As a creative agency, you juggle many moving parts. You’re responsible for handling client intake, managing your team, and ensuring content deliverables are on time and on point. Without a clear process, tasks can—and will—fall through the cracks.
Keep your team on target and avoid costly miscommunication by streamlining your content creation process.
Start Here: Develop a Content Creation Process & Workflow
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that easy-to-reference, documented processes improve efficiency and productivity. Our team uses a workflow we’ve created to take projects from intake to final deliverable, almost seamlessly.
When each member of your team understands what they must do after their task is complete, your agency runs like a well-oiled machine.
If your agency is currently missing a documented content creation process and workflow, now is the time to create one. And, if you’re new to workflow creation, your tasks might be a jumbled mess. That’s okay. Now is the time to take those tasks and create an order that works for your agency. It’s also a great idea to get your team involved in this process to help understand where barriers lie.
To get started, take a few minutes to document the tasks you complete when creating content, from start to finish. Some tasks may include:
- Client onboarding call
- Content interview
- Initial content creation
- Edits and revisions
- Final delivery or publication
After placing your tasks in general order, use a workflow creator such as Draw.io or Canva to create a visual diagram you can share with your team. Include each task, as well as who is responsible for completing it.
After creating your workflow, implement the workflow into your task management system. If you don’t already have one, we highly encourage you to start using one immediately. It’ll help keep tasks and projects from slipping through the cracks. Some example project management systems include:
These tools place all the tasks related to clients, deliverables and more into one centralized location. In addition to not missing a beat on any project, your system will also help streamline communication and create better collaboration within your team.
Best Tips for Streamlining Your Content Creation
Once you create your new workflow, take your content creation to the next level by using these tips to streamline the entire process.
1. Discuss Content Early in the Client Intake Process
Discussing your client’s content early during client intake jumpstarts the creation process. It helps you quickly figure out the scope of a project, allowing you to plan ahead and ensuring the project moves forward in a timely manner.
If you’re an agency that also designs websites, discussing content first will help you get a feel for who the client is and what they do. As a result, you’ll create a design that best fits their brand.
2. Provide as Much Direction as Possible to Your Writer
Discussing content early can also help you gather more information about the client’s content needs. Confusion and questions about the project that you could have avoided can derail the project. The more information and direction you provide your writer, the better. This is true whether you have a writer in-house or you outsource your content projects to a content agency or freelancer.
Deliver all your notes, emails, documents and materials you gather to the writer before they dive in. Your writer will then have time to review and ask any questions before the project begins.
3. Allow Client-Writer Interaction
For a writer to truly capture a client’s voice, they must interact with them. Allow your writer to do just that via a content interview. For example, schedule a call with the writer and client to discuss tone, brand, voice and audience to gain direction. The writer can also use this time to ask specific questions for the page they are to create.
We highly discourage providing your client with the writer’s email address. It’s best to keep all lines of communication going through one person for the project at hand, and that person should be a project manager.
4. Be Clear About Expectations Upfront
Discuss turnaround times and payment information with your clients upfront to avoid confusion and surprises. When it comes to your writers, be upfront about SEO requirements, rules requiring plagiarism, revision policies and writing guidelines. This clarity keeps everyone accountable, moving the project forward. Plus, you won’t spend extra time fixing avoidable mistakes.
Get Organized Using Our Website Content Creation Workflow
An organized website content creation process keeps you and your team accountable, enhancing productivity. Not sure where to start? We’ve created a sample content creation workflow to help you out.
Stay Focused by Revamping Your Content Creation Process
A detailed and thorough content creation workflow will help you and your team stay focused on the projects that build your business.
Do you feel like your web content creation workflow could work better with a few tweaks? Not sure what step to take next? Reach out to our team today to gain clarity on your writing process.
