Ah, the dreaded content calendar – it's the bane of every marketer's existence. It doesn’t have to be.
Mapping out your product launch content calendar doesn't have to be a painful, soul-sucking experience. In fact, with a little bit of creativity and a lot of caffeine, you might even find it enjoyable.
Here's how to do it:
Step 1: Start with the launch date.. duh…
Yeah I know, pretty obvious but it’s the first step in creating your content calendar and a very important one at that. This will serve as your North Star and help you work backwards to determine when you need to start promoting your launch and what types of content you need to create.
Think deep: are there any special dates around it? Any meaning I can give the date?
Step 2: Identify key milestones
Once you have your launch date in mind, it's time to identify key milestones along the way. This might include announcing the launch, building anticipation, providing sneak peeks, and finally launching the product or service itself. Each of these milestones will require different types of content, so make sure you have a plan for each one.
Step 3: Brainstorm content ideas. Use AI!
Now it's time to get creative! Brainstorm a list of content ideas and also think about the best format for each one. They’re building blocks of your content calendar and they’ll help you promote each of your key milestones.
AI tools are a great brainstorming partner for content ideas. I’d start by asking ChatGPT to write 10 ideas about a key benefit of your product or service. See what it comes up with. Some of them are more dense topics which you can develop in a blog post, while others will be just a snippet of information which can be used in a social media post.
Make sure your content is engaging, informative, and tailored to your target audience.
Step 4: Create a timeline for you product launch
Once you have your list of content ideas, it's time to create a timeline. I use Notion for everything, including planning my content calendar. Determine when each piece of content needs to be created, reviewed, and approved. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to create high-quality content that will resonate with your audience.
Step 5: Assign tasks and deadlines
Finally, assign tasks and deadlines to each member of your team. Make sure everyone knows what they're responsible for and when their tasks need to be completed. This will help ensure that your content is delivered on time and that everyone is working towards the same goal.
And there you have it – a clear and (hopefully) helpful guide to mapping out your product launch content calendar.
Remember, the key to a successful launch is creating high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
But that’s just me… thinking out loud.