How To Set Deadlines To Make Your Team More Efficient

How To Set Deadlines To Make Your Team More Efficient Youre blogging for obvious reasons: Your  blog is a really powerful tool. On one hand, it acts as an SEO tool to bring your business website more traffic, while on the other, it provides useful information that helps establish your brand and build trust. And that helps turn your readers into paying customers. But blog posts are comprised of multiple components, so they require multiple people- or for one person to wear many hats- in order for the right keywords, ideas, text, images, and marketing to come together and work  as a cohesive unit. So how to set deadlines and work as a collaborative team to create awesome content is a challenge. But heres exactly how you can rock a content creation process that works for your team- from how to set deadlines and assign  roles to actually creating  the collaborative blog post. How To Set Deadlines To Make You (And Your Team) More Efficient via @titanwebagency1. Establish Blogging Goals And Guidelines Before you start blogging, you need to establish goals for your blogging team so they have some guiding principles that will inform their work. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Some examples of good goals for a blog are: Increase organic traffic to website as part of a comprehensive content marketing campaign. Build your organization’s reputation as a trusted source of information in your industry. Connect with potential customers in your target audience. Create original material to publish to social media outlets. In addition to establishing some broad goals, such as getting more Web traffic, you should also have some specific blogging guidelines for your team. Some examples of these might include: How many words each post should have. How many links/images/keyword uses/etc. each post should have. How often blog posts need to be published (editorial calendar). Where to find appropriate images for the blog. Writing tone/grammar/style guidelines. Information about the target audience you are writing for. By establishing goals and guidelines for your blog, you create a foundation that will help shape your blog and ensure that all team members are on the same page. If everyone on the team understands what you hope to accomplish with your blog and how you want them to do it, this will eliminate the need for extensive rewriting, editing, and other issues down the road. Start #blogging by turning your goals into #blog posts. #contentmarketing2. Make Sure Everyone Knows Their Role When you imagine how a blog post is created, you might think of a single person, typing away in solitude- the blogger. However, effective business blog posts often require several people to work together in a collaborative environment. Usually, it’s most effective for the roles to be split between two or three people, though sometimes one (very busy!) person may fulfill all roles. Here are some of typical roles that go into blog post creation: Project manager: This person assigns all tasks and sets deadlines. Topic and keyword generator: This person is responsible for finding blog topics and doing research to determine the best keywords and title to use. This person may also be the project manager. Content writer: This person is responsible for writing the content, which should incorporate the ideas, keywords, title, etc., as given to them by the project manager or topic/keyword generator. Content editor: This person checks and fixes the content’s grammar before the post is published. Image-finder and blog publisher: The accompanying images (and image tags) are essential for a good blog post. Someone must be responsible for finding these images and securing the necessary copyrights. This same person is often also in charge of actually posting the blog (typically using a content management system  like  WordPress) and making sure everything looks as it should. Promoter: A blog post is not worth much if no one ever reads it. Someone needs to promote your blog on social media, posting links to it across different sites and social media platforms. These marketing team roles may differ somewhat from one team to the next, but the point is that everyone involved is responsible for a particular task so that nothing gets left by the wayside. Make sure everyone involved in #blogging is responsible for a particular task so nothing is missed.It’s also good to have team members that can fulfill multiple roles if needed. For example, if your main writer is out of town one week, the editor should be able to step in and fulfill her role. 3. Set Deadlines Your Team Can- And Will- Actually Meet Everything youve done so far- setting goals, guidelines, and roles- has led up to how to set deadlines that are realistic and achievable for your team. Once everyone knows their role in creating a blog post, you need to set deadlines to make sure each team member actually completes their assigned task, and that they do so in a timely matter. After all, you should be publishing a new blog post every one to two weeks, so timeliness is key. In today’s mostly virtual workplace, the best way to set deadlines and make sure everyone is on task is by using  a project management tool like . With , you can manage all communications regarding the blog in one place, and ensure all tasks and subtasks are completed on time. helps teams collaborate together on content marketing projects like blogging, social media, and events. The tool allows teams to assign different tasks to multiple people working on a given project, while minimizing the use of email. You can use to assign tasks and deadlines to your entire team.  This is an actual example of the workflow we use at ! Based on role, you can customize your workflow, set deadlines for each team members unique tasks, and comment back and forth to the team right in . What Does A Successful Collaborative Blog Post Look Like? So, you’ve put together a team and they’ve started to publish blogs. But how do you know if these blogs are any good? Well first, you’ve got to make sure they have specific instructions. All of our writers know exactly what is expected with each blog post, including, but not limited to: Word count Tone of article Number of inbound and outbound links Types of images to use And more†¦. Think of the things youd have to include in a perfect Write For Us page. Let’s dive into it a bit deeper. Okay, so, what qualities do effective blog posts have? Good blog posts have multiple visuals. Custom images, illustrative screenshots, and photographs of real people are best (as opposed to stock photos). The guidelines for our writers specify how many images, and the types of images that are appropriate for the blog post. Good blog posts are easy to read. Content should be broken down into multiple sections with multiple headers and sub-headers. Bullet points and numbered lists are much easier to read than a big wall-o-text. Good blog posts are optimized for SEO. Posts will integrate keyword research in a natural, organic way. Good blog posts have links. Make sure your blog post links to other resources for further reading, including previous blog posts you’ve published. Where possible, you should also link to studies and statistics that reinforce the points you make in your blog. Good blog posts are original and engaging. This means that they shouldn’t have any re-hashed content from other blogs. They need to have original ideas and be written in a fresh, engaging manner. Good blog posts have proper grammar. If you want your blog to be successful, a blog post with bad grammar is simply unacceptable. Make sure all writers and editors are up to par and don’t have sloppy writing habits. Good blog posts have great titles. Having a catchy title is crucial if you want your blog to do well on search engines. If you need help you can use a headline analyzer or a blog topic generator. Don’t Forget About Guest Blogging While not every blog post will require a guest blogger, this is another important role that makes your blog a group effort. As a guest blogger- someone who writes a post for a website other than their own- I am able to gain exposure and Web traffic for my business through new outlets, and allow new audiences to get to know me. Another great thing about guest blogging is that it is a two-way street, meaning that I often receive a guest blog post from the site I’m writing one for. This helps me meet my own content needs and also get some fresh and interesting perspectives for my blog. This is a great way to divvy up the work for your team, which puts a little less strain on some of your deadlines. Remember: Your Blog Is A Work In Progress Having one good blog post is certainly an accomplishment, but in order for your blog make a lasting impact that furthers your organization’s goals, you need to publish great blog posts on a regular basis. That means knowing how to set deadlines each team member meets.

