What Is an Editorial Calendar? Your Guide to Building One [Examples + Templates]

I erstwhile worked for a integer patient that kept its editorial almanac connected a immense whiteboard successful a mini convention room. Cram a fewer excessively galore group successful there, and somebody’s sweater would inevitably swipe disconnected a portion of contented aliases three.

Fortunately, location are a awesome galore devices disposable now that will fto you build an eraser-proof editorial calendar.

Without a mutually agreed-upon strategy for planning, writing, and scheduling contented each week, anyone tin find themselves successful a heap of missed deadlines, unedited blog posts, and a adjacent magnitude of squad tension.

Table of Contents

• What is an editorial calendar?
• Editorial Calendar Benefits
• Who should usage an editorial calendar?
• How to Create an Editorial Calendar
• Editorial Calendar Examples & Templates
• Content Calendar Sample

There's nary specified point arsenic a cleanable editorial almanac — it each depends connected your team’s needs and accomplishment sets. Nonetheless, location are respective questions you should inquire yourself to find what your editorial almanac should look like.

These include:

• How often do you people content? Do you person blog posts going unrecorded each day? Once a week? Perhaps aggregate times a day? Determine really often you people to fig retired nan champion measurement to visualize your editorial calendar.
• Do you create much than 1 type of content? If you upload arsenic galore videos to YouTube arsenic you people articles to your institution blog, your editorial almanac will request to separate betwixt nan two.
• How galore group will usage this editorial calendar? The champion editorial calendars let aggregate group to brainstorm, collaborate, and connection feedback connected assignments successful existent clip — straight connected nan calendar.
• What stages will nan contented spell done earlier it's published? How analyzable is your contented pipeline? Is location a important reappraisal aliases support process that each portion of contented goes through? Make judge your almanac tin separate betwixt 2 akin assignments that are successful different stages of creation.
• How will you shape this calendar? You‘ll want to take a strategy that champion aligns pinch your goals and your team’s workflows.

Put these points into believe by learning really to create your contented calendar. Or, support reference to study really an editorial almanac tin boost your business.

Editorial Calendar Benefits

I’ve ne'er gotten an editorial almanac exactly correct nan first clip — it takes clip to organize, test, and put successful place. But utilizing 1 tin return your contented trading from chaos to killer.

An editorial calendar:

Improves contented value and consistency.

Planning contented successful beforehand makes it easier to create accordant contented an assemblage tin trust on.

Plus, I can't stress capable really an editorial almanac gives much-needed building for creating batches of content.

This lets you attraction connected ideation and contented creation separately, giving you much power and attraction to create value content.

More chances to innovate.

Change is nan only changeless successful trading strategy. With an editorial calendar, you person a clear position of what contented aligns pinch your evolving strategy and wherever you request to innovate.

This attack besides gives you clip and abstraction to deliberation of imaginative angles for each portion of content.

If you people a operation of timely and evergreen content, sufficiently readying nan evergreen contented is nan only measurement you’re going to free up nan resources needed to create contented pegged to manufacture news aliases different timely topics.

Supports accountability.

Content trading has a batch of details. Not everyone needs to cognize what blog aliases hashtag gets posted when, but an editorial almanac tin thief each personnel of your squad enactment accountable for their pieces successful nan puzzle.

Streamlines processes.

As your business grows, you mightiness find immoderate processes will besides turn much analyzable and tasks that were erstwhile elemental will return up much time.

But an editorial almanac tin simplify these processes. It tin springiness your squad an easy overview of an full project, quarter, aliases run from commencement to finish. This helps different departments and teams coordinate and streamline their efforts.

Better teamwork.

Simplified processes and amended accountability mean that your squad tin activity amended together.

This lets each personnel of your squad walk much clip utilizing their unsocial abilities to create awesome contented for your business. It besides simplifies training and retaining your champion employees.

Improves your squad experience.

According to a 2024 study by nan U.K.-based Chartered Institute for Marketing (CIM), 56% of marketers are worried astir burnout successful their existent role.

