Now, let’s fill in the calendar with actual content: - Start with Big Rocks: Place the most important content first – the pieces tied to the key dates/events you mapped. Lock those in on their specific dates (or date ranges). These might be major blog posts, announcements, or campaigns that you absolutely must publish on a certain day. - Add Recurring Content: Next, add any recurring items (like a weekly blog post every Tuesday, newsletter every first of the month, Instagram #MondayMotivation every week). These give structure. - Fill Gaps with Ideas: Go back to your brainstorm list from
Step 1 and start assigning those ideas to the open slots around your fixed content. For instance, if in April you have two open blog slots aside from a product launch announcement, pick two ideas from your list that fit April’s theme or your audience’s interests then. Do this for each channel: maybe you have 12 Instagram posts a month to fill, plug in 12 ideas from your list for that month. - Mix It Up: Ensure variety as you schedule. Don’t put five video posts in one week and none the next, or four heavy technical articles in a row with no lighter content. Alternate formats and topics to keep things interesting.
Your monthly theme guides you, but you can approach it from different angles. - Be Realistic: If the calendar is starting to look too packed, scale back. It’s better to maintain a consistent, sustainable pace than to over-post and burn out by mid-year . Use the TBD slots intentionally – you can fill them later based on new ideas or if you find you have extra capacity. This step is like assembling a puzzle. It’s okay if you shuffle things around a few times until it feels right. By the end, you should have a draft of the year (or at least the next few months) with content planned for each channel.