Your Crash Course to Content Collaboration

You're here because you've probably realized that flying solo ain't gonna cut it when it comes to quickly pumping out quality content on a regular basis.

Collaboration is the secret sauce to successfully creating a bunch of amazing content without delays. In this blog post, you will learn everything you need to know about content collaboration.

Let's get started!

What is Content Collaboration?

Content collaboration is basically the process of working with others to create content. You'll combine your skills and expertise with your team to plan, create, and distribute content.

Content collaboration can take on many forms such as:

• Co-writing articles or blog posts: Two or more writers can contribute to a single content, combining their expertise and ideas.
• Creating multimedia content: Collaborating with designers and videographers to produce infographics, videos, or podcasts.
• Cross-departmental projects: Working with different teams, like sales and customer support, to gather insights that inform content strategy.
• Guest contributions: Inviting industry experts or influencers to contribute to your content, enriching it with their unique perspectives.

But content collaboration isn't all about dividing tasks between different people.

Imagine you're collaborating with Bob and John. You just don't go and assign writing to Bob and editing to John. True collaboration will have both you, Bob, and John work together to produce a top-quality piece of content quickly and efficiently. It's also about fostering an environment where ideas can flow freely, where feedback is welcomed and valued, and where everyone feels invested in the success of the project.

Benefits of Content Collaboration

Sure you can produce amazing content on your own and you won't have to deal with pesky teammates, however, you'll be missing out on many benefits of content collaboration.

After reading this section, I can assure you that you'll want to find partners to work with right away. Don't worry about finding the right people, we'll cover that later.

Diverse Perspective

When you collaborate with others, you just don't increase your brainpower. You also add a different "flavor" to it.

Think about ice creams. If you have a vanilla ice cream, you can add more vanilla ice cream and that's great, but do you know what's even greater? Adding chocolate ice cream! Not only do you have more ice cream, but you have additional flavors too! The result? Better tasting and more enjoyable ice cream!

Each person in your team brings a different perspective to your content. This can lead to more creative ideas and content that resonate with a larger audience.

Higher Quality Content

Two heads are better than one. This is an age-old saying that remains true today—especially today when it's far easier for multiple people to work together no matter where they are in the world. This is thanks to the internet and various platforms like EasyContent that help them work together seamlessly and easily.

The more people you're working with, the better the quality of the final output. There will be more eyes to spot errors and issues, more minds to contribute and refine ideas, and more hands to polish the final product.

Faster Output

When tasks are divided to each individual accordingly based on their strengths and expertise, the result is faster output while still maintaining a high level of quality.

Collaborative tools like EasyContent enable team members to give and receive feedback instantly. This reduces the need for multiple rounds of revisions. As a result, content is finalized sooner rather than later.

When you're collaborating with others, you only have to focus on what you need to do. For example, if you're the writer, you just have to write the article, give it a little polish, and let your editor find the mistakes or improvements needed. This saves time, especially if editing is not your strong suit.

Assembling Your Team for Content Collaboration

Picking the right people to join your team is very important for a successful collaboration.

You can't just randomly pick a writer, an editor, and a subject matter expert and expect them to magically churn out the best pieces of content imaginable.

You need to find people who have the right skills, personalities, perspectives, and expertise based on the type of content you want to produce as well as your target audience.

Here are some tips to help you:

