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10 Must-Have Templates for Content Marketers

content-marketing-templateOne of the things that can help most with content marketing is templates – those step-by-step guides that walk you through how to do something. Luckily, our CMI contributors like to share their expertise and documents. Here are 10 templates that every content marketer can use.

Planning template
Do you have so many ideas but aren’t sure what you should tackle first? Here’s a spreadsheet you can use to prioritize.

content-planning-template

Content questionnaire
What do you need to cover at a content marketing kickoff? To make sure all of your bases are covered, check out this template from Debbie Williams that sets the foundation for an editorial strategy.

Buyer persona
This straightforward buyer persona template from Barbara Gago is a great way to help you document your buyer needs.

persona-template-CMI

Content mapping template
Marketers talk about mapping content, but how do you do this?  Here are a  few templates from Barbara Gago that walk you through the process.

persona-content-mapping

Editorial calendar
If there is one tool I can’t live without, it’s my editorial calendar. Here’s a template to help you get started.

editorial-calendar-template.2015

Need extra help creating your content marketing calendar? Follow our guide: A Content Marketer’s Checklist: Editorial Calendar Essentials.

Template for tracking keywords
Elise Redlin-Cook shows you how to research the right keywords to use in your content and SEO efforts and then provides a template to help you stay organized.

keyword-tracking-template

Web page template
You want your web pages to drive action, but how do you do that? Brody Dorland shares the template he uses to create effective web content.

Social media conversation calendar
Debbie Williams shares the social media conversation calendar she uses to develop content strategy for social media while making the process efficient and consistent.

simple social media calendar

Facebook engagement spreadsheet
In this popular post, Nate Riggs outlines five ways to interpret the free data provided by Facebook Insights, and he shares the spreadsheet he uses to keep track of the data.

facebook-fan-engagement

Sales communication template
As a content marketer, you’re producing useful content and trying to get the word out to your prospects, but does sales know what you are doing? Here’s an easy-to-use template from Dianna Huff for a monthly email that provides sales with details about the company’s marketing initiatives.

What other types of content strategy templates would help you do your job better? Let us know in the comments below!

Looking for a template that isn’t listed here? There are lots more tools to guide your content marketing efforts in our post, 17 Essential Content Marketing Templates and Checklists.

Cover image by Pixelcreatures via Pixabay.com

Michele Linn

Michele Linn

Michele Linn is the co-founder and chief strategy officer of Mantis Research, a consultancy focused on helping brands create and amplify original research they can use in their marketing. Before starting Mantis, Michele was head of editorial at Content Marketing Institute, where she led the company's strategic editorial direction, co-developed its annual research studies, wrote hundreds of articles, spoke at industry events and was instrumental in building the platform to 200,000 subscribers. In 2015, she was named one of Folio's Top Women in Media (Corporate Visionary). You can follow her on Twitter at @michelelinn.