How to Create A Content Calendar in Google Sheets - WordPress Membership plugin - Membership Sites

Jul 20, 2023

How To Make A Content Calendar using Google Sheets

                        A well-planned schedule keeps your website content running smoothly. You don't have to shell out money for an expensive software for managing your project. Create the perfect content calendar with a simple program you likely already have in use, Google Sheets. Read on to see the process.          

How to create a content calendar in Google Sheets

Welcome to the thrilling world of content marketing, which is where deadlines are closer than the speed of a running cheetah drinking an energy drink.

Imagine navigating this high-octane environment without a guide, a sense of direction, or even an idea of where you're going. Sounds daunting, doesn't it?

It's just what it's as it is to manage and curate the content you create without having a timetable.

A content calendar is a visual timeline detailing what you're going to post, where it's going to be published, as well as the exact timeframe for its release.

But it's more than just an efficient organizer. It's at the core of your content plan, to ensure that your objectives for marketing remain in line and that your target customers are always active.

Gripped audience eating popcorn

Stay tuned as we share our top suggestions, as well as how to build a schedule of content in Google Sheets, that'll keep your team in line and on time!

Benefits of the Calendar Calendar

There are several advantages to planning ahead and have a schedule in place:

Help Your Team Streamline Their Process

A content schedule consolidates every important detail for your team of creatives and other external contributors.

It describes:

  • What must be done,
  • Deadlines,
  • Other essential information (such as keywords and references)
  • and the person who is responsible for each task.

This clarity can significantly minimize confusion, rushes at the last minute as well as miscommunications.

With everyone crystal clear on their roles, they are able to focus on doing their best job. This is a great recipe for productivity!

Strategically Organised Content

By having a schedule for content, you're not just throwing content out there and hoping for the best. Each piece of content fulfills an objective and is part of your overall content strategy.

It makes sure that your content is purpose-driven, sticks to themes, and aligns the brand's message. It also helps make sure that each type of content and subject gets their fair share of the spotlight and ensure that nothing is left unnoticed.

Schedule Content Before Time

Give yourself the gift of time with a content calendar

It's late at night, your deadline is approaching, and you're frantically trying to write a blog post or think of an intriguing title for your Facebook blog post. If you're feeling like this, you need the help of a calendar for content!

By using a schedule of content such stress-inducing scenarios are averted.

You are able to plan your HTML0 content for weeks, or even months ahead, which gives you plenty of time to collect resources, conduct research, and produce more compelling and dynamic web content.

Additionally, it allows users to organize content around important dates or events relevant to your company or industry.

Diversify Content

A content calendar provides an outline of the content landscape.

It's easy to check whether you're maintaining a good mix of different content types including blog articles or updates on social media, podcasts, or videos. Colors are an excellent method to test this visually.

Content Calendar Example

This ensures your content stays varied and engaging, so your viewers don't become bored of the same material.

Those are just a few of the advantages of taking the time to schedule your content prior to its release.

Making a Content Schedule that is efficient

Let's take a step-bystep guide that will help you move your approach to victory.

Step 1: Know the goals of your Content Marketing

It's not a good idea to create content solely for the sake of creating it. If you truly want to maximize the potential of your content, you must identify your objectives and determine the direction you're headed.

Find out "Why" as well as "Who"

Why?

Why do you think it is important to production of content?

Arrow hitting target blue yellow leadership aiming achievement goal target

Who?

Once your goals are clear Now is the time to get in touch with a key player in your content game - - your audience.

These are the individuals who you're trying to connect with by your contents. As you gain a better understanding of their interests, needs as well as challenges more likely you are of creating content that genuinely resonates.

Make Use of This Information Every Time You Create Content

Your content marketing goals and your target audience should be top of mind each when you think of or design new content.

The elements that determine the kind of content that you will write about, what topics you'll address, and even which channels you'll use to share your material.

Step 2: Planning Your Content Strategy

Once you've established the fundamentals of your content strategy with regards to objectives and audience in mind, we can begin the exciting part of preparing the content plan.

Here is where the two meet with your creative and strategic plan begins to form. Therefore, get your favourite drink, put on your creative hat, and let's start!

Generating Ideas for Content

Begin to brainstorm your ideas for content. When we talk about content, we mean any kind of content.

  • Blog posts,
  • Social media posts,
  • Newsletters,
  • Podcasts,
  • Webinars,
  • Videos,
  • Infographics
  • Quotes
  • Customer reviews
  • Demos

Don't hold back! Take a look at every form of media your customers consume, and what motivates them to purchase.

For example, imagine you're an online platform for learning targeting professionals seeking career advancement Your goal could be to provide them with the latest skills and knowledge regardless of their hectic schedules.

Your content schedule could include short tutorial videos, simple-to-follow learning guides, and inspiring success stories that you can share through the platforms that professionals tend to be, like LinkedIn as well as Twitter.

TIP I: Utilize ChatGPT to get Content Ideas

Everybody is trying to find ways to use ChatGPT in order to improve their efficiency This is an excellent example of how you can accomplish that.
         
