Editorial Calendar Planner

Overview

Editorial Calendar Planner is a prompt-flow skill that designs strategic content calendars. It takes the user's channels, publishing goals, content pillars, and team capacity, then produces a structured calendar with themes, topics, formats, and publishing cadence. The output is a markdown-table calendar that can be copied into any planning tool.

This skill addresses the planning layer — it complements content creation skills by providing the strategic schedule that those skills populate.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• Plan a monthly content calendar
• Create a quarterly content theme framework
• Design a multi-channel publishing schedule
• Build a campaign content timeline
• Plan seasonal or event-driven content
• Structure a social media calendar

Trigger keywords: content calendar, editorial calendar, content plan, content schedule, publishing calendar, social media calendar, content strategy, content planning

Workflow

Step 1 — Channel & Cadence Definition

Collect from the user:

• Channels: Which platforms are active (blog, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Instagram, newsletter, YouTube, podcast)?
• Publishing frequency: How many posts per channel per week?
• Best posting days/times: Any known optimal windows?
• Team capacity: How much content can realistically be produced per week?

Step 2 — Content Pillar Mapping

Identify 3–5 content pillars/themes that form the foundation:

• What topics does the brand own?
• What value does each pillar deliver to the audience?
• What is the target mix ratio? (e.g., 40% educational, 30% entertaining, 20% promotional, 10% conversational)

Step 3 — Monthly / Weekly Topic Assignment

Assign specific topics to specific dates:

1. Map pillar themes to weeks (e.g., Week 1: Industry insights, Week 2: How-to, Week 3: Behind-the-scenes, Week 4: Community)
2. Generate specific topic ideas for each slot
3. Assign formats (article, thread, video, carousel, story)
4. Note any cross-channel synergy opportunities

Step 4 — Content Mix Balancing

Check the mix across the period:

• Educational: Teaches something valuable
• Entertaining: Builds connection and shareability
• Promotional: Drives action (sign up, buy, attend)
• Conversational: Sparks discussion and community

Step 5 — Event & Season Integration

Layer in:

• Industry events and conferences
• Product launches and company milestones
• Seasonal themes and holidays
• Cultural moments relevant to the audience

Step 6 — Calendar Output

Produce the final calendar as a structured markdown table.

Templates

Monthly Blog Calendar

Month-view calendar with weekly themes, article topics, target keywords, and status tracking.

Weekly Social Media Calendar

Day-by-day, platform-by-platform grid with post topics, formats, and visual notes.

Multi-Channel Quarterly Calendar

High-level quarterly view showing content themes per channel, campaign pillars, and key dates.

Product Launch Content Timeline

Countdown-to-launch calendar with teaser, launch, and follow-up content across channels.

Seasonal Campaign Calendar

Holiday or seasonal event calendar with themed content mapped to customer journey stages.

Output Format

The output includes:

1. Content Pillar Summary — 3–5 themes with descriptions and target mix ratios
2. Calendar Table — Markdown table with dates, topics, formats, channels, and status columns
3. Channel Mix Breakdown — Distribution of content types across channels
4. Key Dates List — Events, launches, and seasonal moments integrated
5. Capacity Notes — Realistic assessment of whether the plan matches team capacity

Safety & Compliance

• No promotional claims about publishing ROI — avoid promising specific reach or engagement numbers
• Encourage realistic capacity planning — flag if the requested cadence exceeds reasonable output
• No guaranteed reach/engagement predictions
• This is a descriptive prompt-flow skill with zero code execution, zero network calls, and zero credential requirements

Acceptance Criteria

1. User provides channels, frequency, and themes; output is a dated content calendar
2. Calendar includes topic, format, channel, and status columns
3. Content mix is balanced across educational/entertaining/promotional/conversational
4. Key dates and events are integrated where provided
5. Capacity concerns are flagged when the plan exceeds realistic output

Examples

Example 1: Monthly Blog Calendar

User says: "I run a SaaS blog. I publish twice a week. My pillars are product tips, industry trends, and customer stories. Plan March for me."

Skill guides: Map pillars to weeks, generate 8 article topics with titles, assign dates, create status tracking columns.

Example 2: Multi-Channel Quarterly Calendar

User says: "I need a Q3 calendar for LinkedIn, Twitter, and our newsletter. We're launching a course in August. Weekly cadence each channel."

Skill guides: Structure quarterly view, align channels around launch timeline, balance pre-launch/launch/post-launch content across all three channels.