The 30-Day Content Planner

# Content Command Center

Plan a month in thirty minutes. Post with a reason.
BEACONSHIRE ADVISORY · beaconshireadvisory.com
Companion to the Content Command Center Dashboard

This planner is the paper (or Notion) companion to the Content Command Center dashboard. Use it once a week — every Monday — to plan the week ahead. Or use it once a month for a full thirty-day batch. It is built to be filled in, printed out, or pasted into Notion.

How to use this file two ways:
Option A — Notion. Select all (Ctrl/Cmd+A), copy, paste into an empty Notion page. The tables, headings, and structure come through clean. Then customize freely.
Option B — Printable planner. Print this file directly. Each section is sized for filling in by hand. Refill monthly or quarterly.

01

## Why This Planner Exists

Most small-business owners don't have a content problem. They have a decision problem. Every time you sit down to post, you're making five decisions: what to say, who it's for, which platform, what format, what to do next. Multiply that by how often you post and the cognitive cost is brutal. It is why calendars get abandoned.

This planner removes the decisions. You make them once — on Monday — and then you execute for the rest of the week on autopilot.

The case for doing this at all:
Only 18% of small business owners feel confident their marketing is working — down from 27% in 2024. 23% say their #1 frustration is "not knowing what's driving results." And 56% spend an hour or less per day on marketing. The goal here is not to spend more time — it is to spend the time you already have on purpose.
Source: Constant Contact, 2025 State of Small Business Marketing.

02

## The Four Content Pillars

Every post you make should serve one of four jobs. If it doesn't, it's noise. The ratio matters — lean too hard into any one pillar and the whole calendar breaks.

Pillar | What it does | Ratio | Example
--- | --- | --- | ---
EDUCATE | Teach something useful. This is how strangers start trusting you. | 40% | "Three signs your [X] needs service this year"
DEMONSTRATE | Show the work. Proof collapses the trust gap faster than any claim. | 25% | Before/after, case study, process walkthrough
CONNECT | Humanize the business. People buy from people, still. | 20% | Origin story, team member spotlight, values
INVITE | Move them toward the offer. Don't pretend you don't have one. | 15% | "Book a call," "limited slots," "here's the offer"

### The 40/25/20/15 math, over 20 posts per month

Eight Educate. Five Demonstrate. Four Connect. Three Invite. That is the shape of a month that sells without feeling salesy.

03

## The Monday Batch Rhythm

This is the single most important page. The rhythm — not the calendar — is what makes the planner work. Put it on your actual calendar as a repeating Monday event, 15 to 30 minutes.

Day | What you do | Why it works
--- | --- | ---
Monday | Plan & write the week ahead. Fill in 5 post cards below. Draft captions. | All decisions made at once. No context-switching cost later.
Tue–Thu | Film or produce the assets. Schedule in native tools (Meta Business Suite, LinkedIn, GBP). | Creation is its own mode. Don't mix it with planning.
Friday | 15-min review. What got saves/shares/comments? Note the pattern. | You only get better by actually looking. Most owners skip this step.
Weekend | Off. Do not post. Do not plan. | Rest is part of the system, not a failure of it.

If you only do one thing from this planner: block 20 minutes on your calendar every Monday for the rest of this year, labeled Content Planning. Do not skip it. Consistency beats brilliance every single time.

04

## The 30-Day Calendar Grid

This is the skeleton of the month. The dashboard fills it in with niche-specific prompts; here, it is a blank grid ready to be filled by hand or duplicated in Notion.

### Week 1

# | Day | Pillar | Theme | Hook (first line) | Platforms
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | Mon | EDUCATE | Hook the month — teach your signature idea |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
2 | Tue | DEMONSTRATE | Proof: show the work or a recent result |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
3 | Wed | EDUCATE | Practical tip people can use today |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
4 | Thu | CONNECT | Founder/team story or a value you hold |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
5 | Fri | INVITE | Soft CTA — offer, call, download, or DM |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP

### Week 2

# | Day | Pillar | Theme | Hook (first line) | Platforms
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
6 | Mon | EDUCATE | Myth-bust: challenge a common belief in your field |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
7 | Tue | DEMONSTRATE | Behind the scenes of a process |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
8 | Wed | EDUCATE | Answer the question you get asked most |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
9 | Thu | CONNECT | Why you do what you do |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
10 | Fri | INVITE | Case study + soft next step |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP

