How can you manage multiple content creators in a CMS?

To manage a content management system (CMS) in a better way, you need to have proper roles and responsibilities defined. Author, Editor, Administrator, Subscriber, etc., depending on the needs and their role, you need to limit the access. For example, an author need not have the permission to edit other articles whereas an editor needs access to edit all the articles. So, depending on the requirements and the responsibilities of a user, you need to assign them the roles in the CMS with different levels of access.

Define roles and responsibilities both within your CMS and your everyday workflows. Use a work management tool to manage content creation and distribution and ensure you have a bulletproof proofing and approval process.

For example, my team deals with multiple users on CMS, and we create different templates for guidelines. We have two templates, one for the author and one for the editors. Author Template:The template includes instructions on content creation, formatting, and submission procedures. It guides authors on how to contribute content effectively. Editor Template:The editor template is designed for those reviewing and publishing content. It includes guidelines on editing standards, workflow processes, and approval procedures. This method not only provides a structured framework for content management but also facilitates a smoother collaboration between authors and editors.

Have proper feedback and approval systems in place to help the writers understand their performance better. Measure and analyze the content metrics regularly as to understand how the content is performing. Even before that, have a checkpoint to give a feedback and constructive criticism on the writing. For suppose, after the article is submitted, leave comments and notes, ask questions about a few things and let the writers know where they did good, where they have to improve and give tips on how to improve. Be a good leader by leading your entire content creation team and having proper workflows.

For content writing teams there is nothing worse than logging in just to realize that the draft you didn’t get a chance to review for a coworker is now live on the front end & filled with mistakes due to a communication breakdown & lack of oversight/editorial workflow. I know because it’s happened to me. Although there’s pushback on extra sets of eyes “slowing down” the more immediate paced nature of digital & web writing, CMS workflows—author, editor, photo/video team, SEO, social media—help to save time spent taking down, re-uploading, & posting editors notes with corrections. Some systems even have plug-ins that can score readability, SEO, content structure & more that won’t allow authors to publish unless those guidelines are met.

To be a better content writer / creator, analyzing how their content is performing and how the audience is receiving it, and understanding how exactly the search engines are showing the content is mandatory. So, as a head of the CMS, it is your responsibility to share the analytics and reports to the content creators about the performance of their content. Discuss your content performance with other fellow content creators and understand where you stand.