Cycle7 Communications

Marketing communication for small businesses and nonprofits

  • About
    • Values
    • Andy Kubrin
  • Services
  • Resources
    • Nonprofit Marketing Communication
    • What Is Content Marketing?
  • Work
  • Blog
  • Contact

How to Create a Content Calendar

Image by Al Buettner from Pixabay

If you’re starting out small in content marketing, you may wonder how to create a content calendar. For that matter, you may wonder why you even need a content calendar.

I’m going to answer both of these questions. Then I’ll provide you with a downloadable calendar that will help you schedule your work and maintain focus.

But before we discuss how to create a content calendar, let’s talk about why you need one.

Why You Need a Content Calendar

If you’re a solo practitioner, you might think you can just keep your plan in your head. If you’re leading a small team, you might think you don’t need much infrastructure either. Email and a Slack channel are probably all that’s needed.

Yet the more you learn about a content calendar, the more its benefits seem to grow. A calendar:

  • Is an excellent organizational tool.
  • Provides a quick reference to your content plan.
  • Keeps all your deliverables in plain view.
  • Helps your team communicate, keeping members aligned and accountable.
  • Provides a prompt for further planning.
  • Provides an inventory of content assets.

This brief list of benefits might already be enough to convince you of the need for a content calendar. But if you’re also looking for social proof, consider this fact: 77 percent of the best marketers—referred to as foxes in this Curata post—use a content calendar. And who doesn’t want to be a fox?

Building Our Content Calendar

Before I describe how to create a content calendar, I’d like to review the planning tools we developed in previous chapters. These tools will serve as the building blocks of our content calendar.

While a calendar is essentially a scheduling tool, I also like to incorporate my planning information directly into it. That is, I talk about the how and why of a piece, as well as the when. This information helps solo practitioners and teams maintain their focus on the original purpose as they develop their content.

Aligning Funnel Stages with Objectives and Metrics

You might recall from an earlier chapter, Setting Goals, Objectives, and Metrics, that we began our content strategy with a simple table that aligned funnel stages with objectives and metrics. For convenience, I’ll reproduce that table here:

Funnel StageObjectiveMetrics
DiscoveryBrand awarenessUnique page views
Time on page
Bounce rate
ConsiderationEngagementLikes
Shares
Comments
Inbound links
ConversionLead generation
Sale or other customer action
Leads
Lead qualification (percentage of leads that led to sales)
Orders
Enrollments
RetentionBrand loyalty
Advocacy
Repeat customers
Referrals

Adding Content Types

Next, in Optimizing Content for Your Audience, we developed three tables for planning your content.

The first table provided a means to align your content to the stages of your marketing funnel. It also suggested content types that were suitable for particular stages of the funnel. It looked like this:

Funnel StageObjectiveTacticsContent Types
DiscoveryBrand awareness
Provide educational and interesting content
Blog posts
Social media posts
Listicles
Podcasts
Infographics
Presentations
Digital magazines
Email newsletters
ConsiderationEngagementExplain how your product or service works and why it’s better than your competitor’s offering
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Case studies
Free demos or downloads
Email series
Ebooks
Statistics about your product
How-tos that feature your product
ConversionLead generation
Sale or other customer action
Issue a call to action
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Sales pages
Customer stories
Testimonials
Demos or free trials
RetentionBrand loyalty
Advocacy
Deliver additional value to your customer to keep your brand “top of mind”
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Helpful tips
Insider guides
Special offers for upgrades or additional products
How-tos from other customers

Addressing Audience Needs

The second table extended the first to consider audience’s needs—the thoughts, feelings, and concerns you have to address to make your offering persuasive. It looked like this:

Funnel StageObjectiveTacticsContent TypesThoughts, Feelings & Concerns
DiscoveryBrand awareness
Provide educational and interesting contentBlog posts
Social media posts
Listicles
Podcasts
Infographics
Presentations
Digital magazines
Email newsletters
Is this organization knowledgeable, trustworthy, and likable?
Does this organization offer a solution to my problem?
ConsiderationEngagementExplain how your product works and why it is better than your competitor’s productBlog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Case studies
Free demos or downloads
Email series
Ebooks
Statistics about your product
How-tos that feature your product
How does this organization’s solution compare to its competitor’s?
ConversionLead generation
Sale or other customer action
Issue a call to actionBlog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Sales pages
Customer stories
Testimonials
Demos or free trials
Should I sign up for a newsletter?
Should I do business with this organization?
RetentionBrand loyalty
Advocacy
Deliver additional value to your customer to keep your brand “top of mind”Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Helpful tips
Insider guides
Special offers for upgrades or additional products
How-tos from other customers
How can this organization help my friends and allies?

