DIY Content Calendars are easy enough to come by. You can choose to make them by hand, on drag and drop apps like Canva, or you can simply use resources like Google Calendars. Whatever method you choose, there are a handful of categories that are essential to include in your monthly To-Do.

These calendars come in handy for all types of professionals— from a lifestyle hobbyist to a full-time lawyer. Here are 5 things to include in your content calendar if you want to be set up for success.

5. Itemized Social Media Scheduling

First off— if you haven't already committed to 3 social media platforms, what are you doing?! There's absolutely no sense in having a blog (or a business these days) without a social media presence. It's free advertising people, c'mon!

Ideally, you will want to have 3 key social media platforms to work on. I personally recommend Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter/YouTube depending on your niche. Your DIY content calendar should have itemized schedules of all of your social media posts. If you use something like Coschedule, you can easily see when something is posted and where.

If you decide to make your own schedule or use Google Calendars, you should at the very least color-code your intended media posts for each platform so that you can remember when to start engaging with your audience.

4. Blog Post Titles and Dates

Not everyone has a blog and that's fine (but I highly recommend it). Whether it's a blog, a YouTube video, or a real-life event, mark it in your calendar. You should be doing one of the three on a weekly basis, and you will want to center your social media posts around this highlighted post or event. Keep the names of your blog/YouTube/event in your content schedule and make sure it's assigned its own color so that you can easily spot it.

Now, you shouldn't make every social media post centered around this main event. If you publish blogs on Wednesday at 4 p.m., however, you might want to remind your Instagram audience of this weekly ritual on Monday, and maybe remind them again on Friday. In the meantime, you can share the link to your Facebook page.

See what I'm saying? It all connects.

3. Marketing in Your DIY Content Calendar

Posting consistently on social media, your blog, or Youtube is its own type of marketing (free marketing, I might add). However, if you want your business to succeed, you should be putting your money where your mouth is. You have to spend money to make money. And a handful of other business-related cliches.

If you're running ads, taking time to do some guerilla marketing, or sending out mass emails to potential clients, mark it all in your calendar. If your color-coded tab for marketing (can you tell I like color-coding?) isn't popping up every week, you're already behind the curb.

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2. Weekly Goals

The only way to measure your success is by analyzing your goals. Make some room in your DIY content calendar to write down what you want to achieve this week. It might include time with the family and hitting the gym 3 times a week, but it should mainly highlight your business goals. For example, your goals might include:

- X number of new clients/leads/followers this week

- Make X amount of new creative content

- Reach out to X potential clients/collaborators/etc

- Schedule social media content

1. Daily To-Do Lists

And finally, your monthly content calendar should include a daily to-do list. I use a mixture of different methods to keep track of my clients' content schedule, but for my personal stuff, I like to use Google Calendars.

Not only can I see everything (color-coded) in one place, but I can set up daily Tasks. Google will then send me a notification and let me mark it as "complete" to make me feel extra accomplished.