2018 Content Calendar Template [Free Download]

When business professionals ask me to help them with their online marketing, they usually open the conversation with:

“Someone told me I need a Facebook fan page, so I had my son create one for me. But I haven’t posted anything to it. I don’t even know how to use it. Help!”

Most of us struggle to balance the demands of running our business and marketing our business. Unsure about how to woo readers, we use the spray and pray marketing method: we create a blog and multiple social media accounts, spray out random updates and pray someone pays attention.

Spray and pray doesn’t work. What to do instead.

I hereby grant you permission to ignore people who insist that you have to be on Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / LinkedIn / YouTube / Instagram / Snapchat / Google+.

Instead, choose one network you feel most drawn to. Then “think backwards” by asking yourself these questions:

What do I hope to get out of joining this network?
Who is my ideal target reader, and does my reader hang out at this network?
How will I help people who visit my page?
How will my updates invite two-way conversation?
How often will I publish fresh content?
What is my “time budget” for building relationships on this network?

Rather than joining eight networks and using all of them haphazardly, use one network consistently and strategically. You’ll be happier, and you’ll reap a much better return on your time investment.

My gift to you

As you’re planning your online marketing strategy for the coming year, you’ll need an easy way to keep your social media updates and blog post “teasers” organized. I’ve got you covered!

It’s my 2018 Content Calendar Template, and it’s completely free.

I update this template annually, and it’s my most popular giveaway. In fact, I received an email just yesterday from an entrepreneur who said,

“I loved your 2017 content calendar template. Can’t wait to download the 2018 version!”

Go ahead and request yours right now. Then read on for tips on how to get the most out of your template.

Yes! I want the 2018 Content Calendar Template

Why my template is so… well… plain.

Every year, I download an array of yearly, monthly, and daily calendar templates, business planners, and such. Most templates have one of these problems:

They’re too pretty. Graphic designers spend hours designing printable templates for each week of the year. Problem is, you have to print them. Fifty-two of them, to be exact. And then you have to use a pen and fill in each one in. And then you have to create a special place to store them. I like pretty calendars as much as the next girl, but I get so distracted by their beauty that I am reluctant to write on them.
They’re too complicated. Most content calendars require you to spend hours setting up a spreadsheet, color-coding it, and obsessing over where to put what.

I like simple. Efficient. Functional.

This no-frills Word template includes 5 columns that you can use as is or customize however you’d like. You can change the shading color of the cells, change the font or font size, or add your own “highlighted” holidays, events, and content buckets.

Or you can change nothing and just start using it.

I use this template all day, every day. I simply “save as” and create a blank copy for each client. When I’m ready to draft social media content, I open the Word doc and plug in my “evergreen” content for the upcoming month.

I print the template once, at the end of each year, and pop the hard copy of the entire year’s social updates into a folder.

Request your template right now, download it, and open the document. Then read on for how to get the most out of your 2018 Content Calendar.

How to use your template

Columns 1 and 2: Day and Date

The first two columns list the day and date. In column 1, I highlighted major U.S. holidays and observances, along with some “weird” holidays (just for fun). If you’d like to modify them, here are two good websites with extensive lists of major and minor holidays, as well as those fun, “weird” observance days:

Holidays in the United States in 2018

Weird Holidays in 2018

Column 3: Social updates

In this column, write your social updates or blog post “teasers” (remember to insert the hyperlink to your blog post).

I draft “evergreen” updates (ones that aren’t time-dated) about a month in advance. At the beginning of each week or each month, I schedule my evergreen updates using Facebook’s native scheduler or Hootsuite, Buffer, Later, Post Planner, or other scheduling tool.

Column 4: Social Channels

In this column, note which social channel you’re scheduling or posting to: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, Google+, Pinterest, etc.

Often, I’ll schedule identical content on several networks so in Column 5, I note FB, LI, G+.

I usually write a similar-but-shorter update for Twitter. I compose the tweet in Column 3, and note that it’s for Twitter.

If you prefer to keep updates for each social network completely separate, “Save As” and rename the template “2018 Twitter Posts,” or “2018 Facebook Posts.”

Column 5: Content Buckets

In this column, list the content buckets into which you are filing the post. A content bucket is a visual way to thematically organize your posts.

2017 Content Calendar Template [Free Download] | BloggingBistro.com

Content buckets remind you to publish a variety of content types (images, videos, links, text-only) on a variety of topics or themes.

I organize my posts into six content buckets.

1. Introduce

These posts help my fans get to know the person behind the brand. They can be fun, goofy, random, reflective, inspirational… whatever you want. But they need to be candid, and to reflect the “real” you. Here’s a spur-of-the-moment thought I posted a couple of days ago:

Writing an article for a client that includes the phrase “blood clots.” I just noticed that I wrote “blog clots.”

I either have blogging on the brain, or I just renamed the medical condition, formerly known as “blogger’s block.” I think I like “blog clots” better.

2. Inform

Help your followers solve a problem or meet a challenge by offering a wealth of niche-related educational content. This is my favorite content bucket; as many as 80% of my updates are informational.

3. Interact

We all know that social media is intended to be relational and interactive. Yet many of us (myself included) forget to ask our followers to participate in the conversation. Ask questions; challenge your followers to do something you’ve taught them.

4. Inspire

Motivate or encourage your fans with graphics, videos, quotes, success stories, and testimonials.

5. Entertain

Make them laugh. Make them cry. Make them go aaaaah.

6. Influence

Be extremely careful about overwhelming your fans with “buy my stuff” posts. Limit promotional content to about 10% of your posts.

Limit promotional content to 10% of your posts.

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Quick tips

Mix-and-match social media updates into multiple content buckets. Write an update that is both informational and interactive, by sharing a tip and then challenging your followers to put your tip into practice.

Or write an entertaining “influence” post. Promote a product or service you offer, but do it in such an entertaining way that your fans don’t even realize you’re promoting something.

Link to other people’s content. One of the best ways to establish authority in your niche is to serve as a reliable source of information. My personal goal is to link to other people’s articles, blog posts, or social updates 40-60% of the time.

Give yourself permission to move things around. Monitor how your updates are performing on various social channels, and adjust regularly.

Save As. I manage social media accounts for several clients, so before I start filling in the calendar, I first save a blank calendar for each client.

Print once. At the end of the year, I have a complete record of every social update I have posted to every network. At the end of 2018, I will print the entire calendar and store a hard copy.