ChatGPT prompt for building a 12-week content calendar

This is the prompt we run at the start of a quarter to plan content around real capacity, not around ambition that lasts three weeks. It builds a 12-week calendar where every piece serves the goal, repurposes existing assets where it can, and clearly marks what still has to be written from scratch.

The prompt to copy

Build a 12-week content calendar. We are {company one-liner}. Audience: {who}. Goal: {leads / authority / hiring}. Channels: {list}. Capacity: {n pieces per week — be realistic}. Existing assets and themes: {paste}.
Produce a table: week, channel, working title, format, one-line angle, effort (S/M/L), source asset (or NEW).
Rules: about a third of pieces repurpose existing assets; every piece maps to the goal; vary formats. Then flag the 3 pieces to write first and why.

Replace the description, audience, goal, channels, and above all the capacity, then paste your list of existing assets. The calendar comes back as a table, with the first three pieces to start already identified.

When to use it

At the start of a quarter, when you want a content plan that lasts to the end. The prompt does the work everyone puts off: mapping each piece to the goal, balancing reuse and creation, and setting a sustainable pace instead of a calendar for show.

What you get back

1. A 12-week table: week, channel, title, format, angle, effort, source.
2. About a third of pieces that repurpose existing assets.
3. Every piece mapped to the goal, with varied formats.
4. The three pieces to write first, with the reasoning.

Real example: capacity → calendar

Input: Brightside, an 8-person brand agency, is planning its quarter. Léa gives this, as-is:

company: brand agency for small craft businesses
goal: leads
channels: blog, LinkedIn, newsletter
capacity: 2 pieces per week (Léa alone on content, realistic)
existing: Fernhill Coffee case study, a "mobile first" article

Output, two rows of the table:

Week	Channel	Working title	Format	Effort	Source asset
1	LinkedIn	Rebrand a craft business without betraying it	Post	S	Fernhill Coffee case
2	Blog	Rebranding: where to start	Article	L	NEW

Notice what the AI did not do: it did not claim the week 2 article repurposed an existing asset. Since nothing in the list could feed it, it marked NEW, which flags real writing work. And it set two pieces per week, the capacity given, without inflating the pace. Léa sees at a glance what reuses and what costs hours of writing.

This prompt ships inside the kit, alongside the other 49 in the library and the full Brightside worked examples.