Creating content material takes a number of planning, manufacturing, and publishing exercise. From the folks creating it to the instruments they use and the processes they comply with, manufacturing schedules can go from manageable to chaos in a matter of days.
Content material operations templates and techniques assist you outline processes, decide schedules forward of time, handle duties, and in the end make it simpler to scale.
Listed here are the perfect free templates that received’t really feel like a waste of time.
ClickUp: Content material operations template for SOPs
Whether or not you’re working with a number of folks or a number of dozen, normal working procedures (SOPs) are a significant piece of your content material manufacturing machine. With out them, it’s possible you’ll sacrifice high quality, effectivity, price, or the entire above.
This content material creation SOP template from ClickUp comes with all you have to create and retailer your documentation.
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You should use ClickUp to outline clear directions to your staff. Picture: Clickup.com
In contrast to different SOP templates, this one is constructed particularly for content material. You received’t must make many adjustments earlier than including your content material operations framework and documentation.
It means that you can outline the aim of your processes, the scope of your tasks, and step-by-step directions for all the pieces you’re producing.
The template works rather well for explaining the best way to do issues inside a specific device, like Canva or WordPress, in addition to tips, stylesheet data, and finest practices. There’s additionally a spot so that you can hyperlink to different sources as wanted.
monday.com: Inventive processes template
monday.com is a versatile relational database device for work administration and staff collaboration. As soon as you determine primary content material operations, you need to use it to handle your full content material manufacturing cycle.
Whether or not it’s weblog posts, customized photographs, podcasts, movies, or a combo of all of them, you’ll haven’t any drawback managing manufacturing schedules with monday.com.
Extra on monday.com: monday.com evaluate | Asana vs monday.com | Airtable vs monday.com.
Use monday.com’s free content material operations template to standardize and observe content material in varied methods. Picture: monday.com
monday.com’s inventive processes template is a superb possibility as a result of it acts as a single supply of reality for each operations and manufacturing.
Due to built-in venture administration options, you’ll get Kanban boards, Gantt charts, calendar views, timelines, and extra. This offers everybody in your staff the chance to see all the pieces in a manner that makes probably the most sense for them.
This template additionally features a full digital asset administration (DAM) element that makes it straightforward to connect directions and specs to every merchandise.
Apart from the template itself, monday.com gives a variety of configurable automations so you may simply streamline each step of the method. For instance, you may routinely connect related directions and course of documentation to a process primarily based on its content material sort.
Wrike: Full content material operations system
For those who handle a number of tasks concurrently, Wrike makes it straightforward to plan and execute these plans inside the identical platform. It’s significantly helpful for venture portfolio administration and tying venture particulars into higher-level enterprise targets.
Though Wrike’s free plan is restricted in comparison with different platforms, groups utilizing it are doubtless in a position to justify paying for it.
That stated, lots of its templates can be found on the free plan, together with its content material operations template.
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Wrike works properly for high-volume groups with requests coming from all instructions. Picture: Wrike.com
In contrast to different templates, this one’s an entire system with a number of modules that will help you streamline operations.
To begin, you may add your staff and set roles, making it clear who’s accountable for what.
There’s additionally a piece request type others can fill out once they want one thing from the content material staff. It’s totally customizable to match your workflow and helps management how requests are added to your backlog.
Apart from that, you need to use the system to create content material briefs, distribute them, and handle approvals with big-picture knowledge a number of clicks away.
Every consumer has a personalised productiveness dashboard that outlines their to-do record, necessary paperwork, and progress on owned tasks.
Airtable: Content material monitoring and operations template
Airtable is one other nice possibility to contemplate when dealing with content material operations at scale.
As a strong relational database resolution, it’s nice for organizing advanced content material techniques that don’t match into different templates. It has a strong automation engine and loads of customization alternatives to show it into precisely what you want.
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Centralize and customise content material request kinds to standardize processes for each sort of content material your staff creates. Picture: Airtable.com
From summarizing campaigns and filling your content material pipeline to monitoring workload and monitoring key metrics, this template has a little bit of all the pieces.
In contrast to different Airtable templates you will have seen, this one consists of pre-built interfaces with modular entry controls. As a substitute of accessing your entire base knowledge, customers can solely see and work together with the weather you need them to.
It additionally comes with content material request kinds, content material marketing campaign administration capabilities, a calendar view for big-picture operations, and AI-powered instruments that will help you make data-driven selections.
I personally use Airtable for managing many of the workflows throughout my enterprise and might truthfully say it’s a greater match for individuals who wish to get their fingers soiled.
Stackby: Content material operations template
Like Airtable, Stackby is a no-code on-line spreadsheet and database resolution for companies. It’s really similar to Airtable in a number of methods, albeit a bit extra user-friendly for individuals who don’t wish to customise each single aspect.
The platform has greater than 500 templates for nearly each use case you may think about.
Stackby’s content material operations template is an all-in-one resolution for planning, administration, and content material creation.
Caption: Use Stackby to arrange your entire content material in a single place. Picture: Stackby.com
What’s distinctive about this template is the truth that you may sync knowledge from completely different campaigns, instruments, and process boards for high-level outcomes monitoring in a single view.
