How to Better Assign Content Writing Opportunities

If your project is in need of copy for a newsletter, blog, or social post, your first instinct may be to simply email or direct message someone from your content team with the request. But while content needs may feel like one-off tasks, this approach is a great way to get subpar results and watch things fall through the cracks. So how can project managers assign content writing in the most effective, results-driven way? Read on for our guide to getting your content right.

Selecting Your Topics

First, you need to know your content needs. Sometimes, a project requires content that’s for internal use only. If that’s the case, you’ll still need to help define your assignment and ensure it’s engaging. But if content creation is meant for outside consumption, that’s where a clear strategy will most benefit you in the long-run.

If you’re looking to assign content that will drive users to you, you’ll want to start by deciding on which keywords will bring the right audience. There are a few different keyword search engines available to help you figure out the best phrases you’ll need your content writer to include in their copy. Incorporating those keywords in the title, meta description, first paragraph of copy and alt text of any images used are some of the best ways to use key phrases.

Just because keywords are important for optimizing content doesn’t mean they’re the most important when it comes to content marketing assignments. Ultimately, if users are brought to your content via an organic search, but they feel it’s generalized, poorly written, or simply unhelpful, you’ll lose them quickly and possibly permanently. Keyword searches can help you pick overarching topics you will assign to your content writer but take this further by brainstorming unique topics that your writer can go in-depth on. Optimizing the user experience will help keep readers on your page longer, and engage them better with content, which will make your overall efforts much more worthwhile.

Organizing Assignments

Once you have content to assign, you’ll save yourself time and confusion by structuring the way you assign it. Whether you already have a collaborative project management tool, or are looking to find one that will suit your needs, using this kind of software ensures transparency and clarity when it comes to assignments, team workloads, and deadlines.

Speaking of deadlines, it is critical that you set clear and reasonable deadlines when assigning tasks to content writers. If you are unsure of how long a task might take, you can always work with your writers to better understand how many hours will need to go into research, writing, and editing a piece. You can also look for a project management tool that includes time-tracking so that if you have repeated assignments, you can track how long they take and adjust future deadlines accordingly.

It is also essential that in the assignment phase, you include all of the necessary context and details a copywriter will need to produce the best content. This includes any keywords you want your writer to use in the piece, the audience the content is meant for, the desired length or word count, and any additional information you know you need the final product to include. The more details you can provide to your writer upfront, the more likely you’ll end up with what you need on the first try.

Optimize for Results

When your copywriter has turned in an assignment, the work isn’t quite over yet. Depending on your organization, either they or you will need to review the content to ensure it is optimized to the best of your ability. It might help you to create a standard checklist for optimization that your team uses to review each piece of content before it is published. This list should include things like confirming keywords are included in the right places within the content, making sure the content is mobile-friendly if that’s a possible platform it will be consumed on, adjusting URL structures, and linking to other relevant internal content where possible. A final review of content for SEO is a great way to make sure that all of the effort that goes into creating a great piece of content has the best chance of being discovered by the right audience.

Planning Ahead

If you’re overseeing a project that needs content produced over a longer period of time, you’ll do yourself many favors by creating a content calendar. Rather than simply addressing and assigning needed content as it comes up in your project timeline, creating a content calendar at the beginning of a project’s lifecycle can help you get ahead, make more strategic decisions about what content you need created, and can allow your writers to be ahead of schedule, making them more flexible if sudden changes are necessary.

Planning ahead also makes it much easier to create a strategy for writing content that links together. Back-linking existing content boosts its credibility and optimization, so building out a content calendar that has continuity while offering unique coverage can really help.

Finally, make sure you are analyzing the success of content as it is published. If you find that certain topics draw in the most readers, look to beef up your content around that topic so you are seen as the expert. Wherever you can learn from your success and duplicate it, you should.

As you find yourself manager content writers across your projects, adopting some of these best practices will help you get the most out of their work, and keep you on schedule, with mindful content choices that play into an overall project strategy.

Bismarie Plasencia is a Digital Marketing Manager at CROOW. CROOW is a project management tool that helps creative teams unite with project managers to get work done faster and more efficiently.

Creating a Common Collective for Distributed Teams

We have all experienced an amazing transformation in the last year, one which has, in many ways, accelerated changes that we already beginning to happen, in the way we work, where we work and how we work as part of a team.

The following is a guest article from my friends at CROOW.

Creating a Common Collective for Distributed Teams

Work looks different these days. With the rise of remote work, advancements in communication and collaboration technologies, and team members dispersed in different locations, the overall scope of project management has undergone a major shift. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven major changes in virtually every aspect of our lives, including the workplace. Many industries and organizations have shifted to a remote workplace, which may be permanent for many companies. Without having every team member under the same roof, it has become more complicated to make sure your team is working towards a common goal. Here are six tips for creating a common collective for distributed teams while we face these challenging times.

1. Find the right people.

It’s no secret that hard working people create higher quality work. Finding the right people to hire on your team is key in running a successful distributed team. These employees need to be independent in the sense that they do not constantly need to be checked up on, but collaborative enough to bounce ideas off one another and ask the right questions when needed. Make sure to follow the right protocols when onboarding new team members remotely, and you will set your distributed team up for success.

2. Clarify roles and responsibilities.

Once you get the right team of doers onboarded, it is essential to clearly clarify their roles and responsibilities. Setting realistic expectations for your team will make sure that everyone is doing their part and is held accountable for reaching the goals they need to reach. This way, there are less holes in productivity while completing projects in a remote environment.

3. Leverage communication tools to your advantage.

In a physical office environment, it is easy to walk over to a coworker’s desk to clarify a simple question. However, with a dispersed team, it can be more difficult to keep up with communication. That’s where technology comes in. Using applications like Slack or Microsoft Teams can help your team stay connected on a casual basis to answer simple questions without the need for a formal email or call.

4. Embrace a video-first culture.

While teams cannot not physically meet face-to-face, creating a video-first culture is the next best thing. Conducting meetings and calls on video conferencing software creates more meaningful interactions between coworkers and helps employees focus on the task at hand. Adding the human element of seeing one another’s faces can help team members pick up on nonverbal cues and provide for overall improved communication.

5. Utilize project management software.

Project management software can be a lifesaver for teams that are dispersed. Project management tools allow teams to collaborate with each other in real-time, and allow for multiple people to view and edit a project at once. These platforms can be a great tool for prioritizing tasks and holding remote team members accountable for their responsibilities.

6. Provide feedback and praise.

While physically apart from one another, it can be hard for team members to know whether or not they are producing sufficient and high-quality work. Providing praise and constructive feedback where appropriate can be a great way to make sure your team is on track. Setting up a consistent cadence for feedback can reassure both the employee and team manager that the best work is being produced.

Although many teams and organizations are now dispersed, it doesn’t mean that meeting a common collective is impossible. Following the right processes and going above and beyond in collaboration practices will assure that your team is working towards the same goals at the same pace. Although project management in a remote work environment may seem more difficult, following these guidelines and avoiding common mistakes will set your distributed team up for success.

Interesting thoughts I am sure that you will agree.

Want to find out more? Then check out my friends at CROOW today.

Offering Creative Collaboration for Remote Teams (Centralize access to creative assets and projects – Connect teams for better collaboration).