How to Build a Simple and Effective Content Calendar in Google Sheets
With many content calendar software available, it can be challenging to pick one. Some are overcomplicated, some are outside your budget, and others give you a suite of tools you’ll never use. It may even be that you’re still trying to pick your favorite and need a solution in the meantime—one without a paywall or trial period.
Whatever the situation, you can create one that offers what you need—and nothing more—using spreadsheet software. Keep reading to learn how to make and use a content calendar in Google Sheets.
Determine Which Columns to Use in Your Content Calendar Sheet
The purpose of your content calendar is to map out your posts, keeping all your work in one place. Doing this helps you find everything again later. Plus, it’s an excellent place to collaborate with your coworkers.
To get started, list out your columns. This will help you outline your posts later—much like prompts to remind you what you need and get you thinking.
For these, think of the common pieces you need to build each piece of content, for example, text, images, and the date you want to post it. Additionally, you’ll need a way to identify the post, such as a title or description, make notes, and show its status.
Some other ideas for columns are:
Once you know which columns you’d like to use, write them along the top of your Sheet. No worries if you keep it simple at first, you can expand later if necessary. It’s often the case you’ll think of new ideas as you work.
Tofreeze the top row in Google Sheets, select it and go toView,Freeze, and choose1 row. That way, the column headers stay with you as you scroll.
Add a Functional Status Button to Your Content Calendar Sheet
If you ask someone for the status of a project, leaving the answer open-ended will result in various responses. This is where usingdropdown menus in Google Sheetscomes in handy. They help you and your team keep communication consistent across the calendar. That way, it’s possible to get a quick overview of where your projects stand anduse the SORT function in Google Sheetsto help you quickly navigate projects by status.
Here are the steps to add a dropdown menu to your content calendar:
Highlight the Statuscolumn.
Your list will appear in all the column’s cells—give it a try. To clear it, select the cell and hitdelete.
Now, as you work, you can change your status to quickly refresh your team and remind yourself of where you left off. Later, if you find many complete projects on your board, you can create archive Sheets using the plus symbol in the bottom-left of your screen.
A suggestion here would be to organize them into monthly or quarterly archives, in chronological order—that way, you know where to look for them if you need to. To move items, copy and paste them over by row.
you could also use dropdowns for columns like priority, media type, coworkers' names—anything with a recurring set of answers.
Include Ideas and Tracking Tabs in Your Content Calendar Sheet
If you want to map out ideas in your Google Sheets while keeping it tidy, use the tabs at the bottom of your screen to create a separate place for your drafts. Here, you don’t need many columns, but you’ll want to include a column to name or describe your post, write out your ideas, and include thoughts on the visuals.
You can also create a new tab for tracking your results. Here, the column headers will be the name or description of the post, the date, and whichever key performance indicators you use to measure success—clicks, interactions, views, conversions, etc.
Keeping a record of how your posts will help you identify patterns and see which content types perform best on what platform.
Tips for Working Within Your Content Calendar Sheet
Here are some tips to help you plan your content:
And some tips to help you format your Google Sheet:
Get Creative With Your Content Calendar in Google Sheets
While there are many tools to choose from, you can tailor one to your needs in Google Sheets. With the right columns, you’ll have all the prompts you need to outline your posts. Plus, you’ll have everything in one place.
Mapping your content doesn’t need to be complicated. It just starts with a bit of planning, and it’s possible to build from there.
Want to create a functional project management board in Google Sheets to keep track of your tasks and collaborate with your team? Here’s how to do it.
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