{"id":133183,"date":"2021-05-06T11:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=133183"},"modified":"2023-05-15T04:44:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T09:44:37","slug":"content-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Content Calendar That Works For&nbsp;You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"intro-txt\">A content calendar (or \u201ceditorial calendar\u201d) is a system used by content and marketing practitioners to organize, manage and schedule content production. On a macro level, a content calendar gives a top-level overview of everything that will be published over a specific timeframe.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/1-ahrefs-content-calendar.png\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a micro level, each calendar entry also lists information about an individual content piece, such&nbsp;as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Topic<\/li>\n<li>Author<\/li>\n<li>Contributors<\/li>\n<li>Status<\/li>\n<li>Due date<\/li>\n<li>Format<\/li>\n<li>Channel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2-content-calendar-task.png\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike an ideas backlog, which lists all content opportunities and ideas, a content calendar usually includes only pieces that are already planned and\/or being worked on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what we\u2019ll cover in this&nbsp;guide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#why-content-calendar\">Why you should use a content calendar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-create-a-content-calendar\">How to create a content calendar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#content-calendar-examples\">Real examples of content calendars<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#content-calendar-tips\">Tips for getting the most out of your content calendar<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Why use a content calendar\" data-section=\"why-content-calendar\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4 reasons why you should use a content calendar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A content calendar is a crucial tool for anyone involved in content production, whether you\u2019re a one-person operation or part of a large team. It helps&nbsp;you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#plan-your-work\">Plan your&nbsp;work<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#align-teams-and-contributors\">Align teams and contributors<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#make-content-process-repeatable\">Make your content process repeatable<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#manage-content-in-one-place\">Manage content in one&nbsp;place<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"plan-your-work\">1. Plan your&nbsp;work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The most practical reason to have a content calendar is that it helps plan content production weeks and months in advance. A calendar ensures that what you\u2019re planning is doable given the time and resources you have available; it also allows you to foresee and account for ad-hoc content initiatives (for example, if your company is about to launch a new product), so you can organize work ahead of&nbsp;time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"align-teams-and-contributors\">2. Align teams and contributors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a lot of moving parts involved in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-creation\/\">content creation<\/a>, and a content calendar keeps everyone on the same page. You might need to work with an illustrator for a blog post, tell your social media team to promote new content, and manage submissions from freelancers and guest authors: a content calendar helps you break down each piece into its individual components and assign them to specific people with clear due dates. <br><br>For example, for each blog post we publish, we need to assign and keep track of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>header illustration<\/li>\n<li>custom images (e.g, graphs)<\/li>\n<li>screenshot annotations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We do that on our content calendar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/3-content-calendar.png\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"make-content-process-repeatable\">3. Make your content process repeatable<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A good content calendar isn\u2019t just about dates on a page: it\u2019s a system for creating a repeatable process. Once you\u2019ve planned out the steps required to publish a specific piece of content, you can simply repeat them with every new piece instead of having to start from scratch; this not only saves you time, but makes it easier to estimate how long each task might take and make sure no step is skipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"manage-content-in-one-place\">4. Manage content in one&nbsp;place<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Because it stores all available information about each content piece in your pipeline, a calendar works as a single source of truth for your team. Aside from saving everybody time (e.g., you can direct your teammates to the calendar and avoid unnecessary emails or status update meetings), a calendar makes sure information is accessible at all times and doesn\u2019t just exist in a few people\u2019s heads. Plus, stakeholders like your boss or manager can quickly look at the calendar to see what you\u2019re working towards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How to create a content calendar\" data-section=\"how-to-create-a-content-calendar\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to create your content calendar in 4&nbsp;steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A content calendar is extremely useful for organizing your <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/\">content marketing<\/a>&nbsp;efforts, but a perfectly organized content calendar does not, by itself, guarantee that your content efforts will be successful. Before jumping into creating one, you need to invest some time clarifying exactly what kind of content will serve your goals in the first&nbsp;place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#review-content-strategy\">Review your content strategy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#set-up-calendar\">Set up your calendar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#add-content\">Add content to the calendar<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#add-relevant-subtasks\">Add relevant subtasks<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have your <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-marketing-strategy\/\">content marketing strategy<\/a>&nbsp;nailed, skip straight to point 2; if not, keep reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"review-content-strategy\">1. Review your content strategy to identify priorities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What you put in your content calendar depends entirely on your content marketing strategy, which is a plan for consistently creating high-quality content