Release management for content products
A checklist for teams preparing to publish content
If you’ve been following along the past few weeks, I’ve been going through the stages of the POWERS process for creating and publishing content as a team.
For the most recent stages of the process, check out my pieces on getting started writing, writing as a team, and the role of an editor.
Today, I’m going to share how my teams approach one of the final steps: Getting ready to release the content product. (That’s the R in POWERS.)
Whether you’re publishing to an internal blog, handing copy off to an internal design team, or submitting an article to a news publication that takes op-eds and bylines, you want to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to make the handoff smooth and seamless. The easier you can make it on the recipients, the more likely they’ll be able to publish your content quickly.
Like a crew of astronauts or the flight crew on a commercial airliner, a content team will greatly benefit from having a preflight checklist to ensure everything is in order before you press Send.
First, though — I would like to ask for your feedback. Is this team-writing process useful to you? Would you find it useful to have a book (printed or electronic) that served as a detailed guide and handbook for writing and producing content as a team?
Prepublication
Although the content may be publication-ready, there’s almost always a bit more work before you can drop it into your content management system or send it off to the op-ed editor who’s promised to look at it. There’s metadata, such as the author’s full, correct title and bio. There’s often a call to action that you need to add at the end, including a trackable URL with a UTM code. You’ll probably need some imagery, including possibly the author’s photo, any charts or diagrams to illustrate specific points within the piece, and a “hero” image for the top of the piece.
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