An editorial almanac creates a accordant scheme and a amended worker experience. This reduces nan accent and uncertainty that tin lead to burnout successful trading teams.

Offers clearer information insights.

Editorial calendars connection a clear grounds of:

• Content types
• Assets to see successful published content
• When to publish

This grounds makes it easier to way contented performance. With this search successful place, your squad will beryllium fresh to optimize and amended your contented to meet your goals.

Who should usage an editorial calendar?

Honestly? Everybody — moreover if you’re not doing thing much analyzable than readying your ain play LinkedIn posts.

But here’s immoderate industries that really need to leverage nan benefits of an editorial calendar.

Public Relations

Editorial calendars are a must-have successful nan nationalist relations manufacture because professionals successful nan section must support way of and schedule materials specified arsenic property releases and promotional content.

It's particularly important because nan materials are released done various channels specified arsenic societal media, email, television, websites, radio, and more.

Newspapers/Magazines and Other News Outlets

“I utilized to constitute for a newspaper successful my early profession arsenic a journalist,” says HubSpot blogger Erica Santiago. “I needed an editorial almanac to way erstwhile my activity would get published aliases erstwhile I had to people different contributor.”

Newspapers, magazines, and integer media websites are perpetually fielding caller content, and an editorial almanac helps guarantee nan correct contented gets posted astatine nan correct clip and place.

Corporate Communications Teams

Corporate communications teams request editorial calendars for nan aforesaid logic PR professionals request them. Editorial calendars support nan squad organized and guarantee contented is posted timely and done nan correct channels.

Individuals and professionals who should usage editorial calendars include:

Content Creators

Whether you're a blogger, YouTuber, TikToker, aliases podcaster, you perfectly request an editorial calendar. Content creators usage editorial calendars to scheme and schedule their contented successful advance.

Social Media Managers and Coordinators

“A friend of excavation is simply a societal media coordinator for a streaming company, and he uses an editorial almanac to negociate and schedule nan different posts he needs to put retired to beforehand various shows,” Santiago says.

“He manages astatine slightest 5 to 10 different TV show accounts. I can't ideate really frazzled he'd beryllium without an editorial calendar,” she says.

How to Create an Editorial Calendar

A successful editorial almanac is simply a surviving task that your business will alteration arsenic you turn and standard your societal media and contented strategy. To statesman creating your own, I person immoderate resources to simplify nan process.

Okay, clip for maine to springiness you what you came for. With each nan different types of calendars you tin create, let's talk nan types you tin take and really to scheme nan rollout of your content.

1. Define your target assemblage and contented themes.

Before you statesman plugging contented into your editorial calendar, beryllium judge to reappraisal your contented strategy. Scan for content topics, buyer persona needs, and training your squad mightiness request to create winning content.

Free Download

Trust maine erstwhile I opportunity you'll request this accusation to schedule nan correct contented astatine nan correct time. If you don’t cognize your audience, you’ll beryllium creating contented successful a vacuum.

2. Outline contented goals and KPIs.

For effective assets management, I powerfully propose utilizing your goals and metrics arsenic a jumping-off constituent for your editorial calendar. This tin simplify reporting and make it easier to quickly gauge nan capacity of caller strategies.

3. Choose a format for your editorial calendar.

In bid to get buy-in (and hopefully enthusiasm), talk to your squad astir their preferences, activity habits, and devices they’ve utilized before. If they’ve utilized thing that they loved aliases hated, inquire what worked and what didn’t.

Ask each squad member:

• Where they're moving from
• What devices they're using
• How they shape their contented creation
• Collaboration needs

Types of Editorial Calendars

An editorial almanac is fundamentally a readying tool. Experience has taught maine that there‘s nary specified point arsenic a cleanable editorial calendar, but immoderate formats will beryllium amended than others astatine helping you lick your team’s goals.

Here are immoderate of nan different ways to format your editorial almanac and what I spot arsenic nan pros and cons of each format:

Editorial Calendar Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is simply a elemental measurement to shape your content.

