Template · Content Calendar
A calendar organised by dates produces content organised by nothing.
A content calendar structured around the jobs your content does — create demand, remove objections, build authority — rather than a grid of days to fill.
The default content calendar is a grid begging to be filled, which is how you end up publishing consistently into indifference. This structure organises by purpose first, so every slot has a reason to exist before it has a date.
An empty calendar slot is not a content brief. It’s a demand to make something forgettable.
Column 1 · The job
What is this piece for — demand, objection-handling, authority, retention? No job, no slot. This column alone kills half of most content plans, for the better.
Column 2 · The audience & stage
Who it’s for and where they are in the journey. The same topic needs a different treatment for a stranger than for a considering buyer.
Column 3 · The core idea
The single argument or insight — not the format. Idea before format, always; the format serves the idea.
Column 4 · Format & channel
Now choose how and where. One idea often becomes several formats — plan the reuse deliberately rather than making everything from scratch.
Column 5 · The measure
How you’ll know it did its job. A demand piece and an authority piece succeed differently; don’t judge them by the same metric.
Fill the ‘job’ column for a month before scheduling anything. If a planned piece has no job, delete it — that deletion is the calendar working.
Common questions
What should a content calendar include?
For each piece: the job it does, the audience and stage, the core idea, the format and channel, and how you’ll measure it. Purpose belongs before date.
How far ahead should you plan content?
Plan themes and jobs a quarter out, but keep specific pieces flexible — the best content responds to what’s happening, within a structure that keeps it purposeful.
Related: content strategy · playbooks.