Methods to Create an Editorial Calendar in Google Calendar [Free Templates]

Whether or not you are managing 1000’s of weblog posts or a couple of dozen articles, you recognize that it is crucial to have an editorial calendar to maintain monitor of all of it.

The excellent news is, there are a whole lot of nice calendar instruments on the market you’ll be able to select from. The truth is, for these of you who’re HubSpot prospects, there is a advertising calendar constructed proper into HubSpot’s software program.

However among the best editorial calendar choices is Google Calendar. It contains options like repeat scheduling, syncing, and adjustable visibility so you’ll be able to collaborate successfully together with your crew. Better of all, it is fully free to make use of.

Intrigued but? This is find out how to arrange your editorial calendar utilizing Google Calendar.

Observe Alongside With These Free Editorial Calendar Templates

Obtain the Template for Free

Step 1. Obtain HubSpot’s free editorial calendar templates.

Obtain Now

Very first thing’s first: Obtain the calendar templates above (they’re free.) By doing this, you may have three editorial calendar templates in your pc to make use of at your leisure: one for Google Calendar, one for Excel, and one for Google Sheets. On this weblog submit, we’ll be going over find out how to import the Excel template into Google Calendar.

Step 2. Customise your template and put together for import into Google Calendar.

The publish dates on the templates you obtain will probably be stamped for a earlier 12 months.

Be at liberty to vary them to the present 12 months within the spreadsheet itself — you too can drag them to the dates of your selecting after importing the file into Google Calendar.

Google Calendar makes it straightforward to load a calendar you may need pre-created in one other program into Google. This contains Microsoft Excel. Subsequent we’ll present you find out how to import the Excel calendar template you downloaded within the earlier step into Google Calendar.

Step 3. Open Google Calendar.

As soon as you have downloaded (or created) a calendar that opens in Microsoft Excel, it is time to open Google Calendar. Simply be sure to’re already logged into the Gmail account you need this calendar to present entry to.

Step 4. Use the left hand dropdown menu to create a brand new calendar.

Subsequent, arrange your Google Calendar to accommodate the data in your Excel spreadsheet. To do that, go into your Google Calendar and click on the plus signal to the fitting of “Different Calendars,” as proven within the screenshot under. Then, within the dropdown menu that seems, choose “Create new calendar.”

Step 5. Fill out the main points of your new calendar.

Fill out the fields that seem on the following display screen. This features a transient description of your calendar, as proven under, to present individuals correct context once you invite them into this calendar. Once you’re carried out filling within the particulars, click on “Create calendar.”

Step 6. Import your XLS or CSV file from the identical dropdown menu.

Utilizing the identical dropdown menu you used to create your editorial calendar, you may now import the Excel file itself into Google Calendar. Click on that plus signal and choose “Import.”

Click on the add field that reads “Choose file out of your pc,” and find the file entitled “Weblog Editorial Calendar – Excel” that was included within the ZIP file you downloaded in Step 1 above.

Step 7. Choose which calendar so as to add this file to.

Within the second field under your imported file, click on the “Add to calendar” dropdown. Be sure you select the calendar identify you simply created from the dropdown menu, as proven under. Then, click on “Import.”

Step 8. Click on Import.

As soon as you have uploaded your Excel file and chosen the calendar you need to add this file to, click on “Import.” You need to see an Import calendar dialog field telling you that seven occasions had been efficiently imported. Click on “Shut.”

Now you can change the dates of the primary seven assignments within the authentic Excel doc in case you’ve not already carried out so. Navigate to the beginning of your calendar. Ensure your whole different calendars are briefly hidden by clicking the coloured field to the left of the calendar identify.

For instance, on the week of January 3, it is best to simply see one “Weblog TBD” calendar occasion on every day from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Use the edit window of every task to vary the publish date. So, as an example, in case you’re glad with the ten a.m. publish time, you’ll be able to merely change the date. Every task will then seem as occasion blocks in your month-to-month calendar view.

Step 9. Decide your publishing schedule.

Now that you’ve got your calendar created, it is time to fill it in with assignments for the 12 months. That is when it’s a must to make some choices about your weblog’s publishing schedule.

Whereas the Excel file you imported accounts for one weblog submit per day, this doesn’t suggest you might want to publish seven days every week. You’ll be able to select to publish each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Or maybe you intend on posting on simply Thursdays. Bear in mind, the important thing to profitable running a blog is high quality over amount.

Do not overcommit to a running a blog schedule if the standard of your content material will take a success. How typically your organization ought to weblog will fluctuate relying on your small business targets and assets.

For those who determine to lower the variety of days you need to publish, click on on the calendar occasion of that day and choose “Delete.”

Even if you wish to publish a number of occasions a day, updating this calendar is as straightforward as including an occasion. Choose a slot in your calendar so as to add one other “Weblog TBD” occasion and duplicate the default description from one other one of many occasions you imported.

Subsequent, it is time for some minor changes. At present, the “Weblog TBD” occasions are set for 10 a.m. Be at liberty to maneuver these occasions to whichever time your weblog publishes content material in the course of the day.

Step 10. Arrange recurring occasions.

Now that your publish dates and occasions are set, you may make these recurring occasions in your calendar.