Source

Pros

• Easy information aggregation and organization
• Cost-effective
• Short learning curve and highly accessible, making collaboration easy
• Easy to customize
• Integration pinch almanac apps and contented guidance tools

Cons

• Hard to visualize your calendar
• Limited options for collaboration
• Difficult to get a clear breakdown astatine a glance
• Can beryllium clunky for search aggregate channels

Content Calendar

A contented almanac is simply a much elaborate type of nan editorial almanac spreadsheet and helps users visualize contented timing.

Source

Pros

• Makes it easier to shape contented details
• The astir straightforward measurement to cognize what's going retired and when
• Can see keywords, colour coding, tags, assignments, and contented types

Cons

• There's much to task and contented guidance than publishing dates
• Can beryllium time-consuming to put together
• A almanac whitethorn not ever beryllium effective connected its own

Project Management Tool

Tools for illustration Trello aliases Asana tin beryllium adjuvant for analyzable aliases multi-channel editorial calendars.

Source

Pros

• Presents a clear editorial workflow
• Designed for analyzable task management
• Customizable
• Offer collaboration and visualization for illustration a Kanban board

Cons

• Can beryllium overwhelming
• Has a steeper learning curve for caller squad members

Editorial Calendar Applications

I emotion task guidance devices for illustration Monday.com aliases CoSchedule that besides connection mobile apps. This on-the-go entree tin thief streamline editorial almanac creation and maintenance.

Source

Pros

• Offers easy entree to your editorial calendar
• Has choices for contented creation, planning, and assigning
• Includes collaboration devices and analytics

Cons

• Can beryllium expensive
• May beryllium difficult to customize

Choose nan champion format and determine connected really you'll instrumentality it. Pick nan instrumentality aliases level that offers nan features aliases interface your institution needs most.

4. Designate your main trading channels.

Most businesses will beryllium creating chopped contented and messaging for each trading channel. So, take carefully.

Once you’ve selected your apical channels, make thoughtful decisions astir organizing this contented successful your editorial calendar.

Editorial calendars are highly ocular tools. If you're not a ocular thinker, support successful mind that 65% of group are ocular learners, truthful different group connected your squad whitethorn be.

I besides propose making your editorial almanac easier to construe pinch ocular cues. Differentiating your almanac pinch a different colour for each transmission you station connected tin trim disorder for your team.

You tin besides disagreement station types aliases taxable matter utilizing visuals to guarantee you schedule nan correct contented astatine nan correct time.

5. Assign roles and responsibilities.

Roles and responsibilities tin look evident erstwhile a contented strategy launches, but this clarity tin slice complete time. That's why I promote including specifications for illustration writing, editing, publishing, and image creation successful your calendar.

This elemental measurement makes processes, roles, and deadlines clear. It besides creates accountability for each personnel of your team.

6. Study your competition’s posting frequency.

We each request a small inspiration — including me!

Look to different businesses posting successful nan aforesaid manufacture aliases niche arsenic yours. Then, study which competitors are successful successful capturing attraction and really they sewage to that level of success.

Let maine beryllium clear, I americium not astatine each suggesting copying others’ contented taxable matter aliases nan nonstop dates aliases times they post.

Instead, propulsion inspiration and make your ain editorial almanac to drawback attraction connected nan days aliases times competitors aren’t posting. This maneuver tin besides thief you find gaps successful your contented strategy.

7. Plan your posts consistently.

Content planning is an incredibly important constituent of immoderate beardown trading strategy.

As Carsyn LeClere, erstwhile trading strategist astatine Blue Frog Marketing, told me:

“Content readying helps supply a amended position of each your trading initiatives and really they play into each other. It's important because it ensures you don't copy contented efforts, cannibalize a topic, miss immoderate initiatives, aliases neglect immoderate portion of nan buyer's journey.”

Organizing your editorial almanac for posting connected nan aforesaid play schedule tin thrust vulnerability for your contented and amended engagement.

Posting connected a predominant ground keeps your followers coming backmost for more. Social media platforms reward profiles that thrust this engagement pinch much visibility. And hunt engines reward contented that searchers emotion to click.

