{"id":644,"date":"2013-01-22T23:01:30","date_gmt":"2013-01-23T04:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?p=644"},"modified":"2024-04-17T14:23:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T14:23:56","slug":"automating-content-creation-5-best-practices-for-using-schedules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/resource-center\/automating-content-creation-5-best-practices-for-using-schedules\/","title":{"rendered":"Automating Content Creation: 5 Best Practices for Using Schedules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many clients at Crowd Content<\/a> are now using the schedule<\/strong> feature to automate their content creation process. If you have a blog or other ongoing content project<\/a>, read through this guide for some tips on setting up an automated schedule and keeping it going efficiently.<\/p>\n

Basically, you want to follow these 5 best practices when placing scheduled content orders:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Schedule Orders Ahead of Publish Dates<\/li>\n
  2. Generalize Your Order Instructions<\/li>\n
  3. Manage Titles Effectively<\/li>\n
  4. Lockdown Your Favorite Writer<\/li>\n
  5. Use Multiple Schedules<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How Does the Schedule Feature Work?<\/h2>\n

    Before we get into best practices, let\u2019s quickly recap how the schedule feature works and where to find it.<\/p>\n

    The schedule feature allows you to set up recurring content orders. You can find it by signing in<\/a> to your Crowd Content client account and clicking \u201cCreate Order\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Near the bottom of the order form is a section called \u201cRecurring Order Schedule\u201d.\u00a0 If you click Yes, the schedule feature will open up and you\u2019ll see each day of the week listed.<\/p>\n

    \"Automatic<\/p>\n

    From there, it\u2019s pretty simply. You just select the days of the week that you want your order placed on. After you submit the order, the schedule will be live, and that order will be placed each week on the days you\u2019ve specified.<\/p>\n

    1. Schedule Orders ahead of Publish Dates<\/h2>\n

    It\u2019s important to know that the schedule feature specifies the date your order will be placed. It does not mean that your content will be ready on that day.<\/p>\n

    Because of this, you want to set your scheduled dates well ahead of your desired publish dates<\/a> (if you have publish dates).<\/p>\n

    If your content orders require a lot of research and time to create, give yourself lots of time by setting your schedule dates up to 3 or 4 days ahead of your publish dates.<\/p>\n

    2. Generalize Your Order Instructions<\/h2>\n

    With a scheduled order, the same set of instructions will be sent to the writer(s) every time it is placed. Because of this, you need to think of your scheduled order as more of an overall project brief and not a specific order for one piece of content.<\/p>\n

    For example, if you have a blog about social media marketing<\/a>, you may want to use language like below in your instructions:<\/p>\n

    We need 3 blog posts per week about social media marketing. We are a marketing agency so please create content that would be interesting to our clients and our potential clients.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Please view the example websites listed below for blogs that have content similar to what we are looking for\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

    The key here is that we are not requesting one specific title or piece of content. We\u2019re explaining the overall project and listing guidelines that will apply for every post going forward.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBut I want to specify my own titles,\u201d you say. Check out the next tip on title management to see how you can do it!<\/p>\n

    3. Manage Titles Effectively<\/h2>\n

    Managing titles with an automated schedule can be tricky, but here are a few tips to simplify the process.<\/p>\n

    You basically have two options:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Let the writer(s) create their own titles and topics<\/li>\n
    2. Specify your own titles and topics ahead of time<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If you want the writer(s) to create the titles as they go, then you simply need to state that in your order instructions. Something like the following would do:<\/p>\n

      Please create your own titles and topics as you go. Please make the titles exciting and interesting to the social media marketing community. <\/em><\/p>\n

      If you want to specify your own titles, try this approach. Generate a long list of titles ahead of time. You might have a bunch that you\u2019ve already thought of or you might want to do a brainstorming session with your team.<\/p>\n

      Either way, you want to end up with a list of 10, 20, or more titles.<\/p>\n

      Add this list of titles to your instructions for your scheduled order. State that you want the writer(s) to go through them one at a time and cross them off as they go.<\/p>\n

      IMPORTANT: When taking this approach, remember that you will need to \u201cre-load\u201d your titles every so often. For example, after 15 of 20 titles have been written, you will want to repeat the title generation process again and then add the new list of titles to the order instructions.<\/p>\n

      To add the new list of titles, go to the Project that your scheduled order belongs to. You will see the schedule at the top of the page. Click Edit. Add the new list of titles (delete the used ones if you want) and then click Save Schedule.<\/p>\n

      TITLE GENERATION TIP: Can\u2019t think of any titles? Place an order to the crowd for 150 words asking the writer to generate titles around your topic. For example: \u201cPlease create 20 \u2013 30 blog post titles around the topic of social media marketing. Each title should be around 7 words long and be in \u2018how to\u2019 or \u2018top X\u2019 format.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

      4. Lockdown Your Favorite Writer<\/h2>\n

      You should look at your first couple orders as a bit of a testing period. You don\u2019t know the writers yet, and you\u2019ll probably have a few different writers complete your first couple of orders.<\/p>\n

      However, once you see a completed order that you really like, you can easily request to use that same writer for all your scheduled orders going forward.<\/p>\n

      To do this, follow these steps:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Go to the Project that your scheduled order belongs to<\/li>\n
      2. Click Edit on the scheduled order (to the right)<\/li>\n
      3. Go to the bottom of the order form and click Yes to view Advanced Options<\/li>\n
      4. Click Yes to use a writer from a previous order<\/li>\n
      5. Select the order that you liked and click Save Schedule<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        After doing this, all future orders for that schedule will go to your preferred writer.<\/p>\n

        5. Use Multiple Schedules<\/h2>\n

        Some clients want to use 2 or 3 different writers for their blog. This gives their blog a few different perspectives and can help increase the frequency of new blog posts being published every week.<\/p>\n

        To use multiple writers, you\u2019ll want to use multiple schedules, too. Simply create a schedule for each writer.<\/p>\n

        Make sure that the \u201cprevious writer\u201d selected for each scheduled order is correct. Name each scheduled order differently so you can identify which writer is doing the content.<\/p>\n

        Summary<\/h2>\n

        It\u2019s easy to automate your content creation<\/a> efforts if you use the schedule feature and follow these best practices. If you run into any problems or have questions, get in touch with your Client Account Manager. They can help you get started and provide assistance along the way.<\/p>\n

        You might want to check out the articles below, too, for related advice:<\/p>\n

        5 Steps to Powering Your Blog with Crowd Content<\/a>
        \n        How to Place an Order: Tips and Tricks for Your First Order<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Many clients at Crowd Content are now using the schedule feature to automate their content creation process. If you have a blog or other ongoing content project, read through this guide for some tips on setting up an automated schedule and keeping it going efficiently. Basically, you want to follow these 5 best practices when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Best Practices for Using Schedules - Content Creation Advice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many clients at Crowd Content are now using the schedule feature to automate their content creation process. 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