designed to turn strangers into customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-marketing-strategy\/\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-strategy\/\">content strategy<\/a> at Ahrefs is to publish educational content about the topics our target customers are searching for, rank in Google and YouTube, and grow organic traffic month after month. As a result, we don\u2019t just fill our content calendar with random keyword <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-ideas\/\">ideas<\/a>, but follow a few specific steps&nbsp;first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We use&nbsp;Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a>&nbsp;to do <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/keyword-research\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\">keyword research<\/a>&nbsp;and identify topics we\u2019d like to&nbsp;cover:&nbsp;<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/4-keywords-explorer.png\"><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li>We research the traffic potential of the topic in Keywords Explorer:&nbsp;<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/5-keywords-overview.png\"><\/li>\n<li>We prioritize topics based on their \u2018business potential.\u2019 We assign them a score from 0 to 3 depending on how easy it would be to talk about Ahrefs in a given&nbsp;piece:<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pasted-image-0.png\"><\/li>\n<li>We&nbsp;add the topics that will&nbsp;drive our keyword-driven, product-led strategy forward to a spreadsheet. It\u2019s only when someone starts actively working on a piece that we also add it to our&nbsp;calendar.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>Your approach may be different, but the point remains: the most effective way to fill and maintain your content calendar is to have a clear strategy first and understand how each piece you create fits into&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"set-up-calendar\">2. Set up your calendar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are plenty of tools you can use to create your calendar, from basic spreadsheets to specialized content management software (and you\u2019ll see some examples below)\u2014but the tool you choose is less important than deciding what information you want to put in&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At its most basic, a content calendar only needs two fields: a title and a due date. You can add as many additional fields as you need to get each piece shipped. We have 19, including content type, category, and main keyword:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/6-content-calendar-task.jpg\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no rule about what your calendar should and should not include: focus on the information you and others on the team need the most for content production. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stage of the funnel your piece belongs to<\/li>\n<li>User persona you are writing for<\/li>\n<li>Author and contributors<\/li>\n<li>Goal<\/li>\n<li>Status<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"add-content\">3. Add content to the calendar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have a structure in place, the next step is populating the calendar with your upcoming pieces, making sure that the cadence is aligned with your strategy: a social media-focused approach might require you to publish multiple times per day, whereas long-form educational content might happen just twice a&nbsp;month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is to have a comprehensive at-a-glance understanding of everything you and your team will be working on, so you should include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>All formats you are responsible for.<\/strong>&nbsp;For example, if you are working on both blog posts and newsletters, adding both formats helps you see task overlap and plan for capacity&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Both new and old pieces<\/strong>. For example, if you are going to <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/republishing-content\/\">refresh or optimize existing content pieces<\/a>, adding them to the calendar makes sure you are accounting for the time and resources it will take to get the job&nbsp;done<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re publishing several types of content, you may find it useful to colour-code entries to make your calendar easier to&nbsp;scan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"add-relevant-subtasks\">4. Add relevant subtasks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Each piece you add to your calendar requires different steps (and maybe multiple people) to get completed, so it\u2019s useful to break down each entry into the individual tasks you\u2019ll need to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To map out the steps, think of a content piece you\u2019ve already published and list everything that happened prior to publication; then, use this information to plan all upcoming pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, in my previous role at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotjar.com\/\">Hotjar<\/a><u>,<\/u>&nbsp;I normally followed the same 7 steps to publish a newsletter; for every newsletter issue I planned in my calendar, I simply duplicated the list of subtasks and assigned each to a specific team member with a due&nbsp;date:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/7-fio-asana.png\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A basic calendar tool, like a spreadsheet, may not have enough space to list all of this information in one place, while specialized software (in my example, <a href=\"https:\/\/asana.com\/\">Asana<\/a>) is designed to help you drill down into each individual sub-task. If you choose to keep your calendar simple, you can always list subtasks somewhere else and refer to them when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Content calendar examples\" data-section=\"content-calendar-examples\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6 content calendar examples from content marketing pros<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Your content calendar should be unique to you and the environment you\u2019re working in, so you\u2019ll get the best results by building yours from scratch to suit your specific needs. That said, it\u2019s useful to get inspired by what other content pros are doing\u2014so we asked a few marketers to share with us their calendars, which range from super-functional to very complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. A functional spreadsheet for a team of&nbsp;one<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/8-functional-spreadsheet.png\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the content calendar <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/h5amin\">Hiba Amin<\/a>&nbsp;at <a href=\"https:\/\/hypercontext.com\/\">HyperContext<\/a>&nbsp;uses for her content team of one. It\u2019s a simple and functional spreadsheet that covers eight main fields including publication date, title, content type, funnel stage, and audience\/persona. You could use a variation on this calendar if you wanted to keep