### Week 3

# | Day | Pillar | Theme | Hook (first line) | Platforms
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
11 | Mon | EDUCATE | Industry update or commentary |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
12 | Tue | DEMONSTRATE | Before/after or numbers story |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
13 | Wed | EDUCATE | Compare two approaches — which and why |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
14 | Thu | CONNECT | A mistake you made and what it taught you |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
15 | Fri | INVITE | Testimonial + this month's offer |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP

### Week 4

# | Day | Pillar | Theme | Hook (first line) | Platforms
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
16 | Mon | EDUCATE | Listicle: 5 things most people get wrong |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
17 | Tue | DEMONSTRATE | Walk-through of a tool, method, or result |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
18 | Wed | CONNECT | Team, workspace, or day-in-the-life |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
19 | Thu | EDUCATE | Contrarian take — push back on conventional wisdom |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP
20 | Fri | INVITE | Direct invitation: here's how we could work together |  | IG · LI · FB · GBP

05

## Weekly Planning Template

Copy this block four times into Notion (once per week) or print four pages. Filled in every Monday, this is the entire weekly rhythm.

### Week of __________ through __________

#### Weekly focus (one sentence)

#### What did last week's data say? (1 insight)

#### This week's five posts

Day | Pillar | Idea / hook | Format & platform | Status
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Mon |  |  |  | Draft Scheduled Posted
Tue |  |  |  | Draft Scheduled Posted
Wed |  |  |  | Draft Scheduled Posted
Thu |  |  |  | Draft Scheduled Posted
Fri |  |  |  | Draft Scheduled Posted

#### Monday batch checklist

- Reviewed last week's top-performing post
- Filled in all 5 post ideas above
- Drafted first-line hook for each
- Identified which 2-3 can be repurposed as Reels / Shorts
- Time-blocked Tue/Wed for production
- Scheduled Friday 15-min review

06

## Single-Post Planning Template

For any post that needs more thought than the weekly grid — a launch, a case study, a big-swing piece. Duplicate as many times as needed.

Pillar |
Primary platform |
Target audience |
One-sentence promise |
Hook (first 3 seconds / first line) |
Middle (2-3 beats / points) |
CTA (soft or direct) |
Caption (final) |
Repurpose to | IG Reel LI post FB post GBP update Email

07

## The Hook Library

Thirty hooks that work. These are templates — fill in your own specifics. If a post is going nowhere in the first three seconds, it is almost always the hook.

#### Pattern interrupt

- Stop scrolling if you [do X].
- This is going to sound controversial but —
- Everyone's doing [X] wrong. Here's why.
- I was today years old when I learned —
- Wait — you've been doing [X] wrong this whole time.
- Nobody talks about this, but —
- The internet is lying to you about [topic].
- If you're still [doing X], please watch this.

#### Contrarian

- Unpopular opinion: [common belief] is wrong.
- I don't care what [authority] says — [your take].
- Everyone tells you to [X]. I'm telling you not to.
- The advice you keep hearing is keeping you stuck.
- [Common practice] is a waste of your time. Here's what to do instead.
- I got called out for saying this, but I'll say it again —
- Hot take: you don't need [thing people think they need].
- Ignore [common advice]. Do this instead.

#### Listicle

- 3 things I'd do if I was starting over in [niche].
- Five red flags when [scenario].
- The 4 rules I live by in my business.
- 7 [tools/books/habits] that changed my [outcome].
- Three signs you're ready to [next step].
- The 5 questions I ask every new client.
- Three things I'd tell 25-year-old me about [topic].
- Four mistakes I made so you don't have to.

#### Problem / agitation

- Here's what's actually going wrong when [problem].
- If [bad thing] keeps happening, this is probably why.
- You're not [X]. You're [deeper issue].
- The real reason you're stuck isn't what you think.
- This problem costs [audience] $X a year and nobody talks about it.
- If you've tried [thing] and it didn't work, it's because —
- The hidden cost of [common practice].
- [Problem] isn't a [surface thing] problem. It's a [deeper thing] problem.

