Running blogs and social media posts can be challenging, thanks to the enormous volume of posts and information you need to create. Whether it is social media marketing or any other kind of content, everything needs to be posted on time and following a constant rhythm.

Otherwise, creating a fan base of users that follow your content and share it can become more difficult. Along with consistent posting, it is also challenging to remember what to post each day.

You can have numerous blog post topics depending on the type of blog and content you create. To avoid any mistakes and ensure consistent and relevant content for your social media platforms, creating a blog content calendar template is essential.

This powerful tool can be the answer for content managers and other team members to stay on the same page about what to post and when. But your blog editorial calendar template must be well-thought-out to provide the desired results and help with the planning.

In this article, we will show you how to create the perfect document for blog post content. Make sure to follow all steps and tips to ensure the best results out of your social media content creation.

The name is pretty self-explanatory, and it is a document dedicated to registering all details regarding your blog content strategy, from dates to content ideas. Companies also use the blog calendar to keep up with content marketing efforts and posting strategy planning.

It is a complete document that can be used for numerous purposes and functions of your blog schedule. What this tool does will depend on the categories you include in the template and the volume of information provided when filling in the document.

The blog calendar can also organize the teams responsible for each content type and posting schedule. For example, you can assign the marketing strategy and the related posts, while the other team produces other kinds of content and gets responsible for their publish date.

There are numerous possibilities. What the document does will depend on the business you have and the document you craft.

Several reasons can make the calendar template a game-changer for your blog. The document helps with consistency, guaranteeing that your viewers will know exactly what you post and when.

This increases the number of followers and interactions with your content. The more consistent you get, the higher the chances of the social media platform’s algorithm recommending your blog content to new users.

Moreover, the blogging template also helps with new content generation. When you have a calendar with an overview of your posts, it becomes easier to generate insights on what you can do that is innovative and beneficial to your viewers.

Now that you know what a blog content calendar is and why it is important to have one, it is time to see the main categories included in these documents. Remember that they might vary depending on the type of content you post and other factors.

Make sure to take a look and evaluate the most important ones for your kind of business. Here are some indispensable categories:

Define Your Post Types

We know blogs can have different post types depending on the day of the week or the website division. When creating your editorial calendar, it is crucial that all these types of content are correctly listed.

For example, if you run a veterinary clinic, you can have a blog that features content about pet care and also marketing content. When creating, these two types must be separated and listed in your spreadsheet.

Doing this avoids mixing contents and keeps the creation process more consistent. Also, it will help you to keep things organized.

Identify the Target Audience

You can have multiple blog posts of different types as well as various target audiences that follow your content. Identifying these parties is vital for creating quality content and generating insights into which blog topics can attract users.

Sometimes you’ll have a single target audience, and that’s not a problem. In fact, it can be better for content generation since you only have to worry about one group of people when creating content ideas.

Determine Content Themes

Along with the post types, you also need to determine which subjects they regard, and that is the theme of your blog. Creating multiple blog post ideas of different themes might not be a good practice since, this way, your blog won’t have a well-defined theme.

This doesn’t mean you have to talk about the same thing every time. But it is better to choose a clear theme to focus on and create other contents that somehow relate to it.

For example, you can have a blog that mainly talks about sports. A good strategy can be creating a blog post about eating healthier or the best food type for those practicing sports. This way, you write about different content directly related to your primary focus and, consequently, will attend to the same target audience.

Define the Platforms Used

Multi-platform blogs are common in all content areas, from gaming-related content to culinary blogs. More than just varying the type of your posts, you can also alternate where you publish each of these content pieces.

When creating a blog content calendar template, the platforms you’ll use should be defined and highlighted in the document. If you have multiple platforms, it is also recommended that you assign different teams responsible for each one of them. 

This avoids problems like the wrong content being posted and also optimizes production since you’re dividing the tasks. The choice of these platforms needs to be carefully thought out and will depend on numerous factors.

The main ones are the type of content you create and where your audience is. If you have a blog that posts videos, you need to choose a platform that supports it. On the other hand, if your target audience is C-level executives, LinkedIn might be a better platform than Instagram. Otherwise, you might not achieve the desired engagement from users.

Add Your Goals

The next item you need to add to the content calendar template is the goals and objectives you want to achieve with your content. It is vital to choose challenging but reachable goals.

These indicators will shape your strategies and outline how to approach each of your company's actions. When these indicators are well-defined in the editorial calendar, it ensures that every team member is on the same page and working together toward the goals.

It is also essential to create a reasonable number of goals. Making multiple difficult objectives at first causes frustration and keeps the team demotivated.

Select Your KPIs

KPIs are one of the most important parts when running a blog. They tell if people like your content and how they interact with it, whether through comments or any other way.

With the right KPIs, you can also see if you’re reaching the desired audience and if it corresponds to your expectations. You can choose numerous methods to measure these results, and everything will depend on the data you want to collect.