Say you’re managing content material in your weblog. In a single click on, you’ll have the ability to see essential KPIs like the typical time guests spend on the web page, estimated variety of guests, and precise guests when you’ve hit publish.
There’s additionally a pre-built tab for outlining and monitoring advertising aims, together with which sorts of content material you’re going to make use of to realize them.
The actual-time knowledge syncing is a key element of this template, making it an amazing alternative if you would like that stage of element at your fingertips.
Smartsheet + Excel: Fundamental operational plan template
Smartsheet has almost a dozen content-specific templates in addition to operational planning templates you can both use straight inside Smartsheet or obtain for Excel.
Excel is the way in which to go in case you don’t wish to pay for Smartsheet as there is no such thing as a free plan.
Nevertheless, you’ll have the ability to simply create a high-level operational plan throughout your content material staff, division, or whole enterprise with both model.
Extra on Smartsheet: Smartsheet evaluate | Smartsheet vs Wrike | Smartsheet vs Airtable.
Obtain this free content material operations template as an Excel spreadsheet and get to work in a matter of sections. Picture: smartsheet.com
Though this template is fairly generic, it’s straightforward to customise it and make it work for content material operations. You can even simply adapt it to incorporate content material operations as part of a bigger operational plan.
It leaves loads of room so as to add your individual contact to match your wants. The draw back of utilizing it with Excel is that you simply’ll miss out on Smartsheet’s built-in venture administration instruments.
However you may nonetheless handle primary duties and tasks in Excel in case you desire.
SmartSuite: Advertising and marketing plan and useful resource administration template
SmartSuite is a collaborative work platform that’s versatile sufficient to assist groups preserve observe of absolutely anything. Along with having venture administration options, you too can use it to handle customers, bills, plans, sources, and extra.
It ought to come as no shock that SmartSuite has some helpful content material operations templates that mix many of those components collectively.
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Centralize advertising belongings and full-fledged plans in a single platform with SmartSuite. Picture: Smartsuite.com
The advertising plans and sources template is without doubt one of the finest due to its clear and intuitive dashboard. It supplies an at-glance-look at your most necessary data. You can even see what’s energetic, the duties completely different groups are engaged on, what’s full, and work within the pipeline.
There are separate areas for roles, picture requests, social media account data, instruments and login knowledge, model belongings, company contacts, and extra.
Each sort of merchandise helps you to set an proprietor, connect hyperlinks and different sources, monitor the standing, and take notes.
Not solely do you get high-level stats, you additionally get all the pieces you have to handle the main points.
Asana: Excessive-level operational plan template
Asana is a extra conventional venture administration device, making it nice for people or companies in search of one thing easier with much less room for error and customization.
As an added bonus, it has probably the greatest free plans in the marketplace. You’ll get limitless duties, tasks, and messages plus the power to collaborate with as much as ten staff members for gratis. Each plan additionally consists of Kanban view, calendar view, and record view of all of your duties.
Extra on Asana: Asana evaluate | Smartsheet vs Asana | Trello vs Asana.
Asana is a superb alternative if you would like a easy operational plan template that ties up into big-picture targets and aims. Picture: Asana.com
Asana’s free operational plan template is nice for goal and strategic alignment. You possibly can take it a step additional and observe targets, tasks, and duties, multi function place. The most effective half is you can join all of those components collectively for a completely synced content material operations system.
Constructed-in kinds make it straightforward to standardize content material requests, manufacturing, and data sharing throughout your staff too.
Past content material, this template consists of instruments for KPI reporting and common opinions, making a real operational plan resolution for groups that want to remain organized from the highest down.
What’s the distinction between content material operations and content material technique?
Operations and technique are necessary items of making an efficient advertising plan. Though they sound comparable and are intently associated, they’re not the identical factor.
A content material technique identifies big-picture targets and plans to your content material itself. Content material operations refers to the way you’ll get the work finished. Going after natural site visitors to drive conversions might be a part of your content material technique whereas operations consists of the staff, instruments, and sources you’ll must make that occur.
How to decide on the appropriate content material operations template
There’s a number of variation from one template to the subsequent. Some are easy and light-weight, others are extremely customizable techniques with dozens of views and tables to maintain observe of several types of objects.
Preserve the next standards in thoughts as you make your ultimate choice:
Operations complexity: Easy content material operations can doubtless be outlined in a one or two-page template, whereas advanced flows want one thing extra superior.
Constructed-in venture administration: Decide in case you simply wish to use a one-off template to stipulate your operations or if you wish to proceed managing content material manufacturing from the identical platform.
Group dimension and scalability: Some templates are effective for people and small groups, and others are constructed for a number of departments that collectively work on content material at a excessive quantity with a number of transferring components.
Consumption requests and content material briefs: Not each template comes with consumption kinds and/or venture briefs, each of that are good to have — particularly in case you usually get content material requests from exterior groups or shoppers.
One of the simplest ways to be sure to have the appropriate one is to shortlist a number of, obtain them, and take a look at them out. A number of the choice comes down to non-public choice, so it’s a good suggestion to see them in motion earlier than selecting.