For agencies that offer content writing services or create content for their clients’ content marketing campaigns, there’s one team member whose importance should never be under-estimated. The content editor. If you’re in the process of establishing a content production team, whether it’s by way of in-house employees or contracted blog writers, having an outstanding editor can make all the difference.

They’re by no means easy to find, but that’s another story. When you do find one, here are 5 ways the right content editor can contribute to ensuring quality and making the entire process relatively smooth sailing.

1. Being your quality gatekeeper

One of the reasons it’s difficult to find an editor suitable for a role in an agency, is that content editing isn’t just about spelling and grammar. Your editor needs to check content for compliance with client briefs and suitability for client purpose and audience, and ideally pick up everything from style issues to unsuitable links and incorrect facts. There are two ways your editor can contribute to quality control – preventing unsuitable work slipping through to your clients, and ensuring that your writers know (and are constantly reminded) of the standard of work required.

2. Managing amendments

In digital marketing agencies that utilise freelance writers but don’t have a content editor, account managers are often burdened with having to deal with client amendment requests, which means toing and froing between clients and writers. It can place added pressure on their time, and also on the account manager/client relationship. Enter the editor. A good editor will be able to make minor amendments where necessary before work is sent to clients, return unsatisfactory work to writers for a re-do, or re-assign work to another writer. This internal process can minimise the number of client-requested amendments. And with the editor also managing any amendment requests clients do make, your account managers are better able to focus on what you hired them to do – manage the account and nurture the client relationship.

3. Managing the content production schedule

With your editor firmly in control of the toing and froing of content in production, it may also make perfect sense to have him or her manage the production schedule to ensure everything flows on time.

That’s because given enough time in the role, your editor will know which content writers are best for which projects and topics, which writers are available, and how much work your writers have at any time. Keeping track of when particular jobs need to be assigned isn’t a big stretch – but it does require an editor with strong organising skills.

4. Flagging potential problems and opportunities

With an excellent overview of the content production process, a good editor can alert you to pending problems – a shortage of writers, writers who aren’t working out well, clients who seem a bit unhappy and may need a call from their account manager, or chinks in your process that are likely to get worse as you get busier. An editor may also be in a position to spot upselling opportunities where clients indicate that they’d like additional content, or ask about ways to step up their current results.

5. Nurturing and educating writers

Hats off to you if you’re able to fill your writing team 100% with writers who know everything there is to know about content writing, and submit high quality, error-free and engaging work every single time. You’ll certainly find some that come close to that, but you’ll find many more who will get there with just a little more knowledge and a push in the right direction. A good editor can nurture and educate those writers, improving their skills and increasing their value to your writing team.

Our content agency is blessed with an excellent editing team. I can safely say that without them, we wouldn’t have the excellent client retention rate that we do, and we’d likely have many more amendment requests.

Establishing a content team is a bit like creating a new business within your existing one, so don’t expect it all to go to plan immediately. And if you’re busy growing your core business and would prefer immediate access to an experienced content team and a professional blog writing service, call us to talk about our content support services for agencies.