Without exposure, content will never achieve greatness.
However, the majority of the work involved in publishing content occurs in an obscured behind-the-scenes process.
A content marketing team requires someone with operations responsibilities, including oversight of the production process. They shepherd completed content down the field and across the goal line, publishing it (online or in print) for consumption by audiences.
To do so effectively, they establish systems and processes that enable them to easily track and repeat their work without missing critical steps. They typically take the lead with the organizational software tools, whether they are project management systems like Trello and Asana or a simple shared spreadsheet.
If you’re just getting started with organizing your manufacturing process (or looking for ways to improve it), the task may appear daunting.
To assist, I asked Lisa Dougherty, CMI’s blog operations and community director, to describe how she organizes the editorial operations that allow CMI to publish and promote new content on our primary website every weekday (www.contentmarketinginstitute.com).
Lisa’s process, which she refined over the last seven years, enables us to track content from multiple authors as it progresses through multiple stages of editing and production. Additionally, it serves as a hub for CMI team members who promote content via email and social media.
This is how she accomplishes it:
Become organized in order to monitor the progress of your content.
The team member in charge of this operation must be aware of the status of each piece of content being created. Simultaneously, they must establish and maintain a schedule for post-production publication. These two points are often inextricably linked to editorial planning.
In the case of CMI, the team utilizes distinct sheets (tabs) within a single shared master spreadsheet dubbed the tracker. One sheet in the tracker is used to keep track of the content’s status, while another serves as a weekly publication calendar. Lisa is in charge of both sheets in the tracker.
