Managing Large Content Projects

Words, paragraphs and content oh my!  If you are looking to become a large-scale content producing machine, these tips will smooth the road to reaching content rich bliss.  But first, let’s start with the basics.  Remember, content is only good as the people who create it.  Not the master writer or planner, don’t worry, there are people out there who are!

Know who you are looking for.

  1. Who do you need and what do they do?

Writer

Editor

Proofreader

Project Manager

  1. Develop a Content Style Guide

Content Style Guides focus on such things as grammar, formatting, tone and style, SEO, image captioning and alt tags. For example, will you spell e-mail with a hyphen or not? How will you display the word Wi-Fi, wi-fi, WIFI, etc.? How will you format long lists of data and potentially confusing information like seasonal hours for businesses such as dining establishments within your resort?

What is the tone and style of your writing? Sure your team has determined that you want it “casual, yet professional,” but how do you convey what this means to your writers? A detailed Style Guide can help to spell out tone, word choices to use and avoid, stance, point of view, etc.

All these elements, when standardized and followed by writers, editors, designers and marketers within your organization, make for streamlined, easy to read, organized and professionally executed site content.

Source:  http://enveritasgroup.com/2012/03/03/guide-style-guides/

  1. Develop training materials

The better your training materials are, the less time you will spend providing feedback and revisions, and the happier your client will be with the end product. Create a detailed training manual and instructional videos that should be the ultimate reference guide for the project.

  1. Establish clear deadlines, chain of command, and workflow

Make sure each contractor or employee is provided with clear assignments and deadlines, and understands the importance of meeting those deadlines. Clearly state ramifications if deadlines are missed. Each person on the project should have a direct supervisor to whom he can go with questions, problems, emergencies, etc. Limit the number of people reporting to each supervisor so the project stays manageable. The bigger the project, the more small teams you need to keep production chugging along.

  1. Provide feedback regularly

Put a team system in place so every writer and editor’s work is reviewed promptly and revisions are guided and double-checked. This prevents the log-jam effect wherein writers are toiling away on their third or fourth piece only to be told their first piece was done incorrectly.

Source:  Content Marketing Institute

Have any other tips to add?  Leave them in the comment below.

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