Session #3. Optimized Operations

Optimized Operations refers to how well (or not) you’re setup for success. This includes all the boring, mundane, yet critical stuff “under the hood” of successful content + SEO, like how to organize teams, workflows, and processes to produce quality content at scale.

5 mistakes you’re making that sabotage growth

1. Bad operations = glass ceilings
   1. in both content production and link building, as you try to push up quantity, quality inevitably tends to drop. These operations systems will prevent that.
2. You don’t have processes to simplify complex activities
   1. break it down into little steps that work together
3. The wrong people in the wrong roles
   1. writers, managers, editors
4. You’re guessing, instead of knowing what’s works
   1. swagbooks.com - example of missing search intent
5. You haven’t made the subjective → objective
   1. make sure everyone is on the same page, if you’re not aligned with voice/tone/message you can’t expect your writers to be

STEP 1: ROLE SPECIALIZATION

Create a workflow for a team of specialists to work in an assembly-line fashion

• example: professional kitchen, need to respond to incoming things at different times and make it happen (brigade system, different roles overseeing different parts of the process)

• you want to organize your content team this way as well

  

• you’d start with a writer, a couple editors and a manager

• Strategist - topic planning, keyword identification, prioritizations

• Planner - templates, briefs, scope and cost estimates, writer assignments

• Writer - outlines, drafts, edits

• Editor - accuracy, style, tone, maintain checklists and sources

• Producer - QA, coordination, timelines, uploads etc.

• this doesn’t include designers, video, managers, distribution