          Leveraging the power of ChatGPT is great for brainstorming concepts. It's an AI machine language model, it's adept at providing diverse and creative suggestions that aren't even thought of.

Start by outlining the content goals and target users (as you've done in step 1), then engage in ChatGPT as if in a conversation.

Here's how you can create the perfect prompt:

1. Define your business and the public

"We're an emerging company that specializes in organic skincare products targeting people who are health conscious, aged between 20 and 35.

2. Explain your goal

We're launching a new collection of cruelty-free, vegan face serums and our goal is to increase the sales on our website by spreading the distinct benefits of our skincare products.

3. Contact ChatGPT about content suggestions you'd like to see it develop

Can you help generate some convincing content or ideas to promote the benefits of our serums and convince our target audience to make purchases?."

Here's the output GPT-4 generated using this request:

Then, you are able to get it to offer you blog title suggestions outline of your blog, propose questions for your quizzes that are interactive.

The key is interaction - the more specific your prompts, the more focused and beneficial the answers.

Tip 2: Search for Keywords for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Keywords are actually the key to SEO in internet-based content. Utilizing powerful keywords can be what makes the difference between being lost in a ocean of content online and being visible in result pages of the desired clients.

It's also a neat analysis of the way your customer searches for products like yours online. With the help of keyword research, you have the capability to produce material that answers their questions or fulfills their needs.

SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner can be great tools for discovering these invaluable treasures. Incorporate these keywords in the content of your site to improve your SEO and push your pages higher on the ladder of search results.

SEMrush homepage 2023

Step 3: Create the Master Content Calendar In Google Sheets

After you've got a clear concept of what kind of content you'll be delivering, the next step is figuring out the best time and place to release it.

Perhaps you've got a real-time video lined up for your website and an email newsletter in the queue, a product presentation, and an event for socializing all set in the same time.

Not to mention, your regular blog posts and everyday social media engagements.

Your posting timeline is entirely yours to decide, however be aware that the consistency of your posts is essential for each of your social media platforms to really flourish.

This is when a master calendar becomes indispensable. The purpose of an effective master calendar is having an eye-to-eye view of your strategy for content and to establish a timetable to publish every bit of content.

This is how you accomplish it:

From your Google Drive account Click New at the upper left corner of the screen. Then hover over an arrow  an icon, then select the template.

Scroll down and select Then select the Annual Calendar. It will create an annual calendar in the year currently in.

Click on the Customize your calendartab to choose from different designs. Once you're done, you can delete that tab to make more room for useful information.

Click on the month tab you want to edit.

Input the kind of content you'd like to publish on this day, and color the content to make it clear at a glance what sort of content is planned to be delivered on that particular day. This will ensure you have an appropriate variety of information.

Content Calendar in Google Sheets

Individual Content Calendars

Once your overarching monthly schedule is established, it's time to work out the specifics:

Who's the author? What is the time frame you have to format and edit the post? Who will be responsible for the social media and what are they going to post? No stress--we've got a schedule for this also!

However, this is how to build a schedule for your blog using Google Sheets:

  • Select to the (+) icon at the lower left corner of your Google Sheet to add an additional tab.
  • Drag the new tab next to the appropriate month.
  • Create an             Blog Schedule            sections with columns for
  • Publication Date
  • Blog Post Topic/Title
  • Writer
  • Deadline (give yourself enough time to make edits and format the blog post prior to the publishing date)
  • Keywords
  • Further information
  • Based on the design that your blog has, you could introduce extra columns such as "Blog Category" (long-form, informationgraphic, short, etc. ).
  • Copy and paste this information from your master calendar.
  • Transfer the responsibility to another writer, by right-clicking the cell and hitting Comment.
  • @tag an individual on the team, or write in the complete email address of the team member.
  • Make sure that each contributor has access the calendar.
blog content calendar and social media calendar

Now, onto social media schedules.

It is possible to create an entirely new tab, or for a more centralized blog simply enter the info in the blog's calendar.

For all social media schedules You should add:

  • Social Media Platform
  • Post Time
  • Day
  • Content

If you want to create a more extensive schedule, consider incorporating pertinent hashtags, hyperlinks photos, images and even the actual text to your blog post.

As with your blog schedule, you could also assign an author, and include an indicator column that indicates if the blog has already queued in your social media management tool (like Hootsuite and Buffer).

In Conclusion

In addition to helping you plan the content strategy you want to implement and ensuring that your goals for marketing align, a content schedule can be your trusted companion within the ever-changing world of content marketing.

Utilizing Google Sheets as your platform making a schedule of content is just as simple as it is effective.

From master calendars to precise calendars for social media and blogs There are plenty of devices you need to streamline your process to diversify your content keep at the top of your game.

Why wait? Start harnessing the power of a well-planned content calendar today, and see your efforts to market content grow.

Keep in mind that success with content marketing is not about which one shouts loudest however, it's about who thinks the smartest. And with your updated content plan You're already in the right direction. Now, let's get planning!

           Are you using the calendar of content? Have any suggestions to share with the Members community? Please share them in the comments below.

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