content-calendar
plan content with intent. tie every entry to a goal, an audience, and a channel.
what this skill does
builds a content calendar that's actually a plan, not a list of dates. each entry has: who it's for, what it's trying to do, where it goes, who owns it, and what counts as success.
when to use
- a team is starting content from scratch
- existing content is happening but nobody can name why
- before a launch, to plan supporting content
- quarterly, to set the next cycle's themes
inputs required
before building the calendar:
- goals for the period (1-3 max; if more, the calendar will drift)
- audiences the content needs to reach
- channels available (owned, earned, paid; blog, social, email, video, podcast)
- team capacity (writers, editors, designers; hours per week)
- content already in motion (don't double-book)
- brand voice (extracted or canonical; content without voice is just text)
if any of these are missing, surface that before planning. content calendars built on hope drift fast.
the structure
period: [Q1 2026 / month / week — whatever fits]
goal 1: [specific, measurable]
goal 2: [optional]
goal 3: [optional]
themes (3-5 for the period)
theme 1: [short label]
why: [the bet this represents]
audience: [primary]
channels: [list]
content count: [planned pieces]
calendar by week
week 1
[piece]: [title / topic, channel, owner, due date, status, goal it serves]
[piece]: ...
week 2
...
quality bar
- every piece names its audience
- every piece names its goal
- every piece names its primary channel
- every piece names its owner
- every piece has a date
what's not in this calendar
- content that doesn't tie to a goal
- "let's just be present on platform X" without a why
- reposts of last quarter's content with new dates
the rules
one goal per piece: if a piece is supposed to drive signups AND build authority AND nurture leads, it'll do none of them well.
named owner: "marketing team" is not an owner. one person's name. accountability requires a name.
less than you think: most teams plan 2-3x more than they ship. plan to capacity, not to ambition.
theme over topic: a theme is a bet on what to teach or claim. a topic is a single piece. themes generate topics; topics don't accumulate into themes.
don't fill weeks for the sake of filling: a week with one strong piece beats a week with five mediocre ones. plan capacity, not cadence.
leave 20% open: news happens. opportunities show up. burnout happens. a fully-booked calendar can't absorb any of these.
end-of-period review goes on the calendar: if you don't schedule the review, it doesn't happen, and the next calendar is built on guesses.
channel-specific guidance
blog / longform
- 1-2 substantive pieces per week is plenty
- name the search intent or the share intent before drafting
- check past performance before committing to a topic
social
- frequency depends on platform; resist the urge to match what others do
- if posting daily means posting filler, post less
- distinguish original content from reshare
email
- frequency tied to subscriber expectation (set on signup)
- one primary CTA per email
- segment by audience, not by guess
video
- highest production cost per unit; plan accordingly
- one good video > four mediocre ones
- platform-native vs. cross-platform: decide upfront
podcast
- consistency matters more than frequency
- guest pipeline is a separate ops problem; build it before announcing
- transcripts and clips are content too; plan their lifecycle
output
a full calendar in markdown with the structure above. plus:
- a one-page summary for sharing
- a per-channel view (what's on the blog this quarter, what's in email, etc.)
- a per-owner view (what each person is responsible for)
- gaps list (themes with too few pieces; weeks with too many)
what this skill doesn't do
- write the content (that's downstream of the calendar)
- guarantee distribution (the calendar plans creation; promotion is a separate plan)
- replace conversation with the people who'll execute (review the draft with them)
related
- voice-extract (voice for the content)
- messaging-architecture (the claims content should reinforce)
- launch-planning (launches generate content needs; align here)
- release-narrative (content that ships alongside product releases)
1---2name: content-calendar3description: Plan a content calendar tied to product, brand, or marketing goals. Use when the user asks for a content plan, editorial calendar, content strategy, posting schedule, or wants to map content to themes and audiences over a period of time.4---56# content-calendar78plan content with intent. tie every entry to a goal, an audience, and a channel.910## what this skill does1112builds a content calendar that's actually a plan, not a list of dates. each entry has: who it's for, what it's trying to do, where it goes, who owns it, and what counts as success.1314## when to use1516- a team is starting content from scratch17- existing content is happening but nobody can name why18- before a launch, to plan supporting content19- quarterly, to set the next cycle's themes2021## inputs required2223before building the calendar:24251. **goals** for the period (1-3 max; if more, the calendar will drift)262. **audiences** the content needs to reach273. **channels** available (owned, earned, paid; blog, social, email, video, podcast)284. **team capacity** (writers, editors, designers; hours per week)295. **content already in motion** (don't double-book)306. **brand voice** (extracted or canonical; content without voice is just text)3132if any of these are missing, surface that before planning. content calendars built on hope drift fast.3334## the structure3536```37period: [Q1 2026 / month / week — whatever fits]38goal 1: [specific, measurable]39goal 2: [optional]40goal 3: [optional]4142themes (3-5 for the period)43 theme 1: [short label]44 why: [the bet this represents]45 audience: [primary]46 channels: [list]47 content count: [planned pieces]4849calendar by week50 week 151 [piece]: [title / topic, channel, owner, due date, status, goal it serves]52 [piece]: ...53 week 254 ...5556quality bar57 - every piece names its audience58 - every piece names its goal59 - every piece names its primary channel60 - every piece names its owner61 - every piece has a date6263what's not in this calendar64 - content that doesn't tie to a goal65 - "let's just be present on platform X" without a why66 - reposts of last quarter's content with new dates67```6869## the rules70711. **one goal per piece**: if a piece is supposed to drive signups AND build authority AND nurture leads, it'll do none of them well.72732. **named owner**: "marketing team" is not an owner. one person's name. accountability requires a name.74753. **less than you think**: most teams plan 2-3x more than they ship. plan to capacity, not to ambition.76774. **theme over topic**: a theme is a bet on what to teach or claim. a topic is a single piece. themes generate topics; topics don't accumulate into themes.78795. **don't fill weeks for the sake of filling**: a week with one strong piece beats a week with five mediocre ones. plan capacity, not cadence.80816. **leave 20% open**: news happens. opportunities show up. burnout happens. a fully-booked calendar can't absorb any of these.82837. **end-of-period review goes on the calendar**: if you don't schedule the review, it doesn't happen, and the next calendar is built on guesses.8485## channel-specific guidance8687### blog / longform8889- 1-2 substantive pieces per week is plenty90- name the search intent or the share intent before drafting91- check past performance before committing to a topic9293### social9495- frequency depends on platform; resist the urge to match what others do96- if posting daily means posting filler, post less97- distinguish original content from reshare9899### email100101- frequency tied to subscriber expectation (set on signup)102- one primary CTA per email103- segment by audience, not by guess104105### video106107- highest production cost per unit; plan accordingly108- one good video > four mediocre ones109- platform-native vs. cross-platform: decide upfront110111### podcast112113- consistency matters more than frequency114- guest pipeline is a separate ops problem; build it before announcing115- transcripts and clips are content too; plan their lifecycle116117## output118119a full calendar in markdown with the structure above. plus:120121- a one-page summary for sharing122- a per-channel view (what's on the blog this quarter, what's in email, etc.)123- a per-owner view (what each person is responsible for)124- gaps list (themes with too few pieces; weeks with too many)125126## what this skill doesn't do127128- write the content (that's downstream of the calendar)129- guarantee distribution (the calendar plans creation; promotion is a separate plan)130- replace conversation with the people who'll execute (review the draft with them)131132## related133134- voice-extract (voice for the content)135- messaging-architecture (the claims content should reinforce)136- launch-planning (launches generate content needs; align here)137- release-narrative (content that ships alongside product releases)
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