Building a YouTube Content Calendar: How To Plan and Schedule Your Videos
Just launched your YouTube channel and don’t know what to post next? Or are you a content creator struggling to come up with fresh video ideas consistently?
A YouTube content calendar can help you. In this article, we’ll guide you on everything you need to know about YouTube content calendars – what it is, why you need one, and how to create one for your channel.
Let’s get started!
What Is a Content Calendar?
A YouTube content calendar contains the rundown of your upcoming videos – your planned ideas, content type, filming schedule, editing schedule, target date and time of upload, and all other important details.
It can be created on a physical or digital calendar, a spreadsheet, or by using third-party planning tools like Asana, Notion, or Trello.
Here’s what a sample content calendar looks like:
Source: Coefficient.io
YouTubers use their calendars to plan their content in advance. This way, they don’t need to scramble for a video idea that they will need to post the next day.
Some big YouTube accounts even plan their content for the year. This is because their filming is more large-scale than your everyday vloggers.
But if you are just starting out, a month ahead should be fine for you.
Why You Need a YouTube Content Calendar
A content calendar has various benefits such as:
- It creates better and varied content – When you see your planned videos all laid out, it helps you spot if you are posting the same idea or the same content type too repetitively. You can then adjust accordingly.
- It helps you stay on schedule – With your calendar, you can easily identify when you need to work or when you need to edit. You can also keep track of if you are behind schedule to avoid last-minute mishaps. This is crucial if you are collaborating with other brands, if you are planning to post on a specific date, or any other time when you have a strict deadline.
- It helps you effectively manage your time – You can multitask and work more efficiently if you are aware of your schedule. For example, you can see that you have videos that need voice overs, so you can record all of them in one go. You can also see if there are videos that you can film at the same time.
- It helps you post consistently – You can avoid gaps and delays in your posting schedule since you are planning ahead. You can also maintain the quality of your content since you are not rushing your edits or just coming up with random ideas to fill in the gaps.
- It improves collaboration – If you work with editors, graphic designers, or marketing managers, a calendar keeps everyone on the same page and helps you delegate tasks more clearly.
How To Create a YouTube Content Calendar
Convinced of the benefits of a content calendar? Then it’s time to create one for your YouTube channel!
Follow our step-by-step guide below:
Step 1: Understand your channel
Before you get into coming out with awesome videos, you need to take a step back and look at your YouTube channel first.
Let’s say you are in the realm of fashion. Do you do thrift flips and focus on sustainable clothing brands? Or do you do creative and wacky styling challenges? Or do you focus on the history of fashion?
See the difference? Depending on your channel’s identity, you will have to come up with different video ideas.
The same goes for your goals. Are you aiming to grow your subscriber base? Planning to position yourself as an expert in your field? Or are you promoting a new product?
Defining all of these can help you strategically decide what and when to post. It should also help you create more compelling content in general.
Step 2: Decide your posting frequency
You should also decide how often you plan to post a video.
Our main tip? Be realistic. We know you want to post as much as you can. But do you really have the time and resources to follow through?
It’s better to decide right now how often you’ll post and meet those deadlines. If you start out posting weekly, but end up eventually posting once a month, your subscribers will just feel more disappointed since they already expect weekly uploads.
Now the question is – how often should you post?
The answer will depend on your niche, your resources, and your audience.
Lifestyle vloggers preferably need to post every week. While those who do hour-long deep dive videos can post every three weeks.
It’s best to keep all factors in mind when deciding your post frequency.
Step 3: Brainstorm for Video Ideas
Now for the fun part – it’s time to brainstorm video ideas!
Start by just listing down any ideas you can think of. Anything. It doesn’t need to be polished yet.
You can also try doing mind mapping. It’s a brainstorming technique where you start with one main idea and then branch it out to related keywords or synonyms.
Done with your list? You can then validate your ideas by doing social media and keyword research.
To do social media research, join relevant Facebook groups about your niche. You can also check hashtags on Twitter and Instagram to see what people are posting about. You can also check out what people are discussing on forums such as Quora or Reddit.
Don’t forget to check YouTube as well. What do your competitors post about? What are people saying in the comment section? Who knows, you might even get ideas from their video requests there… 👀
Next is keyword research. You can use tools like Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and others. You can use these tools to see keywords that people are searching for and use that as a base for your video idea.
Step 4: Identify any key dates
Are there any upcoming holidays or events? Or are there any specific dates in your industry or niche that you need to take note of?
You can then align your calendar to meet those dates. Some basic examples are creating content for Valentines, Halloween, or Christmas. But some niches may also focus on dates for events like Comic Con, NaNoWriMo, Paris Fashion Week, Academy Awards, etc.
Your own deadlines need to be considered, too. Perhaps you’re collaborating with a fellow creator. Or maybe you’re working on a sponsored video for a brand. Or maybe you’re planning to post a video on the same day as your product launch.
Make sure you list down all these important dates on your calendar to ensure that you meet your deadlines.
Step 6: Plan your video production
Next is to plan out your production schedule.
This includes writing your scripts, creating props, filming, recording voice-overs or sound effects, editing, reviewing your videos, and other additional tasks.
Make sure to give yourself enough time here in the production stage. After all, production is often affected by tons of external factors.
You may find that the weather is not ideal for your shoot. Or that there’s too many people at your filming spot and you need to find a different place. You may not notice that your mic is off and your audio is so unclear.
Even technical errors such as buggy music files, lost footage, or slow laptops can derail you. So make sure you give yourself enough breathing room here to plan for any potential problems.
Step 7: Create your calendar
Now for the final step – putting it all together!
Your content calendar should contain the following info:
- Video Title
- Topic – a brief summary of your video
- Content Type – is it a tutorial, Q&A, vlog, etc.
- Keywords / Hashtags
- Video Length
- Publish Date
- Filming Date
- Editing Date
- Promotional Plan – will you promote this on Facebook or Instagram? Or in your newsletter? etc.
- Status – is it in progress, undergoing review, paused, done, etc.
Keep in mind though that your calendar is not set in stone. You can always change it to better fit your schedule.
For example, there might be a new trend that you need to hop on before your audience’s interest in it wanes. A video may be rearranged for later when you can batch-film it with something else. The key is to stay flexible and adaptable as needed.
We also recommend color-coding your tasks. For example, green means that the video is done, orange means ongoing editing, purple means you’re filming it, and so on. That way, you can just take one glance at your calendar and instantly get the gist of it.
Build Your YouTube Career With Brandcrowd!
Whether you’re a newbie or an established creator, a content calendar can help you put structure in your busy YouTuber life. It can help you stay organized, boost your productivity, and help you create more engaging content.
However, your YouTube channel won’t come to life with just a calendar. You’ll also need to create the content.
Luckily, we have tools to help you out as well. Why don’t you check out customizable templates for YouTube Shorts and YouTube Videos? We have them in various styles and concepts that can fit whatever niche you may be in.
You can also use our marketing materials to brand and promote your videos. Check out our logo maker tool, Facebook ads maker, or Instagram Reel maker!
We hope our guide above has helped you, and if you have any questions, feel free to message us.
