Module 12Stage: Strategize90 min

Content Planning

Plan one week of content in a single sitting.

Jump to lesson:
01Weekly Planning02Monthly Planning03Content Batching04Editorial Calendars05Managing Content Deadlines
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Lesson 1

Weekly Planning

Objective

Plan one week of content in a single sitting.

Teach
Weekly planning means deciding topics, formats and pillars for all 7 days in one session — batching the thinking so daily execution is faster.
Real-World Example
A 30-minute Sunday planning session naming Monday–Sunday's pillar and format prevents daily "what do I post today?" scrambling.
Common Mistake
Deciding what to post the same day it goes out, which increases stress and lowers quality.
Practical Exercise

Plan next week's 7 posts in one sitting: pillar + format + rough topic for each day.

Lesson Checkpoint

Weekly planning's main benefit is

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Lesson 2

Monthly Planning

Objective

Zoom out to a month to catch gaps and balance campaigns.

Teach
Monthly planning checks pillar balance across 4 weeks, schedules any campaigns or launches, and flags relevant dates (holidays, industry events).
Real-World Example
Spotting that 3 of 4 weeks lean promotional and rebalancing before the month starts, not after.
Common Mistake
Only planning week to week, missing that certain pillars or formats are being neglected over a longer stretch.
Practical Exercise

Sketch a month at a glance: 4 weeks, one dominant pillar and any key dates per week.

Lesson Checkpoint

Monthly planning is useful mainly for

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Lesson 3

Content Batching

Objective

Produce multiple pieces of content in one focused session.

Teach
Batching means filming, writing or designing several posts at once instead of one at a time — it reduces setup/teardown time and keeps voice consistent.
Real-World Example
Filming 5 short videos in one afternoon rather than one video per day across 5 separate setups.
Common Mistake
Batching production but not batching the planning that should happen before it, leading to unfocused sessions.
Practical Exercise

Plan one batching session: what will you produce, and how many pieces in one sitting?

Lesson Checkpoint

Batching content mainly saves time by

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Lesson 4

Editorial Calendars

Objective

Build a calendar that shows pillar, format, date and status at a glance.

Teach
An editorial calendar should show, per post: date, pillar, format, status (idea/draft/scheduled/published) — enough to manage without opening every file.
Real-World Example
A simple table with 4 columns beats a folder of loose drafts with no visible status.
Common Mistake
Keeping content ideas scattered across notes apps instead of one visible, shared calendar.
Practical Exercise

Build a 2-week calendar table with date, pillar, format and status columns.

Lesson Checkpoint

An editorial calendar should show at minimum

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Lesson 5

Managing Content Deadlines

Objective

Set realistic internal deadlines ahead of publish dates.

Teach
Build in a buffer — draft deadline, review deadline, and publish date should be 3 separate dates, not the same day, so there's time to catch mistakes.
Real-World Example
Draft due Monday, reviewed Wednesday, published Friday — not all three on Friday.
Common Mistake
Drafting and publishing on the same day, leaving no room for review or fixing a weak CTA.
Practical Exercise

Add draft and review deadlines (not just publish dates) to your calendar for the next 2 weeks.

Lesson Checkpoint

A healthy content deadline structure includes

Module Template

**30-Day Content Calendar** — see Templates Library.

Deepen Your Knowledge
  • •[Later.com](http://Later.com) — content calendar guides
  • •Buffer — content planning resources
Module Checkpoint Assessment

Test Your Mastery of Module 12

5 questions · 70% passing threshold required

PreviousMod 11: Content Pillars
Next ModuleMod 13: Campaign Strategy