Achieving a balance between effective content production and a very high level of quality is not easy, especially when your editors are spread across several continents. It’s not enough to just get everyone matching the right tone of voice with the topic being covered, it’s necessary to do so with the keenest eye on every single aspect of the copy.
But how can you enforce something that is as intangible as ‘quality’? How do we specifically ensure that every article that is published retains the high standards that we want our various brands to represent? Well, it’s a simple process really.
The Foundation
Every significant landmark in the history of the world still has to be built on a strong base, and while we’re not quite comparing clovio’s content to the likes of the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building there’s no denying the value of the old adage ‘well begun is half done’.
In this manner we expect our writers to really dig into each category that they’re covering. We hire with this in mind – looking for those that have a good deal of experience in certain areas – to ensure they can cover their topics with confidence.
Our writers are then expected to thoroughly research an article and search for trustworthy sources or gain first-hand experience with a product, this way arming them with the necessary knowledge to do the article justice.
The First Pass
Once done the writer will go through the article themselves to ensure it reaches their own personal quality check. This isn’t something that is strictly part of the workflow but we’re all passionate about the work we do here, so a couple of readthroughs to iron out any typos and caress the words to perfection is only obvious to us.
After that it’s briefly checked by the manager, which is primarily a content check. This keeps the article within acceptable word count limits, ensures the structure is coherent and consistent, and that glaring issues – if any – are dealt with first before being passed on to the editor.
The Edit
This is the most thorough part of the process, where a dedicated editor checks through the article in great detail to ensure that important elements like tone of voice and style rules are followed, and that the point of the article has properly been answered.
Each of our writers are provided with relevant style guides, too, covering particular (and essential) aspects of writing for clovio. The editor works with these at the forefront of their mind to ensure familiarity and consistency across all content, particularly for stylistic and formatting matters that aren’t hard-formed spelling or grammatical rules but rather ones of preference.
It’s also incredibly useful when considering that clovio’s staff of writers is an eclectic mix of nationalities. Not everyone is a native English writer and while everyone has a great grasp of the language, such guides are important for curbing any wayward mistakes that might otherwise slip in. These, in conjunction with regular feedback meetings, are opportunities for each writer to continually learn and improve.
The Revisit
The work doesn’t end with the article being published, though. We’re always eager to hear from our partners about their products we’re covering, who will sometimes offer greater insight that would’ve otherwise slipped by our experts.
Then there’s need to learn from our community, too, who provides us with invaluable feedback to better understand how they use these products, the kind of content they expect to see, and any questions they might need answered.
In either case, this affords us the opportunity to go back and examine our articles to make sure they’re still meeting the standards that both ourselves and our readers expect. The industries we work with are constantly changing and the only way to ensure our high standards are met is to match our existing coverage with the latest goings-on and important updates. It’s hard work, but someone’s gotta do it…
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