GLOSSARY · CONTENT CRAFT
Content calendar
A content calendar is a schedule of what will be published, where and when, usually kept as a shared spreadsheet, a board or a scheduling tool. For a LinkedIn programme it typically lists each planned post with its date, pillar, format, working title, status and owner. The calendar turns an intention to post consistently into a set of concrete commitments and makes gaps visible before they happen. It is a planning tool, not a creative one: it decides slots and themes, while the ideas and the evidence behind them come from capture, research and conversation.
How it works in practice
A calendar earns its place by answering three questions at a glance: what is going out this week, is each pillar getting covered, and is anything behind? For a founder-led programme the simplest form works best. One row per post, columns for date, pillar, format, hook or title, source material, draft link, status and the person who signs off. Plan two to four weeks ahead so there is time to draft, review and correct facts, but no further, because a calendar planned a quarter out fills with topics that no longer feel relevant when the date arrives. Leave a slot or two each week unassigned for reactions to news, customer questions or something the founder is suddenly fired up about; those are often the best posts.
The common failure is a calendar built before the thinking. Teams fill twelve weeks of slots with titles, then produce content to match the titles instead of to match what the founder actually knows and believes. The order should be reversed: collect material through weekly interviews or a running note of ideas, pick the strongest for the coming slots, and let the calendar record decisions rather than drive them. Review it monthly against results, and drop formats or themes that consistently underperform with the target audience.
Example
A two-week calendar: Tue, pillar one, text post on a lost deal; Thu, pillar two, text post reacting to a customer question; Fri, document post repurposed from last week's newsletter; one open slot held for whatever the Monday interview produces.
Common mistake
Filling the calendar with titles first and writing to the titles. The posts are on schedule and on pillar, and they say nothing the founder would have chosen to say.