How to fill a content calendar when ideas run dry

Key takeaways

How to fill a content calendar when ideas run dry: work from the slot, not from a blank page. Each slot already says the pillar and format, so ask one narrow question, such as 'which job this month is worth a before and after?'. Then draw from five sources in order: the backlog, the question log, this month's jobs, the dates you mapped and your best old posts.

• Fill from the slot: pillar and format narrow the question.
• 5 sources: backlog, questions, jobs, dates, best old posts.
• A slot that never fills is a bad slot, not a lack of ideas.
• Keep 5 evergreen posts in reserve for emergencies.

Why do content calendars run dry?

Calendars run dry when ideas are looked for in the head instead of in the business. Inspiration runs out; work does not. Every week brings jobs, questions, conversations and small changes that could be posts, but they are lost unless someone captures them. Running dry is usually a capture problem, not a creativity problem.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• Social media content ideas that come from the work you do

Where should you look first?

Look in this order, because each source is quicker than the last is to find:

• The idea backlog: ideas already written down.
• The customer question log: the most-asked questions this month.
• This month's jobs, products or projects: photos from the team.
• The dates you mapped: offers, events, seasons.
• Your best old posts: a refreshed reshare.

• Keep a content idea backlog that never empties
• A customer question log that feeds the calendar

How does the slot make filling easier?

The slot turns an open question into a narrow one. 'What should we post on Wednesday?' is hard. 'Which finished job this week makes the best photo set?' takes seconds. If your slots are vague, such as 'engagement post', rewrite them as a pillar and a format, so each one points at a specific kind of material.

• Recurring content slots: the backbone of the month

What if one slot never fills?

Change the slot. A slot that is hard to fill every month is asking for material the business does not produce, such as a 'client story' slot in a firm that cannot share client work. Swap it for a format you can make from what you have, such as an anonymised pattern or a question answered.

• Turn one job into a week of social posts

When is it fine to leave a slot empty?

It is fine to leave a slot empty, or fill it from the reserve bank, when the only alternative is a weak post. One missing post costs little; a stream of filler teaches followers to scroll past. Keep about five evergreen posts in reserve so an empty slot is a choice, not a gap.

• Build a social media content bank for quiet weeks

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a planning session spends most of its time staring at blank days, while the team's phones are full of photos from the week's work. Starting the session with the backlog and the team's photos usually fills the month in half the time.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Filling checklist

• Start with the backlog and question log.
• Ask each slot one narrow question.
• Use this month's jobs and photos.
• Change slots that never fill.
• Keep five reserve posts.

• One calendar for email and social media
• Keep a content idea backlog that never empties

Next step

Take the hardest slot in next month's calendar and rewrite it as a narrow question. If you still cannot answer it, swap the slot.