Streamlining Your Content Publishing Process: A Practical Approach
Creating great content is just the first step. To reach and engage your audience, you need a reliable, repeatable content publishing process. This means having systems in place to handle everything from content creation to publication, ensuring that each piece of content reaches its intended audience smoothly and on time.
Here’s how you can set up a process:
Keep Track of Content Progress
First, you need to know exactly where each piece of content is in the production process. At the same time, you should maintain a schedule for when each piece will be published. These documents should be closely linked to your editorial planning.
Content Development Status Tracker
This section of the tracker shows the status of every article in development. It lists key details like the topic, who’s responsible for it, the due date, and its current status (whether it’s being created, edited, or ready for production). Any related notes, such as links to include or special calls to action, are also recorded here.
When a task is complete, the responsible person updates the status. Some tools can even send notifications when the status changes.
Content Publishing Production Tracker and Calendar
The second section of the tracker acts as the publication calendar, showing what content will be published each day. This might look different depending on how often you publish and on what platforms:
Publication date
Author
Production status (whether it’s loaded in WordPress or proofed)
Notes (such as requests for images or elements like videos that need to be added)
Headline
Category
Preview copy (for the daily email)
Excerpt copy
Call to action
URL
Pro Tip: Don’t just use a default URL. Customize it with relevant keywords and keep it between 50 to 80 characters long.
Prepping Content for Publication
With your tracking systems in place, you can focus on the details that need to be finalized before content goes live.
A checklist ensures everything is done correctly:
Review readability and understanding after editing.
Verify all names, companies, and tools mentioned.
Add internal links to relevant content.
Include or create images and insert them into the document.
Embed videos or GIFs as needed.
Update the headline and call to action if necessary.
Add visual elements.
Schedule the publication.
Conclusion
A well-documented content publishing process reduces the time spent on production, minimizes errors, and ensures your audience gets the quality content they’re looking for. While your audience may not thank you directly, the engagement metrics will speak for themselves.