17 Creative Ways to Celebrate a College Birthday

17 Creative Ways to Celebrate a College Birthday Celebrating a birthday is a great chance to take a break from the usual rigors of college life. Of course, planning a birthday celebration might seem time-consuming or expensive, but it doesnt have to be. Even in the smallest of college towns, there are probably plenty of events you can turn into a birthday outing (that dont include the traditional group outing to a restaurant). Here are some ideas that can work with a variety of schedules and budgets. 1. Go to a Museum Youre in college and its your birthday - be as nerdy as you want. Head to an art museum, a museum of natural history, a local aquarium or whatever youll find most enjoyable. Museums can be a great way to take a break from the chaos of college while still doing something interesting and engaging. (Remember to bring your ID ask about a student discount.) 2. Attend (or Participate in) a Poetry Slam Whether you just want to watch or are interested in performing, poetry slams can be a lot of fun. See whats happening on your campus or in your community and enjoy a fun evening out that promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience. 3. Do Something Physical If you want to do something physical for your birthday, get creative. See if a local gym offers special classes, like aerial yoga or a ropes course you can do with your friends. Some community organizations also offer really zany classes, like bungee jumping, skydiving or even circus-training classes. Given how much you sit in class and study all day, pushing your body to its limits can be a great way to celebrate getting older. 4. Go to the Movies Catching up on the latest movies can be a fun way to spend an afternoon - or even a morning. Mix things up a bit and grab breakfast and a movie with some friends to start your birthday off in a fun, nontraditional, but still enjoyable way. 5. Head to an Athletic Game It could be a hockey game in your college town, a football game on your campus or something small like your friends intramural rugby game. Regardless, rooting for your team and hanging out with a large crowd just might be what you need for a birthday celebration. Treat yourself to something from the concession stand or pack snacks to give the event a more celebratory feel. 6. Celebrate With Some Time Alone College is fun, but there arent t a lot of opportunities to enjoy solitude. Doing something quiet - whether its on campus or away - like getting a massage, going for a long run or meditating can be rejuvenating, if not downright healthy for you. 7. Treat Yourself to Some Self-Care   Students spend a lot of time focusing on external things - class requirements, jobs, cocurricular obligations - and they sometimes forget to focus a little on themselves. Treat yourself to something that focuses on you for a change, like a pedicure and a wax or a haircut and a shave. You can even call ahead to see if your friends can make appointments with you. 8. Head Out for a Brewery Tour If youre over 21 (or turning 21), consider going on a brewery or distillery tour. In addition to learning all kinds of interesting facts about how beverages are made, youll get some free samples and enjoy an afternoon doing something that you might otherwise not have done. 9. Get a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Your Favorite Local Destination Not everyone knows that, for example, you can get a tour of major league baseball stadiums or the local zoo. See whats open during your birthday and what you can arrange in advance. 10. Go Home   Theres nothing wrong with ditching your hectic campus life and heading home for your own bed, your familys home cooking and some good ol RR. You work hard in college and treating yourself to the luxuries of home, however simple they may be, is a great way to reward yourself. 11. Do Something Quiet on Campus Planning an off-campus adventure can be stressful - not what you need on your birthday. Dont be shy about spending some quiet time on campus, going for a walk or run, journaling or hanging out in a coffee shop. 12. Do Something Romantic With Your Partner If youre dating and your partner is around, try to spend the day doing something romantic together. Sure, heading out to dinner is nice, but dont be afraid to mix it up a little, too. Head to a nearby town and go exploring. Do something new youve never done together. Make a scavenger hunt for each other. No matter what you end up doing, just enjoy each others company. 13. Celebrate at a Big Campus Party So the biggest fraternity on campus is throwing their biggest party of the year smack dab on your birthday. Just because they didnt plan it that way doesnt mean you cant take advantage of the situation. Let everyone elses hard work be your  birthday gift! 14. Spend Some Quality Time With a Few Good Friends Many people make lifelong friends in college. If you already know who these people are going to be, get em together and do something simple but enjoyable. Plan a picnic, go for a hike, coordinate a game night or spend time doing something creative together. 15. Volunteer Off Campus   Think about how you feel after you volunteer. You always finish feeling amazing, proud, humbled, energized and overall awesome, right? Well, why not treat yourself to that rock-star feeling on your birthday? Grab some friends and find a place to volunteer where you can work together and support a great cause. 16. Dont Do Any Homework You have 364 other days to focus on homework. Plan your time wisely in advance so that you dont have to do any homework on your birthday. After all, when was the last time you didnt even think about reading, writing a paper, doing a lab report or researching a project? If you plan well enough in advance, you can enjoy the day by letting your brain not even think (or feel guilty!) about completely avoiding your homework situation. 17. Do Something Creative You can easily fall into the routine of only producing creative pieces when you need to for a class or club requirement. On your birthday, however, treat yourself to doing something creative just for the sake of being creative.