Adding Audience Personas

The third table extended the second to consider three audience personas—those with beginning, intermediate, and advanced knowledge of your subject matter. It looked like this:

Funnel StageObjectiveThoughts, Feelings & ConcernsContent TypesPesona 1 (Beginner)Persona 2 (Intermediate)Persona 3 (Advanced)
DiscoveryBrand awarenessIs this organization knowledgeable, trustworthy, and likable?
Does this organization offer a solution to my problem?
Blog posts
Social media posts
Listicles
Podcasts
Infographics
Presentations
Digital magazines
Email newsletters
ConsiderationEngagementHow does this organization’s solution compare to its competitor’s?Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Case studies
Free demos or downloads
Email series
Ebooks
Statistics about your product
How-tos that feature your product
ConversionLead generation
Sale or other customer action
Should I sign up for a newsletter?
Should I do business with this organization?
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Sales pages
Customer stories
Testimonials
Demos or free trials
RetentionBrand loyalty
Advocacy
Should I do business with this organization again?
How can this organization help my friends and allies?
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Helpful tips
Insider guides
Special offers for upgrades or additional products
How-tos from other customers

Adding Keywords

If you were doing keyword research while you read How to Do Keyword Research, this would be a good time to add those keywords. Let’s do it now.

Funnel StageObjectiveThoughts, Feelings & ConcernsContent TypesKeywordsPesona 1 (Beginner)Persona 2 (Intermediate)Persona 3 (Advanced)
DiscoveryBrand awarenessIs this organization knowledgeable, trustworthy, and likable?
Does this organization offer a solution to my problem?
Blog posts
Social media posts
Listicles
Podcasts
Infographics
Presentations
Digital magazines
Email newsletters
ConsiderationEngagementHow does this organization’s solution compare to its competitor’s?Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Case studies
Free demos or downloads
Email series
Ebooks
Statistics about your product
How-tos that feature your product
ConversionLead generation
Sale or other customer action
Should I sign up for a newsletter?
Should I do business with this organization?
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Sales pages
Customer stories
Testimonials
Demos or free trials
RetentionBrand loyalty
Advocacy
Should I do business with this organization again?
How can this organization help my friends and allies?
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Helpful tips
Insider guides
Special offers for upgrades or additional products
How-tos from other customers

Finalizing Our Content Calendar

Our table is a powerful tool for content planning. First, it provides a convenient place to write all the decisions we make about content—the audiences we will serve, and the metrics we will use to measure the effect of our work.

Second, it keeps all this information in plain view. That helps prevent what I call “content drift,” which is the natural human tendency to slowly veer off course.

But there’s one more thing we have to do—add columns for the information we need for scheduling and accountability. This information will vary for each organization. In this example, however, I’ll add four columns on the left-hand side:

  • Publication date
  • Channel (website, social media network, etc.)
  • Writer
  • Title
Publication DateChannelWriterTitleFunnel StageObjectiveThoughts, Feelings & ConcernsContent TypesKeywordsPesona 1 (Beginner)Persona 2 (Intermediate)Persona 3 (Advanced)
DiscoveryBrand awarenessIs this organization knowledgeable, trustworthy, and likable?
Does this organization offer a solution to my problem?
Blog posts
Social media posts
Listicles
Podcasts
Infographics
Presentations
Digital magazines
Email newsletters
ConsiderationEngagementHow does this organization’s solution compare to its competitor’s?Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Case studies
Free demos or downloads
Email series
Ebooks
Statistics about your product
How-tos that feature your product
ConversionLead generation
Sale or other customer action
Should I sign up for a newsletter?
Should I do business with this organization?
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Sales pages
Customer stories
Testimonials
Demos or free trials
RetentionBrand loyalty
Advocacy
Should I do business with this organization again?
How can this organization help my friends and allies?
Blog posts
Podcasts or video logs
Webinars
Helpful tips
Insider guides
Special offers for upgrades or additional products
How-tos from other customers

There you have it—a content calendar that will help you schedule content production, align your team, and keep your entire content marketing effort on track.

Download the Calendar

If you like this calendar, why not download it?

Click the button below to download the calendar as an Excel spreadsheet. Then use it as is or customize it.

Add separate worksheets for each product or service you offer. Add a column for keyword planning. Convert it to a Google sheet and share it with your team. Use your imagination—the possibilities are endless.


Chapters

Chapter 1

What Is Content Marketing?

Chapter 2

Setting Goals, Objectives, and Metrics

Chapter 3

Auditing Content

Chapter 4

Optimizing Content for Your Audience

Chapter 5

How to Do Keyword Research

Chapter 6

Generating Ideas

Chapter 7

Reusing Content

Chapter 8

Promoting Your Content

Chapter 9

How to Create a Content Calendar

Chapter 10

Content Marketing Analytics

Cycle7 Communications Inc.
+1 403 616 8435

Contact Us
Legal Policies

More results...

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Copywriting
Nonprofit Marketing Communications
Small Business Marketing
Design by TG Designs; Graphic design and Web design made in Calgary

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
AcceptRejectSettings
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT