Content calendar checklist: 20 checks before the month starts

Key takeaways

This content calendar checklist is 20 yes or no checks in five groups of four, following the GBL Five-Step Month: review, map, slot, fill and ship. Run it before the month starts. Sixteen or more yeses means the month is ready to run. Twelve to fifteen means fix the weakest group first. Under twelve means go back to the slots.

• 20 checks in 5 groups: review, map, slot, fill, ship.
• 16 or more: the month is ready.
• 12 to 15: fix the weakest group first.
• Under 12: go back and set the slots.

Review: did you learn from last month?

Four checks on step 1. Answer yes or no to each.

• Did you record last month's completion rate?
• Did you count enquiries or sales from social media?
• Did you pick three posts or formats to repeat?
• Did you decide on any unfinished posts: carry forward or drop?

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• Plan next month from last month's results

Map: are next month's dates and goal set?

Four checks on step 2.

• Is there one goal for the month, written as a number?
• Are business dates on the calendar: offers, events, busy weeks, holidays?
• Are relevant public dates marked: bank holidays, school holidays, seasons?
• Have seasonal posts for later peaks been started in time?

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Slot: does the structure fit your capacity?

Four checks on step 3.

• Are weekly slots fixed with day, platform, pillar, format and owner?
• Does the number of slots fit the hours you really have?
• Is reply and engagement time booked in the diary?
• Is there one flexible slot a week for reactive posts?

• Recurring content slots: the backbone of the month
• Plan the month around the hours you really have

Fill: does every slot have a real post?

Four checks on step 4.

• Does every slot have a specific post, not just a topic?
• Does every post have a one-line brief and one call to action?
• Is the material ready or on a shot list with a name against it?
• Are about five reserve evergreen posts available?

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Ship: will the month actually publish?

Four checks on step 5.

• Was the month approved by the 25th?
• Has the compliance check been done on offers, prices, claims and people?
• Is the first week scheduled before this month ends?
• Does everyone know how to pause posts if needed?

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What do the scores mean?

Sixteen or more yeses means the month is ready: run it and check at mid-month. Twelve to fifteen means fix the group with the most noes before the 1st, usually slot or ship. Under twelve means the structure is missing, so go back to step 3, set the slots and size them to your hours before filling anything.

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What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a calendar full of good ideas that scores well on fill and badly on slot and ship, so it collapses by week three. Fixing the two weak groups before the month starts usually matters more than any extra idea. Across our client work, the average reach lift in the first 90 days is +184%; treat it as context for what consistent publishing can do, not a promise.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Checklist routine

• Run the 20 checks after approval, before the 1st.
• Count the yeses in each group.
• Fix the weakest group first.
• Record the score next to the month.
• Compare scores quarter by quarter.

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Next step

Run the 20 checks on next month's calendar now and count the yeses. If you score under 16, fix the weakest group before the 1st.