So, What's This About a Content Calendar?

As a content creator, I have learned how much having a content calendar serves me. Can we be honest for a moment? Creating content can be a beast! Side note: I have a digital product based around my recent masterclass: Taming the Content Beast coming out very soon. 

Simply put, a content calendar is a plan for organizing and scheduling your content for a specified period of time, such as a month or a quarter. Personally, I like to plan out my content monthly. Now, I have reoccurring themes I cover each year. But as far as a plan, I plan monthly. 

When it comes to creating a content calendar, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Define your goals: Before you start creating content, it's important to know what you want to achieve with your content. This could be to drive traffic to your website, increase engagement, or to promote a product or service. You could have a monthly goal, weekly goal, or daily goal when it comes to what you want to achieve with your content. For example, my most recent blogs were created to point people toward my 8-week media mentorship. Today's blog is to simply educate and point people toward my digital resources.

2. Identify your target audience: Understanding who you serve will help you create content that resonates with them and meets their needs. This is especially important for Kingdom entrepreneurs. We are on specific assignment from God. We need to be clear on that assignment and about the people God has called to work with.

3. Choose the type of content: Decide on the type of content you want to create, such as blog posts, videos, social media posts, etc. Of course, I have to highlight video, particularly LIVE video. If you don't currently do LIVE video, I highly encourage you to explore that option. It will help people make connections with you that just reading a post won't get. 

4. Brainstorm ideas: Make a list of potential topics for your content. Look for inspiration from others in your industry, posts you see on social media, and things you read. Now, looking for inspiration is different that settling for imitation. See, when you imitate someone else, your people can't find you. 

5. Map out your content: Once you have a list of ideas, start mapping out the content on your calendar. You can use a physical calendar, spreadsheet, or a content calendar tool. I personally use a project management tool called Asana to map out my content. I pre-decide what content I'll be sharing, when I'll be sharing it, and also on which platforms. I will say, having it mapped out has helped me utilize my virtual assistant in a much greater capacity. 

6. Set deadlines: Establish deadlines for fleshing out each piece of content, taking into consideration any external factors such as holidays or events.

7. Review and adjust: This part ya'll. I regularly review and adjust my content calendar as needed, taking into account any changes my your goals or in the needs of my audience. I suggest you decide on how you want to handle reviewing and adjusting your content calendar. I find most people don't use a content calendar because that don't want to feel "boxed in." The content calendar can be adjusted at any time. In fact, having a content calendar can help release mental energy that can then be used for creating.

I am a firm believer that creating a content calendar will help you stay organized and consistent in your content creation, and achieve your content marketing goals. If you have more questions around content creation, you can DM me on IG @aprilnicolescip