How to Use Airtable as a Content Calendar

I know there are tons of tools out there for small business owners. You probably have an arsenal of tools, including CRMs, social media schedulers, email marketing platforms, file management tools, communication platforms, and SEO research tools. Business owners use all these tools in different ways, with some you might not have thought of before! So today, I’ll share how to use Airtable as a content calendar.

Airtable is a digital operations platform that helps businesses stay organized. It’s laid out similarly to a spreadsheet but has cool automation and workflow features that allow it to be used as a CRM and project management tool.

I use Airtable as a content calendar for my clients and me. It’s where I built my blog content calendar template, which you can download for free right here. If you’ve been looking for a content calendar solution, keep reading to discover why Airtable is the best platform. 

How Does Airtable Work?

Airtable is divided into workspaces and bases. Think of workspaces as folders and bases as files. Workspaces can have multiple bases, and a base is where your content is stored. A few examples of the workspaces I have are archived clients, current clients, and my own business. Then, I have a base for each of my clients and add them as collaborators. 

On the free version (which is what I have), each workspace can only have five people in it. If you plan to add multiple collaborators to your bases, you will need multiple workspaces to remain on the free version. Otherwise, it’s $20 per person per month, which is a little outrageous if you ask me.

Why Airtable?

You have a lot of choices when it comes to project management and content calendar planning. Previously, I’ve used Google Sheets, Asana, ClickUp, and Trello for project management. While each tool has unique features, I discovered that Airtable had everything I needed. I transferred all my data over to Airtable and haven’t looked back!

I love how collaborative it is. The main reason I moved client work and collaboration over to Airtable is because I was tired of emailing back and forth with clients with blog drafts and revisions. In Airtable, I can add the draft link to a field and assign it to my client, and they’ll receive a notification indicating that they have something to review. When they’re done reviewing, they assign it back to me and change the status so I know if it’s ready to be published or needs edits. Airtable has streamlined the process, and I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from clients about this workflow.

I like how customizable Airtable bases are. You can add multiple columns and change the field type to be a textbox, media file attachment, dropdown, user, date, etc. You can select as many columns and field types as you need.

For example, in my content calendar freebie, I added these fields:

• Topic (textbox)
• Status (dropdown)
• Publish date (date select)
• Featured image (attachment)
• Indexed (checkbox)

And more! I love the flexibility and keeping everything organized and in the same place. This is where Airtable differs from traditional spreadsheets. Instead of uploading an image to a field, you would have to include the link to the image and download it from there. It adds an unnecessary step. 

Ways to Use Airtable

Airtable can be used in so many different ways, which is another reason why I love it! Here are some use cases I’ve seen used by other entrepreneurs:

• Lead tracking
• Testimonial form
• Marketing campaigns
• Budget management
• Contractor management
• Operations/SOPs

With the customization and automation features, Airtable can be used for anything your creative brain can think of! 

How to Use Airtable for Content Planning

Alright, now let’s talk about how to use Airtable for content planning. This is the main way I use it for my own content management and with my clients for blog writing and strategy.

1. Download My Free Content Calendar Template

I already did the work for you! Download my free content calendar template to get started. It already has the main fields you need for blog planning, with a description of each field’s purpose. 

You can also clone the tab and edit the fields for other marketing platforms, like email and social media. That’s what I did! Now, all my content plans are in one place, and I can quickly switch between them. 

I also have a tab that lists all my freebies and affiliate links. It allows me to quickly grab links to include in my blogs.

2. Customize Your Template

I gave you a starting point—now it’s your turn to customize the template to fit your needs. First, add your content pillars or blog categories. Pillars are broad themes that help you group and organize your blogs. Add yours here to ensure you’re writing evenly under each category.

3. Brainstorm Ideas

The beauty of this content calendar is that it can also be used for brainstorming. Think of some blog topic ideas and put them in the ‘topic’ column. They don’t have to be pretty! Just jot down some ideas, and we’ll filter through them later. 

Once you have a good list of blog ideas, assign content pillars. All blogs should fall under at least one content pillar. It may not be a great topic for your business or audience if it doesn’t.

Then, decide how often you want to publish new blogs and add projected dates to the ‘publish date’ column. I like that you get an overview of what’s coming up so you can start to think about what you want to talk about. 

Mix up your content pillars so you don’t talk about one thing too often. For example, I rotate through topics about blogging, SEO, and entrepreneurship and try not to write a bunch of blog topics in a row.

4. Research Keywords

Now, find a good keyword to use for your blog topic idea. I use Ubersuggest for keyword research and love it! Add relevant keywords to the ‘primary keyword’ column. Then, I recommend editing your blog topic to your headline, which should include your keyword. If you need help with this step, type this prompt into ChatGPT:

Blog topic ideas with this exact keyword: (add keyword)

5. Assign a User

If you have team members helping with blog writing or publishing, add them as users to your Airtable base. Then, assign the row/blog topic idea to the right person based on the blog’s status. If you’re doing this on your own, you can delete that column!

And that’s how to use Airtable for content planning! Airtable has been such a helpful tool in keeping me organized and consistent with my blogs, emails, and social media posts. I hope you check it out and download my free content calendar template to get started!