Content Publishing Process

August 14, 2003 | 3 Comments

I’ve been hard at work on the redesign of this site and should have something new up soon. Don’t mind the dust.

Aside from a new look and hopefully improved readability and functionality I’ve been working on refining my content publishing process. I realize that as an almost daily independent publication that is mostly personal in nature I’ve got no real obligation to have a publishing schedule or regular process. I could, if I so desired, just post on whatever, whenever. To a certain degree I do this.

However, I’ve found that having an informal process and semi-regular schedule can be helpful, not only to my readers, but to myself as well. It’s a nice thing for a independent content provider to have — and it’s a must for any professional Web site that publishing content.

A publishing process gives you a framework for you and, if you choose to reveal it, your readers to work within. A schedule gives you solid deadlines and your readers know when to expect something new. It helps them make better use of your site. If you publish an article every Friday, for example, like I do with my Song of The Week, you have a goal and your readers have an expectation and something to come to your site once a week to check out.

It can be hard to maintain, and I would assert that on a personal site it’s alright if you slip now and again, but it’s well worth the effort. There are times when your not going to have much to say. A publishing process, schedule and related content channels can help you get over writers block, for example.

If you are running a professional content driven site, maintaining a good publishing process and sticking to a schedule can make or break you.

A few helpful hits about content publishing processes:

• Only publish what you can maintain
• If you have a schedule, stick to it to the best of your ability
• Share with your readers only those parts of your schedule you are willing to meet expectations for
• If you need to deviate from your known regular publishing schedule, let your readers know why and when you will resume
• The same goes for major changes in the schedule
• Make sure your process lines up with the goals of your site, don’t publish just for the sake of publishing

You might wonder how a content publishing process (and schedule) lines up with the rather unstructured nature of a Blog or daily updated site. Well, to be honest, I’m not sure yet. I’ve tried to implement my process for certain content channels, while still maintaining my daily, unscheduled updates.

A publishing process doesn’t necessarily have to be time based. I think “regular” can be subjective on a personal site. A schedule is part of a process. As well, a process doesn’t have to be shared with your readers. You may want to do this for your sanity alone. I do.

What I’m looking to do is add value to my site(s) by having regular (Song of The Week) and semi-regular (Gorilla Web Tips, FOCUS) content that people can come to expect from me, and still maintain that just-in-time “thing”.

It’s been working for me so far. I’ll leave it up to my readers to tell me if it works for them.

Filed under: Web General