yours nice and straightforward while still having a clear overview of what\u2019s happening throughout the quarter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. A colour-coded social media calendar&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/9-color-coded-content-calendar.jpg\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/laniassaf\">Lani Assaf<\/a>&nbsp;uses this spreadsheet at <a href=\"https:\/\/elpha.com\/top\">Elpha<\/a>&nbsp;to keep track of social media activity and additional content. The calendar uses a colour-coded system so every piece of content falls into one of four categories (listed as \u2018pillars\u2019 in the top right corner) and the team can see social media distribution at a glance. The calendar also accounts for holidays and important dates, e.g., Employee Appreciation Day on Friday March&nbsp;5th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. A Kanban-style calendar in Trello<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/10-kanban-style-trello.jpg\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This Trello board is what <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DomKent\">Dom Kent<\/a>&nbsp;at <a href=\"http:\/\/m.io\/\">Mio<\/a>&nbsp;checks multiple times a day to make sure all upcoming content pieces stay on track. With a Kanban-style calendar, each card represents a content piece and it gets moved across the board until it reaches the rightmost \u2018Done\u2019 column. This simple system works well if you\u2019re part of a small team and need visual clarity on each stage of the process; there\u2019s also room to accommodate unplanned content ideas (see column #1 on the&nbsp;left).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. A Kanban-style calendar in Todoist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/11-kanban-style-todoist.png\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fadeke_adegbuyi\">Fadeke Adegbuyi<\/a>&nbsp;at <a href=\"http:\/\/doist.com\/\">Doist<\/a>&nbsp;also uses a Kanban board in Todoist to break down her team\u2019s calendar into weekly sprints. Everyone on the team has access to the board and can see the blog posts and newsletters in the posting pipeline; they often use comments on an individual card to provide helpful resources or inspiration to the writer assigned to a piece. You could use a similar board-like approach if you wanted to have an overview of what is happening on any given week and check that everyone is on&nbsp;track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. An Asana calendar with tags and comments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/12-asana.jpg\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This Asana content calendar allows <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TaruBhargav\">Taru Bhargava<\/a>&nbsp;at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genbook.com\/\">Genbook<\/a>&nbsp;to use colour-coded tags on every content piece and have threaded conversations with her team about each calendar entry. Taru plans content at least six weeks in advance to make sure the team can keep its twice-a-week publication cadence, and reviews and updates the calendar every week to check on the progress of individual pieces. You could use a similar format if you\u2019re publishing frequently and need to keep track of multiple pieces, and contributors, in one&nbsp;place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. A multi-tab marketing calendar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/13-multi-tab.jpg\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This multi-tab content calendar is what <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jwyattd\">Justin Dunham<\/a>&nbsp;uses at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ercule.co\/\">Ercule<\/a>&nbsp;to keep track of <em>all<\/em>&nbsp;content activities in his marketing team, including events and webinars. The overview \u201cCalendar Output\u201d on the left is auto-populated based on what\u2019s added to the other tabs in the spreadsheet. If you manage a complex marketing machine with multiple assets being created at all times, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1iN9KQ5MQm_ccjP93RdhgFx1cfBBactuQ5rvt1jywUfM\/copy\">download this template of Justin\u2019s calendar<\/a>&nbsp;and play around with&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Content calendar tips\" data-section=\"content-calendar-tips\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3 final pro tips to help you get the most out of your content calendar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve been working with content calendars for a while now, and here are three things I learned through trial and error that I wish I had known sooner:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Iterate your calendar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first version of the content calendar you create is unlikely to be the one you use forever. As your team grows and\/or your content needs change, you may find yourself outgrowing your current system and maybe even needing to move to a different tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bear this in mind and don\u2019t aim for perfection from the start: start from something functional that can help you for the next 2-3 months, and keep tweaking and improving as you&nbsp;go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Always have a buffer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re working with multiple people, things will go wrong, delays will occur\u2014and you should always plan for that. Identify any potential bottlenecks and issues and account for them: for example, anticipate that external contributors might be late with their submissions and plan in extra time to account for unforeseen delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Quantity \u2260 quality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While it\u2019s tempting (and easy) to over-fill your calendar and feel good about being busy, shipping a lot of content is not necessarily the most efficient way to reach your goals. This is particularly relevant if <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-content-strategy\/\">SEO is part of your content strategy<\/a>, as Ahrefs CMO Tim Soulo shows in this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OcGODHvx_pA\">video debunking the \u201cpublish more often\u201d myth<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Now, over to&nbsp;you!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you are ready to build and iterate your own content calendar. Did we miss out on anything important about calendars? Let us know <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/content101?lang=en\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a micro level, each calendar entry also lists information about an individual content piece, such&nbsp;as: Topic Author Contributors Status Due date Format Channel Like this: Unlike an ideas backlog, which lists all content opportunities and ideas, a content calendar<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":133207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"coauthors":[392],"class_list":["post-133183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is 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