After all, these platforms want to seizure and support people’s attention, too.

When you create a patterned aliases accordant posting cycle, you’re optimizing your usage of each channel.

For example, opportunity you people email tips connected Tuesdays. Your assemblage will travel to trust connected those tips and look guardant to them. If you people nan aforesaid useful tips astatine random, your target assemblage mightiness miss that content.

So, regular posting keeps your assemblage engaged and builds a stronger relationship pinch them.

Creating a contented almanac that has a clear schedule of posts will thief you enactment accordant and support a dependable travel of content. But retrieve that due taxable ideation is simply a cardinal first measurement successful building a contented almanac that yields coagulated results.

Consistent contented only useful arsenic agelong arsenic nan topics entreaty to your audience’s interests and get them engaged. Again, return a look astatine your competitors. See what taxable they target and nan results they bring successful to tie immoderate inspiration.

You tin besides usage AI-powered taxable generators to thief pinch brainstorming — simply type successful a fewer specifications astir your assemblage and content, and these platforms will make a bid of applicable topics you could target.

8. Audit and accommodate your editorial almanac arsenic necessary.

It whitethorn return immoderate clip to cleanable your editorial calendar.

If you statesman pinch debased engagement successful nan first mates of months, run a contented audit and accommodate your contented almanac to amended prosecute your followers.

Source

Then, schedule regular audits to measurement your contented capacity and usage your contented almanac to way nan worth of immoderate strategical changes.

This is really creating an editorial almanac will make your contented trading much streamlined, organized, and effective.

Editorial Calendar Examples & Templates

You didn‘t deliberation I’d springiness you each this accusation and not see examples, did you? Of course, I've sewage you covered.

To thief you instrumentality an editorial calendar, present are examples and templates from celebrated contented guidance apps.

Many of them usage very akin templates; if you’re unsure wherever to start, inquire your teammates what they’ve utilized successful nan past.

Familiarity tin beryllium a deciding factor, particularly if you’re starting from scratch and request to get a caller squad onboarded and trained connected a caller tool.

Although astir of these devices person free versions, fund will besides beryllium a information if you request a paid type to meet your needs.

1. HubSpot Editorial Calendar Template

Platforms: Google Sheets, Excel

Free Download

The interactive HubSpot Editorial Calendar Template was built for writers and contented strategists to outline their posting strategy.

Included are prompts for nan content's title, meta description, URL, CTA, and more. This template is wholly free and tin beryllium utilized connected some Google Sheets and Excel.

If you’re building your first editorial calendar, our template is simply a awesome spot to commencement since it uses acquainted devices for illustration Google Sheets and Excel, which besides makes it easy to customize without a large learning curve. (Plus, you’ve astir apt already sewage entree to 1 aliases some of 2 platforms, truthful nary fund needed.)

We’ve filled successful a fewer rows for guidance, but dissimilar immoderate platforms’ templates, you won’t person to clear a ton of information to commencement customizing. Our template is besides conscionable a almanac — not a workflow — which whitethorn beryllium simpler if you’re a solopreneur aliases if you person stakeholders who simply request a high-level position of your calendar.

2. HubSpot’s Social Media Calendar Template

Platforms: Google Sheets, Excel

Free Download

Although it’s technically a societal media calendar, I’m including this template because nan monthly readying almanac and contented repository tabs tin easy beryllium repurposed arsenic an editorial calendar.

The monthly readying tab moreover has a color-coded strategy to separate betwixt half a twelve contented types, which is basal if you people much than 1 type of content.

I for illustration some of nan HubSpot almanac templates for their easiness of use. Since it doesn’t person arsenic galore moving parts arsenic galore different tools, it’s accelerated to customize and train caller squad members on.

3. Trello’s Editorial Calendar Template

Source

Trello defaults to nan Kanban-style committee seen above, pinch each portion of contented connected its ain card. As nan contented moves done nan workflow, writers and editors move nan paper to nan due position column. Additional views for illustration calendars and timelines are disposable pinch paid subscriptions.

