
Evergreen Content
This is where you will add those links to your evergreen posts from years ago. Can’t remember when you shared the post on back to school lunches with your audience? Track it on the Evergreen Content tab along with your content.
The spreadsheet has a formula in place in Columns A and B which tell you how many characters a description plus link will be so you aren’t adding too many characters. While the other networks don’t have a character limit, in general, it’s a good practice to stay within 140 characters. Google+ encourages more words for the SEO benefits so that is typically where I add additional text or thoughts to udpates.
To track how effective your links are, create a custom link for each social network using the Google URL Builder tool and track via analytics. It may not make sense to create links for every single post and network but it is a powerful tool to use for campaign tracking.
With any of your updates, don’t forget to add the hash tags. Make sure you include those in your description so they are included in your character count. And don’t forget to engage in those hash tags. You can get new subscribers that way too!
Editorial Calendar
This looks just like the Evergreen Content tab except this is for you mapping out your editorial calendar for the year. There are lots of different fields in here to use. Since some of your content may get picked up in a news media piece, add the mention here for reference. You can also use this page to create a media editorial calendar that falls in line with the content you are already producing.
It also helps to socialize the piece for those media properties and tag them in the updates. You want them to keep you in mind after that piece is over.
Series Outline
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying: “The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time!” Well, the same goes with a series. Take it one step at a time but having an outline will help you plan out your ideas and stay focused.
eBook Outline
This page is similar to the Series Outline page. Every series has the potential to be an eBook even if it’s simply a free download for new subscribers.
Create an outline for what your book will be covering. This will help you stay focused and on topic with the material. Any content on your site has the potential to be included in an eBook so add those URL’s in the appropriate field.
Don’t recreate the wheel if you want to be a published author. Use what you have already done! If you’re doing a lot of videos, have them transcribed so you can include that material in an eBook as well.
Email Newsletters
I’m sure we all have several newsletter subscription options. It’s unproductive to login to my newsletter provider each and every time to grab a link for someone on a social channel. This will help you save a lot of time since it will likely remain open at all times.
Webmaster Tools Reports
This isn’t a tab in the document because it is where you would add these reports. I would also encourage you to create an event on your calendar to regularly download the Webmaster Tools reports. These reports show you the keywords you rank for, and what position you rank. This is an important part of your SEO strategy to watch and continue to build.
This is a shell to start. You will find other areas to include as you begin to create your content marketing plan.
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