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Marketing calendar: build a realistic content and campaign plan

Marketing calendar: build a realistic content and campaign plan

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Why a marketing calendar needs to be realistic, not wishful



Many teams create optimistic calendars that collapse by Week 3. A useful marketing calendar reflects real capacity, clear priorities, and decision cadences. It connects strategy to ship dates, protects creative quality, and makes budget phasing visible.


This guide shows you how to build a quarterly content and campaign calendar that your team can actually run. Pair it with a one page strategy and a simple operating rhythm so plans survive busy weeks.



Start with strategy and priorities



Your calendar should express the strategy, not replace it. Capture direction first, then schedule work.



Calendar structure: the layers that make it work



  • Campaigns. The big blocks tied to quarterly goals with clear messages and budgets.
  • Content drops. Planned assets that support campaigns and the always on programme.
  • Cadences and decision windows. Weekly standup, monthly review, and fixed approval slots.
  • Capacity and WIP limits. Hours or points available per week for content and design.
  • Milestones. Brief, creative review, build, QA, and ship dates.

For a brief template to speed approvals, use marketing brief: template and checklist.



Step-by-step: build your quarterly marketing calendar



Step 1. List campaigns and content themes



Start with two to three campaigns that map to your quarterly goal. Add supporting content themes, for example product proof, customer stories, or comparison pages.


Step 2. Estimate capacity and set WIP limits



Work from available hours, not wish lists. Assign weekly capacity to content, design, and web. Cap concurrent projects so quality holds. Keep buffer for unplanned requests and reviews.


Step 3. Add milestones and decision windows



Give each item a brief date, review date, and ship date. Fix weekly approval windows to cut delays, for example midweek for creative reviews and Friday for media sign off.

For governance and approval levels by risk, read marketing governance for small teams.


Step 4. Phase media and budgets



Plot spend by week to match launches, tests, and seasonality. Protect brand lines and set a test fund you will not raid without a formal decision.

Budget rules and ranges are outlined in marketing budget: split spend by objective.


Step 5. Lock owners and dependencies



Put names next to every item. Flag dependencies across product, sales, and agencies. Share the calendar so partners can plan resource.


Step 6. Connect to the scorecard



Link the calendar to five KPIs and a monthly review. If a KPI moves, adjust the calendar within decision windows rather than improvising ad hoc.

For layout and definitions, use build a marketing scorecard.



Example calendar, one campaign plus always on



  • Weeks 1 to 2: Brief, creative, and landing page build.
  • Week 3: Launch hero assets, supporting blog and email, start paid social.
  • Week 4: Partner webinar invite and retargeting creative refresh.
  • Week 5: Webinar live, publish case study, scale best performing ad set.
  • Week 6: CRO test results, update copy, and new proof points.


Tooling and sources that help





Common pitfalls to avoid



  • Overstuffing weeks. Leave buffer for reviews and changes.
  • Unclear owners. Names should be on the calendar, not just in chat.
  • Approvals on demand. Use decision windows to reduce context switching.
  • No capacity planning. Protect WIP limits for content and design.
  • Budget not phased. Spend should align to launches and tests.


Final checklist



  • Quarterly goal and campaigns listed.
  • Capacity and WIP limits set.
  • Milestones and decision windows booked.
  • Media and budgets phased.
  • Owners and dependencies visible.
  • Scorecard connected and monthly reviews scheduled.
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