How to build a form-driven content calendar for marketing teams

Plan, organize, and publish, all from one form

In this guide, you’ll create a content request + calendar workflow that captures ideas through a form, organizes them by status or publish date, and visualizes them in a live dashboard.
It’s perfect for marketing teams that want to centralize idea submission, planning, and approvals, without messy spreadsheets.

📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1: Create your content request form

From your workspace, click + New → Form, or choose a ready-made “Agency content calendar” template.
Or use Magic Create, try this prompt:

“Content request form for marketing teams with title, target audience, publish date, content type, and assigned editor.”

Add key fields such as:

• Content title or idea
  
  
• Content type (Blog, Video, Social post, Newsletter, etc.)
  
  
• Target audience or campaign name
  
  
• Desired publish date
  
  
• Assigned team member
  
  
• Priority (Low / Medium / High)
  
  
• Status (Draft / In progress / Scheduled / Published)
  
  
• Notes or attachments
  
  

💡 Tip: Use dropdowns for type and status to keep your dashboard consistent.

📘 Learn more: How to create a form

Step 2: Add logic to simplify requests

Go to Settings → Logic to customize fields based on content type.

Examples:

• If @content_type = “Video” → show “Video length” and “Platform”
  
  
• If @content_type = “Blog” → show “SEO keyword” and “Estimated word count”
  
  

This makes the submission experience focused and relevant for each idea.

📘 Learn more: How to add advanced logic to your form

Step 3: Notify editors and project leads automatically

Set up Conditional Email Notifications so new requests reach the right editor or content lead instantly.

Examples:

• If @content_type = “Social post” → send to social@company.com
  
  
• If @priority = “High” → CC marketing-lead@company.com
  
  

Include a summary in your message:

“New content request: @content_title (Due: @publish_date). View full submission in your calendar.”

📘 Learn more: How to send and receive conditional email notifications

Step 4: Organize ideas in a Kanban board

Go to Results → Responses → Kanban view and group content by Status.
Now your marketing team can visually track each piece from Draft → Scheduled → Published.

💡 You can drag cards between columns to update statuses automatically.

📘 Learn more: How to create a Kanban board

Step 5: Build your content calendar dashboard

Switch to Dashboard view to turn your data into a marketing calendar.
Add:

• Calendar block: Show content by publish date
  
  
• Table block: List content ideas with filters for team member or type
  
  
• Bar chart: Content by status or type
  
  
• Pie chart: Campaign distribution
  
  

💡 Use color coding for Status fields to see progress at a glance.

📘 Learn more: How to showcase charts based on form responses

Step 6: Set up automatic reminders

Use On update logic to trigger reminders or approvals when content status changes.

Examples:

• If @status = “Scheduled” → send reminder email to @assigned_editor two days before @publish_date
  
  
• If @status = “Published” → send a “Congrats” message to the team
  
  

📘 Learn more: What is on update logic and how it works

Step 7: Link related content forms

If your team uses separate forms for briefs, campaigns, or analytics, connect them for seamless tracking.

Example:

• Link your Content request form (ideas) with a Performance tracking form (results).
  
  
• Use Lookup fields to display metrics like Views, Clicks, or Engagement rate beside each published item.
  
  

📘 Learn more: How to connect forms with automatic data transfer

Step 8: Create a shared marketing portal

Turn your dashboard into a Marketing Portal App for full visibility.
Add pages for:

• Submit content idea — your main form
  
  
• Content calendar — your dashboard or calendar block
  
  
• My assignments — filtered table view showing tasks by logged-in user
  
  

Enable Login/Sign-up so each team member only sees their content cards and tasks.

📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users access

Step 9: Brand your workspace and calendar

Under Settings → Design, add your team’s logo, campaign colors, and intro copy like:

“Welcome to the Marketing Content Hub, submit ideas, track progress, and view the full publishing calendar.”

📘 Learn more: How to customize your portal with your brand identity

Pro tips

• Sync deadlines with Google Sheets or Calendar for reminders.
  📘 Learn more: How to set up two-way sync between Formaloo and Google Sheets
  
  
• Use AI Smart Content on ending pages to summarize next steps after submitting an idea.
  📘 Learn more: Create dynamic ending pages with AI Smart Content
  
  
• Track performance trends by connecting to your analytics dashboard.
  📘 Learn more: Uncover insights & trends in your data with AI Analyze
  
  

Example scenario

A marketer submits a new campaign idea through the form — “Q1 Product Launch Blog.”
Logic assigns it to the content lead, sends a notification, and adds it to the Kanban as “Draft.”
The dashboard calendar shows it under January 12.
When the post is marked “Published,” AI Analyze summarizes the campaign performance directly in the dashboard.

📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI

FAQ

1. Can I integrate this with our existing CMS?
Yes, send approved submissions to your CMS or task board through Zapier or Make.
📘 Learn more: How to add integrations on Formaloo

2. Can I see all deadlines in a monthly calendar view?
Yes, use the Calendar block in your dashboard or embed it in your portal page.

3. Can multiple teams (content, design, social) use the same setup?
Absolutely, create roles and filtered views per department.
📘 Learn more: How to create and assign user roles in your portal

Your content calendar is now live

You’ve built a collaborative content calendar that turns ideas into scheduled campaigns, complete with automations, reminders, and dashboards.
Next, connect it to analytics forms or client portals to make your marketing ops fully data-driven.

📘 Learn more: Customize your form app layout and design

Last updated November 2025

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