I for illustration really easy Trello is to usage — there’s very small learning curve, and anybody tin look astatine nan committee and easy spot each nan contented successful nan pipeline. However, if you person a immense publishing measurement and/or a peculiarly lengthy editorial workflow, this style of almanac could go unwieldy.

4. Asana’s Editorial Calendar Template

Source

Asana is different celebrated instrumentality for editorial calendars. If you’ve utilized Trello before, you’ll find that Asana is beautiful similar, though nan second has much bells and whistles. You tin take betwixt Kanban, calendar, list, and different views, aliases rhythm betwixt them arsenic necessary.

Asana lets you group up robust automations pinch paid subscriptions, which tin beryllium a lifesaver for analyzable projects involving tons of squad members. If you spell pinch Asana, I do urge taking 1 aliases much of their free webinars to get you complete nan learning curve arsenic quickly arsenic possible.

Source

5. AirTable Editorial Calendar Template

Source

AirTable is different 1 of my favourite tools, although, a connection of warning: This 1 does person a steeper learning curve. Somewhere betwixt a spreadsheet and a task guidance system, AirTable is awesome for analyzable calendars pinch larger teams and/or galore contented types.

6. Monday.com Editorial Calendar Template

Source

Monday.com’s templates are group up a spot otherwise from Asana and Trello. Instead of providing an out-of-the-box template, it asks you respective questions astir your team, type of content, and different goals to quickly build a customized template.

Beyond that, it’s very akin to Asana and Trello — location are aggregate views, and it’s group up to beryllium some a workflow and a calendar.

7. Notion Editorial Calendar Template

Source

Notion is 1 instrumentality I haven’t personally utilized astatine work, but I cognize it has a beardown instrumentality following.

One bully characteristic is that users tin taxable their ain templates, which intends location are dozens of editorial almanac templates available, some free and paid.

For instance, here’s 1 that Mailmodo made to support each its trading efforts easy accessible:

Source

The almanac includes “events, dates, geographical targets, trading angles, types of business, humanities precedence, and email templates,” truthful if you person a batch of info you want to fold into an editorial calendar, this mightiness beryllium worthy a look.

8. Hootsuite's Content Calendar

Platform: Google Sheets

Here’s a real-life illustration of really a trading squad uses Google Sheets.

Hootsuite, different societal media scheduling platform, has a ton of contented to people some regular and acold retired successful advance. That makes its contented almanac a awesome constituent of their accumulation strategy.

Source

Due to nan volume, nan Hootsuite squad creates contented acold successful beforehand utilizing Google Sheets to scheme and shape crossed channels.

Once nan strategy is created and executed, posts that are fresh to beryllium published are represented connected Hootsuite Planner.

Content Calendar Sample

Ready to make your ain editorial calendar?

No matter which level you yet want to activity retired of, a spreadsheet tin thief you return inventory of what contented you person and really quickly it moves from commencement to finish.

Try our free Blog Editorial Calendar Templates.

Use nan templates linked supra to organize, categorize, and colour code. These templates tin thief you target nan correct readers, optimize posts pinch nan champion keywords, and brace each taxable pinch a slayer call-to-action.

In this download, we've included 3 different templates for you to take from.

Why three? Not each contented teams are nan same. While immoderate consciousness astir businesslike pinch a centralized editorial almanac solution, others whitethorn request nan gentle push of an upcoming deadline correct connected their calendar.

So, you'll person entree to each 3 templates successful Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar.

Plan Out Your Editorial Calendar pinch Ease

I’ve built respective editorial calendars astatine different workplaces, and my biggest takeaway is this: If your almanac doesn’t activity for 1 person, it doesn’t work.

So nary matter which format you choose, beryllium judge that you’re afloat aligned pinch each your stakeholders and that you’ve drummed up a small enthusiasm for this caller organizational tool.

With a small customization, your blog almanac will beryllium moving smoothly, leaving you clip to beryllium nan content-writing, lead-generating instrumentality you strive to be.

Editor's note: This station was primitively published successful January 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.