6 Keys to Successful Content Management

How hard can it be to organize copy, right? You open a word document, you put a title at the top - heck, maybe you even throw a date and version in there. Oh, ho, ho, ho, as Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan said, "The times, they are a changin'."

Keeping content organized for a social media or multi-level site is a complicated thing, not for the faint of heart. Now, you may be working with a company that has its own, super-special content management system. And that's wonderful, but you've still got to manage that content for yourself. Here are a couple itsy, bitsy tips:

Key #1 Don't be a jerk.
At the risk of sounding kind of snarky (what a word, huh? It's my new favorite.), a big key to success as one creates a content management system is to remember that it's not about you. I mean, okay, a *little* bit of it is about you - they're your words, after all - but once they pass from your fingertips into a document intended for a designer or developer, it's all about them. Even if it makes your writing or revising processes more difficult, you've got to structure your documents and folders so that it's easy for them to navigate. Besides, you don't want to spend all day explaining where to find your stuff, do you? Of course not; you haven't checked popsugar.com in daaaays.

Key #2 Think "system," then think "copy."

Gather around kids and let Nicki impart a word of advice: you'll save yourself hours of cutting and pasting and copying and deleting and retyping and general consternation if you figure out how you're going to set up your system *before* you begin writing.

Key #3 Be obvious. Really, really obvious.

If you've got a break in a document that indicates a new page, mark it. Put it in bold, highlight it, put it in brackets and create a symbol with key at the top of the document and a happy little smiling emoticon. Your documents should be easy to navigate, so don't be subtle about breaks and headlines and sidebars and all of that. Don't be afraid to overexplain. Well, don't be afraid in general. I mean, come on, this is the fun stuff.

Key #4 Go with the flow.

Ah yes, but which flow? You may be thinking, instinctively, that the best way to organize is by folders in the order that the users is going to see the pages (if, indeed, there is an order). Save yourself a little trouble and go check with the developers. How do *they* need to navigate the copy? Some pages may be linked in ways that you're not even aware of, much less can understand. They'll know how they're planning to build it, so go to the source.

Key #5 Be conscientious.

If the Boy Scouts are the "prepared" ones, let the Content Strategists be the "conscientious" ones. I'm sure someone else would also like to lay claim to that, but we'll call dibs for now. What do I mean? If you've got to go back and make a change to a couple of pieces of content in a copule of different places but it's 7:14 and you can hear the takeout place calling your name, just *do it now.* And, make that change *everywhere you need to make it.* Unfortunately, this is not a great career for letting this kind of thing slide. In fact, I promise you that as soon as you get into that habit of "doing it later," you're going to get confused beyond belief. And then, what's waaaaaay worse is that you'll have to admit that you're confused and you don't know which version is current. Ugh, admitting a fault? Skip it.

Key #6 They read, you edit.

You're in charge of content. Everybody else, well, isn't. So, to avoid someone accidentally deleting a section or switching things around while you're not looking, make your files read-only for everyone else. They want to make a change? Yup, they've got to run that through the Content Strategist (that's you, dear) first.