© 2023 Michelle Lowery | All Rights Reserved
How to Build and Manage
an
In-House Content Team
What we're going to talk about:
✺ Why create content in-house?
✺ What an ideal content team looks like
✺ How to find your team
✺ How to train your team
✺ How to pay your team
✺ How to manage your team
Can't I just use ChatGPT?
Sure. But …
✺ You'll still need people to write prompts.
✺ You'll still need people to edit, fact check, make the content sound more human and ensure it's in your brand's voice.
Why create content in-house?
It can be less expensive than an agency or service.
✺ You're not paying for an intermediary's overhead or profit margin.
✺ You spend less, and the contractors make more.
✺ A team of contractors will also cost less than a team of employees.
Why create content in-house?
You can hire the team you want.
✺ Hiring directly may take more time, but you're making the hiring decisions based on your needs and working style.
✺ You can establish solid working relationships with your contractors, which can lead to better work.
Why create content in-house?
You can assign topics based on experience, expertise or just affinity.
✺ Survey your writers to find out four things:
✺ What topics do they have experience writing about?
✺ What topics are they knowledgeable about?
✺ What topics are they passionate about?
✺ What topics do they absolutely not want to write about?
Why create content in-house?
You have direct contact with the writers.
✺ You can give direct feedback, which means it's also consistent across the whole team, which keeps your content consistent as well.
✺ Consistent and regular feedback means processes and quality continuously improve, lessening the need for that feedback.
Why create content in-house?
You have more control over your content.
✺ You can devise a production pipeline that fits your desired publication schedule.
✺ You own and control the documents.
Why create content in-house?
Production can move more quickly, and be more agile.
✺ Revisions can be made more quickly.
✺ Short-notice content can be created when needed.
What an ideal content team looks like
✺ Editor / Content Strategist / Content Manager
✺ Assistant Editor
✺ Writers
✺ Production Assistant
✺ Graphic Designer
✺ Photographer
How to find your team: Editor
They should:
✺ have exceptional writing skills.
✺ have excellent editing skills.
✺ be able to train and manage a team.
✺ be able to manage (and build, if necessary) a production pipeline.
✺ be able to manage a budget.
✺ be able to advocate for the business and the team.
How to find your team: Editor
They must, at a minimum:
✺ have a basic understanding of SEO and content best practices.
✺ understand relevance and intent.
✺ be able to perform on-page optimization.
✺ be able to perform keyword research.
How to find your team: Editor
Bonus points if they:
✺ understand intellectual property and copyright.
✺ understand fair use.
✺ understand the psychology of content marketing.
✺ can track and report on metrics.
✺ are empathetic.
How to find your team: Editor
Where to look:
✺ Ask colleagues
✺ LinkedIn and Twitter
✺ Facebook groups
✺ Content conference speakers
✺ Content / SEO / marketing site guest writers
✺ Professional associations (EFA, Editors' Association of Canada, etc.)
How to find your team: Editor
What you need to do for your editor:
✺ Trust them.
✺ Support them.
✺ Provide the budget they need for your content.
✺ Provide them with the tools they need to create, edit, optimize, manage and monitor content.
✺ Remember they're looking out for you and the content team.
How to find your team: Writers
They should:
✺ have excellent writing skills.
✺ be able to consistently meet deadlines.
✺ be able to accept and apply feedback.
✺ be able to do thorough research.
✺ know how to use search engines.
✺ be communicative and comfortable asking questions or for help when they need it.
How to find your team: Writers
They must, at a minimum:
✺ understand relevance and intent.
✺ know how to build internal links.
✺ know how to optimize anchor text.
✺ know how to format content (headers, lists, etc.)
✺ know not to keyword stuff.
✺ know not to spin articles (or plagiarize).
How to find your team: Writers
Bonus points if they:
✺ understand the psychology of word choice.
✺ know how to use power words.
✺ understand fair use.
✺ are empathetic.
How to find your team: Writers
Where to look:
✺ Ask colleagues
✺ LinkedIn and Twitter
✺ Facebook groups
✺ Content conference speakers
✺ Content / SEO / marketing site guest writers
✺ Professional associations (EFA, Editors' Association of Canada, etc.)
✺ Your editor
How to find your team: Writers
What you need to do for your writers:
✺ Trust them.
✺ Support them.
✺ Pay them well.
✺ Provide them with the tools they need to create content.
✺ Make them feel like part of a team.
✺ Respect their time.
How to train your team
Set your team up for success.
✺ Create an environment where questions are welcome.
✺ Create and maintain a style guide.
✺ Create image guidelines.
✺ Offer initial training to get them started, then additional training as needed.
✺ Provide them with other helpful resources; for example, CMoS access, if that's the style guide you're using.
✺ Provide constructive feedback on a regular basis.
How to pay your team
Pay fairly.
✺ Pay your editor by the hour.
✺ Pay your writers per word.This saves you money and levels the playing field for the writers.
✺ Pay an hourly rate for training.
✺ If you expect them to find or create images, pay them for their time.
How to pay your team
High-quality content costs money.
✺ Remember you're not paying for words, but for results and value.
✺ You're not buying content; you're investing in your business.
✺ Temper your expectations.
How to pay your team
How to pay your team
How to pay your team
Stay under budget.
✺ Create target word count ranges.
✺ Estimate costs with the upper end of the range.
✺ Remember to account for images and any hourly invoicing.
✺ If you've stayed under budget, pay bonuses, if you can.
✺ Use this budgeting template.
How to manage your team
Treat contractors as well as you treat employees.
✺ Foster a supportive team environment.
✺ Communicate; maybe even overcommunicate.
✺ Be available.
✺ Be flexible.
✺ Be respectful.
✺ Be empathetic.
How to manage your team: Editor
They're your partner.
✺ Keep your editor informed so they can keep the team informed.
✺ Help them tackle personnel issues, when necessary.
✺ Empower them to make decisions. Things can move more quickly if they don't have to wait for permission.
How to manage your team: Writers
Help them feel comfortable.
✺ Provide clear, thorough writer briefs.
✺ Give them as much notice as possible for changes.
✺ Plan for the long term.
✺ Let them flex their creative muscles. You'll often be pleasantly surprised by what they come up with on their own.
Content Team Management Tech Stack
✺ Google Docs
✺ Google Sheets
✺ ChatGPT (I recommend Plus to access GPT-4)
✺ Ideation ✺ Briefs
✺ Outlines
Content Team Management Tech Stack
✺ Project management: Asana, Trello, Airtable
✺ Communication: Slack, MS Teams
✺ Meetings: Zoom, Slack huddles
✺ Training videos: Loom
✺ Simple graphics: Canva
✺ Photo editing: Photoshop
✺ Editing assistance and plagiarism checking: Grammarly
✺ Content optimization and monitoring: Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Clearscope
Content Team Management Resources
© 2023 Michelle Lowery | All Rights Reserved
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