1. Identify your needs. Before you start assembling your team, think about what your content creation process needs. Do you need someone to help you improve your writing? Do you need an expert in medical topics because you cover the health industry? Do you need someone to help you manage your editorial calendar? Maybe you need someone who can create gorgeous visuals for your content. Once you understand what you need for your team, it'll be easier to find the right people for your team.
2. Think about your target audience. Try to include someone who is able to resonate or connect to your target audience. Even if you find a top-rated writer, if they don't understand or connect with your target audience, they probably won't be able to create content that is engaging to them.
3. Start small. If it's your first time building a team, don't be afraid to start small. You don't need to assemble a massive team right off the bat. For content writing teams, a writer, an editor, and a subject matter expert are more than enough to get started. Gradually expand as you get more comfortable with the process and understand what your team needs.
4. Look beyond your immediate circle. It might be tempting to just hire people you already know and trust, but don't be afraid to reach out to other potential collaborators. There are many ways to look for a skilled individual all over the world. Who knows? The perfect addition to your team might be half a world away! However, you may want to consider if you're comfortable working with others in a different time zone.
5. Diversify. Look for people who can bring a different perspective to your team, whether that's due to their professional background, life experiences, or cultural perspectives. This will help in creating content that resonates with a wider audience.
6. Set clear expectations. Before bringing someone onto your team, be upfront about what you're looking for. Discuss time commitments and responsibilities so they know what to expect right off the bat. This will help prevent misunderstandings down the line and avoid bottlenecks, issues, and delays in the future.

Assembling your team is just the start. It's an ever-changing process. Over time, you will find yourself bringing in new people or shifting roles as your processes evolve and you better understand your team members.

A content collaboration platform like EasyContent can help you assemble and manage your team with ease. Generate invite links to sign up under your account so that they can start working with your team.

Now that you have an idea about assembling your dream team, the next section will cover tips for improving your team's content collaboration.

Improving Your Team's Content Collaboration

You now know how to assemble the perfect team! The next step is improving your team's collaboration and taking it to the next level.

1. Define clear roles and responsibilities. Every project should be started by delegating clear roles and responsibilities to your team members. Make sure everyone knows what to do and when to do it. For example, in EasyContent, you can create roles and permissions that you can assign to your team members. These roles can then be assigned to a workflow status. This will let them know what items need their attention.
2. Use software tools. Since we've talked about our platform in the previous tip, we'll double down on that in this one. With the help of collaboration tools, you can make everything easier for your team. They can help you manage your editorial calendar, files, team members, projects, etc. Services like Trello, Google Docs, and Dropbox can be decent tools for collaboration.
3. Encourage open communication. Let your team members freely share their ideas and give feedback. Not only does this help build better relationships between them, but it also helps create unique ideas and perspectives that otherwise could've been overlooked.
4. Create a content calendar. Plan your content. Make use of content calendars to help you see the bigger picture and identify bottlenecks. It can also help you plan your content depending on special occasions or calendar events
5. Be flexible. One plan might work for Project A and Team A but the same can't be said for Project B and Team B. Adjust your collaboration processes based on feedback and results.
6. Make use of templates. If you produce a certain type of content regularly, create a template for it. For example, in EasyContent, you can create multiple templates for different types of content. For example, you can have a template for blog posts and another one for newsletters. This will help save time and maintain consistency across different team member's work.
7. Consider using a content collaboration platform. There are many tips and tricks you can follow to improve your team's content collaboration efforts, but one of the best ways to do that is by using a content collaboration platform like EasyContent. These platforms are made with team collaboration in mind, so they have all the tools your team needs to make sure your team can work together seamlessly without wasting their time troubleshooting software. In EasyContent, every tool works together. From the text editor to content workflow tools to team management, all of them are interconnected in one content platform.

Conclusion

And there you have it – your crash course in content collaboration! We've covered a lot of ground, from understanding what content collaboration is and why it's so valuable, to assembling your dream team and improving your collaborative processes.

Remember, the journey to great content collaboration doesn't happen overnight. It's a process of continuous learning and improvement. You might face some challenges along the way – miscommunications, differing opinions, or the occasional creative block. But don't let these discourage you. With each challenge you overcome, your team will grow stronger and your content will get better.

If you're looking to manage your team and your collaboration efforts, try EasyContent. With us, you can:

• Invite and manage your team
• Create custom workflows
• Create content templates
• Create projects
• Track article changes
• Share and get instant feedback
• Manage deadlines
• Create an editorial calendar
• Collect ideas and later turn them into articles
• Manage your assets
• And more!