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.

Column headings in spreadsheet software

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:

  • An account column to indicate where you want the post to go—Instagram, blog, website, etc.
  • Including multiple copy columns for different accounts—for example, Instagram copy, Facebook copy, etc.
  • A link column for your long-form content drafts—it's better to draft these in Google Docs or another word processor, summarizing them in your sheet.
  • A people column to show who is working on the post.
  • A priority column to communicate urgency.

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.

To freeze the top row in Google Sheets, select it and go to View, Freeze, and choose 1 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 using dropdown menus in Google Sheets comes in handy. They help you and your team keep communication consistent across the calendar. That way, you can get a quick overview of where your projects stand and use the SORT function in Google Sheets to help you quickly navigate projects by status.

Here are the steps to add a dropdown menu to your content calendar:

Dropdown menu options in spreadsheet software

Highlight the Status column.

  1. Hold CMD or CTRL and click on the title cell to deselect it.
  2. Go to Insert in the top menu or right-click the selection.
  3. Click Dropdown, and a sidebar will open.
  4. Type the statuses you want to use in the text fields.
  5. Click Add another item button to create additional spots.
  6. Assign each status a different color—this will help you quickly identify them.
  7. Hit Done.

Your list will appear in all the column's cells—give it a try. To clear it, select the cell and hit delete.

Now, as you work, you can change your status to quickly update 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 can 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.

Content calendar ideas page in spreadsheet software

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.

Tracking sheet for social media results in spreadsheet software

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:

  • Block off some time in your schedule and work in bulk. That way, your posts are ready ahead of time instead of writing them and searching for images on the fly.
  • Put these ideas in right away, even if you don't use them all—they could come in handy later.
  • Tracking will help you know which posts perform best on what platforms and also identify what doesn't work, saving you time later.
  • Keep it minimal. It's easy to want to build a massive Sheet with a column for everything, but try and think of it as a quick overview. What information do you need to see about your posts at a glance?

And some tips to help you format your Google Sheet:

Content calendar created in spreadsheet software
  • You can create a line break using option + enter or control + enter.
  • You can adjust the height of your rows by clicking them and selecting Resize row—even if the wrapped text is making it tall, resizing will tuck it away.
  • You can also adjust the height manually by clicking and dragging the row.
  • Setting your Text wrapping to Wrap will keep your Google Sheets tidy.
  • You can use the Vertical align tool in the top menu if you want the text to appear in the center, top, or bottom of the cell.

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 you can build from there.