Content calendar template, free to copy
The twelve columns that make a calendar run itself, a filled-in example week, and a builder for your own.
First brand read free. No filming.
On this page
The short answer
A content calendar template is a ready-made table with one row per post and a column for each decision: Date, platform, format, content pillar, idea or hook, caption, owner, status and the result. Copy the free template below into Google Sheets or Excel, fill one week at a time, and add the views after 48 hours so next week builds on what worked.
Updated
Or build your week here
10 posts over 2 weeks
| Date | Time | Platform | Format | Idea and hook | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Week 1 | 3 p.m. | Short video | Tips One mistake people make with tips, and the fix | Reach | |
| Tue Week 1 | 2 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Behind the scenes Three things nobody tells you about behind the scenes | Trust |
| Wed Week 1 | 8 a.m. | Carousel | Customer stories A myth about customer stories, and what is true | Reach | |
| Fri Week 1 | 4 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Offers How we do offers, step by step | Sale |
| Sat Week 1 | 11 a.m. | Short video | Tips Before and after: tips | Reach | |
| Mon Week 2 | 5 p.m. | TikTok | Photo carousel | Behind the scenes What behind the scenes looked like this week | Trust |
| Tue Week 2 | 3 p.m. | Story | Customer stories If you only change one thing about customer stories | Reach | |
| Wed Week 2 | 2 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Offers One mistake people make with offers, and the fix | Sale |
| Fri Week 2 | 6 a.m. | Short video | Tips Three things nobody tells you about tips | Reach | |
| Sat Week 2 | 3 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Behind the scenes A myth about behind the scenes, and what is true | Trust |
Times are the hour most of the published studies agree on for that platform and day, in your audience’s local time; see the best time to post. Hooks are patterns: swap in your real topic.
Runs in your browser; nothing is stored. Times come from where the published studies agree for each platform and day. Hooks are patterns to fill in with your real topic.
Use the template, step by step
- 01
Copy it
Download the CSV below and open it in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers. Keep one tab per month.
- 02
Set your pillars
Three to five topics you will always post about. Every row gets one.
- 03
Fill one week in one sitting
Write the hooks for all seven days at once; it is faster than deciding every morning.
- 04
Move status forward
Idea, scripted, made, scheduled, posted. Anything still at idea on the day gets swapped, not rushed.
- 05
Log the result
Views and watch time after 48 hours. Next week, give more rows to the formats that held people.
The example week in the template
- Monday
Myth vs fact
One thing your buyers believe that is not true.
Scheduled - Tuesday
Before and after
What changed for one customer, start to finish.
Scheduled - Wednesday
Ranked list
Three mistakes people make before buying.
Scheduled - Thursday
Talking head
Why you started, in thirty seconds.
Scheduled - Friday
Behind the scenes
How the work actually gets done.
Scheduled - Saturday
Question answered
The question customers ask most.
Scheduled - Sunday
Rest or a new take
A new video in the format that held viewers best this week.
Scheduled
Example week. A sample, not a rule. Swap in the formats that hold viewers in your market.
Ways to fill it
By hand
Free and fully in your control; costs an hour or two a week to plan and more to make the videos.
With a scheduler
Buffer, Later and similar tools hold the calendar and post it, but you still bring every idea and video.
With an AI chat tool
Fast for ideas and captions; it does not know what performs in your market or make the video.
Let Percify fill it
Percify reads your website, deals daily ideas built on formats that already performed in your market, makes each video with your own face and voice, and posts the ones you approve.
The columns, and why each one
Date and day
When it goes out. Plan in your audience’s time zone, not yours.
Platform
One row per platform, even for the same video: captions and timing differ.
Format
Myth vs fact, before and after, ranked list. The format is what you repeat when it works.
Pillar
Which of your three to five content pillars the post serves, so the mix stays balanced.
Idea or hook
The first line or the first shot. If you cannot write it, the post is not ready.
Status and result
Idea, scripted, made, scheduled, posted; then views after 48 hours. The result column is what makes next week smarter.
Read next
Your questions, answered
Short answers to what people ask next.
Yes. It is a plain CSV file with no sign-up: download it and open it in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers.
At minimum: date, platform, format, idea or hook, owner and status. Add a content pillar to keep the mix balanced and a result column, such as views after 48 hours, so each week learns from the last.
This is one. It is built for short video on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn, with one row per post and platform.
One to two weeks. Further ahead and the ideas go stale before you post them; less and you are deciding every day.
Percify deals post ideas every day from your website and from formats that performed in your market, and schedules the ones you approve. The first brand read is free.