When you’ve got an everyday publishing schedule, say each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 a.m., you’ll be able to put that in as a recurring “slot” in your calendar. It is okay if you do not have a bit of accomplished content material — or perhaps a working title — to place there but. It is only a reminder that you simply need to publish one thing that day.

So as to add your recurring slot, click on in your first “Weblog TBD” occasion and click on the pencil icon to edit your occasion. It will take you to the main points of the submit, the place you’ll be able to create a customized recurring schedule for every task, as proven within the screenshot under.

You’ll be able to set the submit up as a recurring submit, so it mechanically seems each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 a.m. (or no matter days and occasions you need).

As soon as you have chosen the recurring days, hit “Carried out” and “Save,” and you will have an editorial calendar framework to work with.

For now, preserve the occasion’s title as “Weblog TBD,” however be at liberty to customise the outline with any further particulars you need to ensure you embrace for every submit. Wait to ask any visitor, as we’ll use this to assign posts to an creator as soon as you start filling in your matters. With all the things full, click on “Save.”

If you do not have a recurring schedule like this, you may not want an editorial calendar simply but — however it is a wonderful method to set targets for your self. For instance, if you recognize you need to publish a sure variety of posts every week, even in case you do not hit each single slot, it is a good reminder for your self and your crew that that is one thing it is best to all be striving for.

Step 11. Fill in your publishing slots.

Now that you recognize all the slots you need to fill, you’ve obtained to really fill them. (If you do not have matter concepts but, take a look at this free matter thought generator. It’s going to offer you some good concepts for content material to place within the calendar.)

To illustrate one of many posts you need to write is “10 Stunning Info About Tapirs,” and one of many posts you have already written and need to publish later is “Suppose You are Reduce Out to Personal a Tapir? Learn This First.” Simply add them each to the calendar by clicking on “Put up – TBD” on the right date, selecting “Edit Occasion,” after which altering the “Put up – TBD” textual content to the precise title of the submit.

Now, for instance you do not need to write “10 Stunning Info About Tapirs,” and also you need your colleague to put in writing it as an alternative. To assign the submit an creator, you may invite them to the occasion as a visitor. To do that, click on on the occasion, hit “Edit Occasion,” then invite that colleague to the submit by typing their identify or electronic mail handle into the “Add visitors” field, deciding on “Add” when their identify pops up and hitting “Save” on the occasion when you’re carried out.

Now, anybody can see who’s accountable for writing the submit that is going up in that point slot.

You’ll be able to take it a step additional by including particulars to the “Description” field of the occasion, as proven within the giant field within the screenshot above. You may embrace a fast synopsis, the key phrases you intend to focus on the submit for, the target market you are attempting to succeed in, and the provide or CTA you’ll direct the reader to on the finish of the submit. Remember so as to add the draft’s due date.

Earlier than Google Calendar enables you to save the occasion, you may see a dialog field asking if you need to vary simply this occasion or all the occasions within the sequence. Choose “Solely this occasion.”

Repeat these steps to assign every weblog matter in the present day and sooner or later.

Step 12. Share your editorial calendar with others.

Now that you’ve got your calendar arrange, you’ll be able to invite individuals to see it. I might suggest you begin together with your rapid crew and common contributors — in addition to anybody who usually asks you about publishing content material in your firm weblog.

To share this editorial calendar with individuals, merely discover your editorial calendar beneath “My Calendars,” as proven under. Click on the three dots subsequent to the calendar identify and choose “Settings and sharing” when it seems within the dropdown menu. You may be taken to the identical display screen once you first crammed out the main points of your editorial calendar in Step 2.

Then, you’ll be able to add within the names of individuals with whom you’d wish to share the calendar and set the fitting permission ranges for every invitee.

It is clever to maintain these with the permission settings to handle modifications and sharing to a minimal so there aren’t too many cooks within the kitchen — however I like to recommend you let everybody see all occasion particulars, so it is clear precisely what content material goes up in every slot.

Below the “Share with particular individuals” heading, enter the e-mail addresses of these in your content material crew and determine if they’ve viewing, modifying, or admin privileges. Save your up to date settings.

Why Utilizing Google Calendar as an Editorial Calendar Works

Google Calendar has wonderful options that can assist you handle your editorial calendar. For starters, in case you use Gmail to your company electronic mail, everybody that you simply work with will already be in Gmail (and their calendar, particularly) all day.

Consequently, it will not be arduous for individuals to type a behavior of checking the editorial calendar as a result of it will not be troublesome for them to search out it.

Google Calendar additionally makes issues very easy to maneuver round and schedule as a result of, effectively, it is already a calendar. It has all of the performance you might want to schedule stuff out and let the individuals who have to find out about it know.

Alongside these strains, permitting individuals to view your calendar is easy, making it straightforward for a number of groups to collaborate, see what’s being printed, and determine once they may launch content material and campaigns.

Lastly, this units a precedent for different groups to coordinate together with your crew in an easy approach. You’ll be able to have a calendar for upcoming campaigns, affords, social media pushes, product launches — you identify it. And you’ll all share these calendars for a single-screen view of all the things that is happening so you’ll be able to coordinate extra simply.

Are there different options for sustaining an editorial calendar? In fact. However in case you’re searching for a free, not-too-shabby, minimal viable product, then Google Calendar is for you.

Editor’s word: This submit was initially printed in January 2019 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.