How to manage a team of content writers

Here are some tips for managing a winning team of content writers:

1. Hire wisely

In order to ensure high quality content, it's important to start by hiring exceptional writers who have the ability of meeting the expectations of your clients. Although finding the best writers can be a time-consuming process, never opt for low-quality job sites. Though such sites offer plenty of writers, most of them are usually below standard. You'll be very lucky if you find someone who is really capable of doing the job. The best way of getting an ideal writer is through word-of-mouth.

According to research, around 75% of professional freelance writers are hired through word-of-mouth. Such writers usually have their own websites which allows the client to easily review samples of their work. If you do not have the time to search for an individual writer, you could consider hiring a professional essay writing service.

2. Use a centralised communication channel

Most content providers would agree that email alone is not enough to communicate with your writers and clients. It would be therefore advisable to use collaboration tools that allow people to easily share and interact with each other. Some of the best collaboration tools in the market include Google Docs and Asana.

3. Prepare guidelines

Providing clear direction to content contributors is always helpful. Developing a defined set of writing guidelines will help your team stay consistent. Ask your team members to add to the list of guidelines from time to time to eradicate common and repetitive mistakes.

4. Choose the right topics and form of content

If you already have a team of outsourced content writers, then you should make it a point that your team and freelancers will continually interact and discuss about the types of topics that your audience will find interesting. To help your writers get a better idea of your client's requirements, be sure to share the brand specifications and customer profiles with them.

5. Manage an editorial calendar

An editorial calendar is a must for any content team. The calendar lists all the topics, delegations and due deadlines. This will help in organising the different members of the content team in order to ensure that everyone is on the same page doing what they're supposed to do.

6. Review submissions

Having efficient editors is vital for any good content project. It's the task of the editor to review and approve submitted content and communicate with the concerned writer about any intended change or improvement. The editor ensures that the team is always learning and delivering content that is consistent with the client's marketing purposes. Having an editor also ensures that your writers double-check articles before submission, thus getting rid of any discrepancies.

7. Measure results and iterate

Finally, you need to consistently communicate the successes as well as the drawbacks of each content project with the entire team, whether outsourced or internal. Tools such as Google Analytics can help you better understand your performance since it measures the change in sales, consumption, sharing and lead generation. This will give you an idea of whether your content is achieving intended goals or not.