Like when choosing goals, it is recommended to include a reasonable number of KPIs. Choosing a high volume can create several problems since it will not only gather unnecessary information but also make it much more difficult to track.

Highlight Your Marketing Actions

When building an editorial calendar, you need to take care not only of your posts but your marketing actions as well. Whether a paid marketing action or posts created by your company to promote the blog, every effort needs to be carefully planned considering the previous aspects.

They must be highlighted in the calendar so the teams know which sponsors they regard. Creating visual codes when doing this kind of task is also recommended. 

The more visually organized your document looks, the better. It helps not only optimize information analysis but also prevents mistakes. 

Assign Responsibilities

Now that you listed all items of the blogging calendar template, it is time to assign each member’s responsibility. For a constant workflow without production problems, every task must be well-thought-out.

You need to consider the due dates of each blog post and marketing action. Based on that, you can assign the teams and how many members will be necessary for each activity to be completed on time.

Don’t be afraid to spend several hours in this planning process. The more organized you are, the better it will be for your blog and your content’s consistency.

Now that you know the main components your editorial calendar should feature, we will show you some valuable tips to make your blog content calendar more optimized and easier for everyone to understand.

Every blog content template requires different categories and particularities. Understanding these items will help you build your documents more efficiently.

These tips can be used for multiple business types and adapted to different content. Here are the leading practices that can help you:

Create a Visually Organized Template

We know templates usually have simple visuals with just the basics, but dedicating time to create a visually pleasant template can have numerous benefits. It makes it much easier for team members to understand what needs to be done and the due date of each task. 

Moreover, organized templates look more professional and generate a better understanding of all parts when shared with other parties, like key stakeholders.

One of the best ways to organize your document visually is to create color codes for the tasks. Whether through sticky notes or colored blocks, you can use different colors for posts and marketing actions. With this, everybody can quickly identify the type of blog post it regards.

Keep It Always Updated

A calendar is a living document, so you must update it as soon as something changes. To help with this task, you can assign a person responsible for handling all aspects of the template.

From updates on deadlines to tasks completed, the team member or person responsible should update the form as soon as something changes. This way, everyone can see in real-time what was posted and which posts need to be developed next.

You can also integrate automation processes to make this even more efficient. Software like Excel allows users to do that through the numerous options available easily.

Conduct Audience Research

Audience identification and the platforms where they’re located are an enormous part of a content calendar’s success. To precisely tell these two pieces of information, making audience research is crucial.

Whether through a professional agency or on your own, several techniques and tools can be used to identify and better address who you speak with. Also, separate the different platforms where these people are located. This helps with insight generation and provides a better idea of the content format to produce.

Create Separate Teams for Each Content or Channel

If you want to optimize the workflow and avoid mistakes regarding content type and platform, creating different teams for each blog content or platform might be a good idea. For example, if you create various posts for Instagram and your website, you can assign different teams to handle each platform. 

With this, you avoid uploading the wrong content and optimize the creation by assigning two teams. It is recommended especially if you have two content types that significantly differ.

Choose an Online Platform for the Editorial Calendar

It is most probable that you already use an online platform for filling in your blog content calendar. But in case you don’t, now it’s the time.

Along with making it easier for everyone to access the document, the online format also provides easy backup options for every archive and version you create. This way, you don’t have to worry about losing your files or not being able to restore an older version of your content calendar template.

There are several options to choose from. Make sure to select one that has everything you need to create a quality content calendar.

When it comes to creating a blog content calendar, there are several options available. From known software to specialized programs, each one has its own tools and features.

Among all the options available, we highly recommend using Microsoft Excel for this task. It not only has the best tools and features on the market but is also an industry standard, dismissing the need for extra programs.

If you don’t have a Microsoft Office activation key, you can find one at RoyalCDKeys for a considerably lower price. This way, you get access to everything you need and still save money.

If you don’t want to create your editorial calendar from scratch, there is no problem. Here are some ready-to-use templates that you can download right now.

Make sure to choose a template that fits your needs. Here are some examples:

Template #1

Simple blog post calendar template. It can be used for any kind of blog content and features a simple layout for easy usage.

Get this template

Template #2

Color-coded editorial calendar. Features a design that allows team members to create different color codes for the numerous contents.

Get this template

Template #3

Complete blog content calendar template. Spreadsheet featuring a complete layout with all the necessary categories for precise content evaluation and planning.

Get this template

Running a blog can be a challenging task, especially if you deal with high volumes of posts and marketing actions. To help with this and avoid mistakes during the process, many managers create a life saver tool called the editorial calendar.

It can track which posts should be worked on next, allowing the team members to create a much more effective workflow. But to achieve your goals and get the best results out of this document, it must be correctly built.

Now that you know everything you need, it is time to start building your blog editorial calendar template. Make sure to follow all the steps and tips to end up with the perfect document.