#### Before / after

- This is what [X] looked like before. Here's after.
- From [bad state] to [good state] in [timeframe].
- The transformation in 60 seconds.
- Six months ago this was [state]. Today it's [state].
- Watch the difference one [intervention] makes.
- [Client] went from [A] to [B]. Here's how.

#### Question

- Ever wondered why [phenomenon]?
- What would you do if [scenario]?
- How do you know when it's time to [decision]?
- Is [common practice] actually helping you?
- What's the one thing you wish [audience] knew?
- Why do smart people keep making this mistake?

#### Personal story

- Let me tell you about the day I almost [bad outcome].
- I remember the exact moment I realized [truth].
- A client said something last week that I can't stop thinking about.
- The biggest mistake I ever made cost me [$X/Y time].
- Ten years ago I was [state]. Here's what changed.
- This is the story I tell every new client.

08

## Platform Quick-Reference

2025-2026 benchmarks for the four platforms this calendar targets. Print this page, tape it above your desk, done.

#### Instagram

CADENCE
3-5 posts per week; Reels prioritized
TOP FORMATS
Reel (9:16 vertical video) · Carousel (1:1 or 4:5) · Single post
CAPTION
125-150 chars above the fold; up to 2,200 total
HOOK NOTE
First 125 characters visible before 'more' — front-load it
HASHTAGS
3-5 mid-size tags (<500K posts); ignore old '30-tag' advice
CTA STYLE
Soft. Comment, save, share > 'link in bio'

#### LinkedIn

CADENCE
2-4 posts per week
TOP FORMATS
Text post (no link in body) · Carousel PDF · Short video
CAPTION
1,200-1,900 chars with line breaks; 3,000 max
HOOK NOTE
First 2 lines are the whole game — above the 'see more' fold
HASHTAGS
3-5 total, placed at bottom
CTA STYLE
Ask a question. Invite a DM. Comment 'X' for a link.

#### Facebook

CADENCE
3-5 posts per week; Groups and Events are underused
TOP FORMATS
Text + photo · Reel · Live video · Event post
CAPTION
40-80 chars for engagement; up to 63,206 total
HOOK NOTE
First line matters most — news feed is skim-speed
HASHTAGS
Ignore. Facebook hashtags barely function.
CTA STYLE
Conversational. Link in post is OK (not punished like IG).

#### Google Business Profile

CADENCE
1-2 posts per week; 1 offer per active promotion
TOP FORMATS
Update post · Offer post · Event post · Product post
CAPTION
150-300 chars; 1,500 max
HOOK NOTE
Posts expire after 6 months unless Offer (which uses dates)
HASHTAGS
Not used.
CTA STYLE
Direct. Use the built-in CTA buttons (Book, Call, Order).

09

## The Repurposing Matrix

One idea, four platforms. Don't copy-paste — adapt. Each platform has a dialect.

Element | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google Business Profile
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Primary format | Reel or carousel | Text post or doc carousel | Mixed, photo + text | What's New / Offer / Event post
Voice | Energetic, visual-first | Measured, insight-led | Warm, community-focused | Direct, action-oriented
Length | 125-char hook; caption under 150 words | 1,300-1,900 chars for max reach | 80-250 words ideal | Under 1,500 chars, CTA button
Hook lives in | First second of video + on-screen text | First two lines (before "see more") | First line + image thumbnail | First line + image
Hashtags | 3-5, mixed sizes | 3-5 max, or none | 1-2 branded or none | Not used — keywords instead
CTA norm | "Save for later" or "comment word for link" | "Thoughts?" or specific question | Link with context in first comment | Direct button: Book / Call / Learn

10

## Monthly Review Template

The last Friday of each month. Thirty minutes. This is where the calendar actually compounds into growth.

Month |
Total posts published |
Top-performing post (any platform) |
Why do you think it worked? |
Worst-performing post |
What to change next month |
DMs / leads / calls booked |
Revenue attributable to content (your best estimate) |

The CFO question: when revenue attributable to content crosses a number that justifies a paid social budget, hiring a contractor, or starting real ad spend — that is not a marketing question anymore. That is a capital allocation question. Book a diagnostic call with us at beaconshireadvisory.com/call and we'll help you model it.