It’s the most wonderful time of the year … that is, unless you’re in marketing and have no idea what’s in store for 2023. Chances are you tackle your marketing plan like so many: by the seat of your pants. Stress, panic, and last-minute campaign shoots at high costs are the order of the day. If you want to hit your marketing and revenue goals, it’s nearly impossible to do so with a fragmented, disorganized marketing strategy. In the fast-paced world of digital, sticky notes and emails just won’t cut it.

So what do you do? The solution is to create a single, centralized and editable 12-month content calendar to rule everything. Marketers are 414% more likely to report success when documenting their marketing strategy*. By consolidating all your ideas, campaigns, and creative plans into one place, you empower yourself and your team with a roadmap to deliver better marketing projects and save time (and money!) over the year ahead. 

What is a content calendar?

A content calendar is what it sounds like: a documented strategic schedule of the marketing content you plan to create and publish over the following calendar year. 

Typically, a content calendar will include the following:

• Key dates and holidays in the year ahead

• Wine launches, releases, and events 

• Monthly themes and topics 

• Campaign ideas 

• Newsletters and social media post ideas 

• Marketing channels where you’ll publish content

• Timing for when the content will appear

It’s important to note that a content calendar is not a complete marketing plan. Instead, it’s only a part of your marketing plan. It contains the schedule of activities you’ll be implementing into your larger business plan and strategic goals for the year ahead.

Why should I have a content calendar?

Don’t fall into the planning fallacy! The planning fallacy describes our tendency to underestimate the time it will take to complete a task. Let’s say you’re getting ready in the morning. You think you have enough time to hit snooze and still drive to work, but there’s a good chance you’ll forget a bunch of small things (e.g., brushing your teeth, finding matching socks, etc.). All these tasks will subsequently extend your estimation, and just like that, you’re late for work.  

Marketers, even the best of us, tend to do the same with our marketing. We underestimate how long it will take us to build a website, complete a shoot or await client feedback. A content calendar helps you take control by seeing everything in one place and ensuring that you share consistent messaging across your platforms: 

Take Control
Save money and time and show your progress.

Everything in One Place 
Your next year of content planning in a consolidated and editable document.

Integrated Storytelling
Ensure your brand messaging is consistent across all your digital platforms. 

How do I create a marketing content calendar? 

Let’s take a look at the steps that you need to follow to create your very own content calendar:

1. Define Your Goals
The content within your marketing calendar must be closely related to the products or services you want to sell. If you know your goals (e.g., launch new rosé wine in June), you’ll understand the best channels and format for your content to take (e.g., ‘Get rosé cheeks this Summer’ campaign). 

2. Create a Template for the Calendar

If you’re creating your first calendar, you may want something simple and no-cost to get started. There are tons of Excel-based templates available online that will make it easy to set up a calendar your entire team can share and use. There are also software-based solutions such as CoSchedule. However you choose to present your calendar, it’s the content you fill it with that matters! 

3. Start with the Calendar Year

We all need to start somewhere, and luckily, a calendar year is a great place to start with a content calendar as it will include all of the important events and holidays you will likely want to build your content around. You’ll also want to include the industry and brand-specific days that matter to your company, such as Cabernet Sauvignon Day, and seasonal holidays, such as Mother’s Day. 

4. Brainstorm Topics & Content with your Team 

Use your entire team (from winemaker to CEO) to share content ideas for your calendar. This builds more collaboration within your team and encourages you to think outside the box and find new ideas that will work in content production. Create a monthly topic and build the rest of the content from there. Ask yourself: What kind of content do our consumers want to see at different touchpoints in the marketing funnel? What has worked well for us in the past? Don’t be afraid to take inspiration from popular content in the industry. Once you’ve got 12 solid themes for the year, build out your content ideas for all the channels you want to hit and add them to your calendar.

Remember: you can start with higher-level ideas and go more granular over time to fill out your calendar. What matters is that you have a plan - now stick to it! 

Need help creating a content calendar?

If you want to create a content calendar but simply don’t have the time to do so yourself, our team at Highway 29 Creative can help! We can help you bring together ALL your content in one calendar and hit your greater marketing and business goals. 

Here’s how it works:

Step #1: 1-Hour Calendar Q&A Session:
Meet with our expert strategist to share your brand vision for the next 12 months. Hand over all the necessary information, discuss details and leave the rest to us! 

Step #2: 12-Month Content Calendar Creation:
Over an intense 2-week period, your bespoke content calendar will be created to incorporate your key dates, monthly themes, focus SKUs, and suggested topics for your newsletters, social media posts, and events. Each month is built around a monthly theme to ensure consistency in your brand messaging across all your platforms. Remember that each calendar is custom-curated and can be specified to your needs e.g., if you do a monthly blog but don’t have a newsletter, we’ll swap these items out!

Step #3: 1.5-Hour Presentation & Feedback Session:
Are you ready to see the year ahead? Good news! Your new content calendar is not a 20-page document that you throw into your drawer and never look at again. It will be a monthly action plan for you and the team that you can iterate on if something changes. This session starts with a detailed explanation of each monthly theme (built around critical dates and topics) and how to regularly use your new content calendar. Feedback is invited throughout the session, with one set of edits and reverts if needed. The final deliverable is provided in the form of an editable document and a designed version.

Are you ready to tackle your 2023 content feeling confident and prepared? Click the button below for pricing and to book this service.

Simon Solis-Cohen is the founder of Highway 29 Creative, a leading digital and creative agency serving the wine industry. He challenges clients to think about the future and constantly innovate. The agency chases data, not fads, and provides one-stop shopping for wineries looking to enter or jolt their direct to consumer sales. Their approach starts by designing and building a website focused on conversion (wine sales, club sign ups & tasting room reservations) and then dives into each digital channel with consistent and effective content and messaging.