Do you have stellar content you want to get out on the web? The best way to track this and plan future ideas is with a content calendar. Many options, but Google Sheets never seem to fail.
Spreadsheets are used to collect data, track, and plan. And now you can learn how to use it to make an efficient and functional calendar.
Especially if you have several clients, help to keep them separate and organized.
Here are some tips to help you get started and master content calendars in Google Sheets!
Formatting Your Calendar
The first thing to do is to open a new spreadsheet and delete columns H through Z. Next, choose the month you want to create. Type this into the first cell of your spreadsheet.
To begin formatting, select column A, row 1. This should be where you entered in the month. Then, highlight columns A through G and merge (button is just right of the fill tool) so that the cell spans across the entire column.
You can personalize the calendar a little more by adjusting the alignment, font size, and style. I typically like to bold the month.
Use Formulas
Next up is to use formulas to create the days of the weeks. I use column A through G to do this. If you don’t feel like using a formula, you can always enter this manually.
Choose the cell where you want to play the first weekday. Use formula: =TEXT(1, DDDD”).
This tells your Google Sheet to replace the number with a date while using the format weekdays.
Then, highlight the “1” that is the formula and type: (COLUMN(), DDDD”). Press enter and select the day you want to place in the first row. Dragging this through columns A through G and pressing enter should fill in the rest of the week with help from the formula.
Now you will use a formula to fill in the numerical values. The formula: =IF WEEKDAY($A1)=COLUMN(),1, “”.
This means that you are telling Google Sheets that if the first day of the month falls on a weekday and is equal to the column that you are in, to display the number one.
Then you will select the enter row and paste. The number one should appear in the desired column. Again, this can always be done manually.
For example, if the first day of the month starts on Thursday, you would use the following function to fill in the rest of the days of the month: =DAY(A1=A5). Copy and drag selector to the rest of the row and simply paste.
Remember, sometimes it is just easier to do this manually.
Finalize Your Calendar
This is the time you can reformat or add design elements to personalize your calendar.
If things aren’t looking the way you want, like a real calendar, you can clean it up a bit by highlighting the days of the week. Or you can add a border or change the font. Don’t be afraid to mess around with formatting tools to get the look you really want for your content calendar.
Creating a content calendar with Google Sheets is easy to share among your team. Any team member can have access and can easily edit them to stay on top of things.
Feeling a little stuck organizing your content? Work with a creative agency in Phoenix to help you not only organize your content marketing but also come up with fresh ideas!
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