Plan Your Content, Plan Your Success
A content calendar is the strategic backbone of any content marketing program. It transforms random acts of content into a coordinated system that builds authority, drives traffic, and generates leads consistently.
Why Content Calendars Work
Businesses with documented content strategies are 313% more likely to report success. A content calendar ensures consistency (the most important factor in content marketing success), strategic alignment with business goals, efficient resource allocation, seasonal and timely content coverage, and accountability across your team.
Building Your Content Calendar
Step 1: Audit Existing Content
Before planning new content, inventory what you already have. Identify top performers to replicate, gaps in topic coverage, outdated content that needs refreshing, and content that can be repurposed into new formats.
Step 2: Keyword and Topic Research
Use keyword research to identify topics your audience searches for. Group related keywords into topic clusters. Each cluster becomes a series of related content pieces that build topical authority.
Step 3: Map Content to the Funnel
Ensure you’re creating content for every stage: awareness content (educational blog posts, infographics, social content), consideration content (case studies, comparison guides, webinars), and decision content (testimonials, demos, free consultations).
Step 4: Set Your Publishing Cadence
Choose a sustainable frequency. Two excellent blog posts per week beats seven mediocre ones. Factor in creation time, review cycles, and design needs when setting your cadence.
Step 5: Assign and Schedule
Assign each piece to a creator with clear deadlines. Include review and approval steps. Schedule publication dates and promotion plans for each piece.
Content Calendar Tools
Simple spreadsheets work for small teams. As you scale, consider Trello, Asana, Monday.com, or CoSchedule for more robust planning, collaboration, and workflow management.
Build Your Content Engine
Brandastic creates strategic content calendars and produces the content to fill them. Get a free content marketing consultation.
