• 12-minute read
  • 10th April 2025

The Secret Ingredient Behind Every High-Performing Content Team

Content has gone from being a “nice-to-have” to a core driver of brand growth, customer engagement, and long-term success. But while the best content should appear seamless on the surface, there’s a strategic structure to the work behind the scenes that makes it all possible. The secret ingredient? Editorial management. 

Today, we’ll look at the expectations of content teams, how editorial management can help them, and when to consider outsourcing this vital task.

Content Teams Are Under Pressure

Content teams are being asked to do more with less: produce more content, maintain higher quality, move faster, and prove ROI. With the explosion of digital channels, brands must show up across blogs, email, social media, search engines, video, and more – all while maintaining a consistent voice and strategy.

Meanwhile, audience expectations are higher than ever. People expect relevant, engaging, personalized content at every stage of the buyer journey. And with the complexities of cross-functional collaboration, evolving SEO standards, and the need for timely performance analytics, it’s easy to see why content teams are feeling the squeeze.

Why Content Is Critical for Brands

Content is how brands connect with audiences in meaningful ways. It informs, entertains, builds trust, and drives action. It’s the fuel behind successful marketing campaigns and a key differentiator in saturated markets. Strong content attracts traffic, nurtures leads, builds communities, and helps customers make informed decisions.

To meet the growing demands, content teams need more than talented writers and strategists. They need strong editorial leadership. That’s where editorial management comes in.

What Is Editorial Management?

Editorial management is the discipline of organizing, planning, and overseeing the entire content production lifecycle – from idea generation and strategy alignment to publishing and performance tracking. It brings structure to the creative process and ensures that every piece of content serves a clear purpose and meets quality standards.

Editorial Management vs. General Project Management

Many companies have project managers. While both editorial management and general project management involve organizing tasks, hitting deadlines, and coordinating teams, there are key differences:

Editorial Management

  • Focuses on the needs of content creation, including editorial calendars, voice/tone, and brand messaging.
  • Continually refines storytelling, consistency, SEO, audience engagement, and creative workflows.
  • Involves deep collaboration with writers, editors, designers, and strategists.

General Project Management

  • Applies broadly to many fields such as software, construction, or logistics.
  • Focuses on scope, timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
  • Involves cross-functional collaboration but not necessarily with creative teams.
  • Requires knowledge of project constraints, risk management, and stakeholder alignment.

Editorial management bridges the gap between strategy and execution. It ensures that content aligns with business goals, resonates with audiences, and is delivered efficiently across teams and timelines.

Key Elements of Editorial Management

Editorial management isn’t just about managing deadlines. It requires building a system that continually refines consistency, creativity, and strategic alignment. High-performing content teams rely on a mix of tools, processes, and communication strategies to stay on track. Here are the essential components of effective editorial project management:

1. Content Strategy Alignment

Every piece of content should support a larger strategic goal, such as brand awareness, lead generation, SEO, or customer retention. Editorial management roots content ideas in strategy and ensures they meet the needs of both the audience and the business.

2. Editorial Calendars

An editorial calendar brings structure to your content workflow, providing visibility into who is creating content, what team members are working on, and when pieces are going live. It helps teams balance long-term planning with day-to-day execution, and it ensures consistency across channels.

3. SME Review Process

For technical or specialized content, collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs) is critical. A well-managed SME review process ensures that content is accurate, insightful, and trustworthy. Editorial managers build this into the workflow, often acting as facilitators between SMEs and writers to keep the process moving.

4. Quality Assurance

Content must meet high standards before it goes live. Quality assurance (QA) involves editing for grammar, tone, clarity, brand alignment, and SEO. It also includes verifying facts, links, citations, and formatting. Editorial managers often develop checklists and review systems to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

5. Performance Monitoring

Great content doesn’t end at publication. Editorial management includes tracking performance metrics like engagement, rankings, conversions, and feedback. These insights inform future content decisions and demonstrate ROI.

6. Outsourced Editorial Services Integration

Many brands rely on outsourced editorial services to scale content production. Editorial managers act as the bridge between internal strategy and external execution, ensuring that freelance or agency partners receive clear briefs, understand brand guidelines, and deliver on time and on spec.

How to Build Editorial Management Into Your Content Team Structure

Integrating editorial management into your content team means embedding smart, scalable systems into every stage of content production. Here’s how to do it:

1. Assign Editorial Ownership

Designate a content lead or editorial manager who oversees the end-to-end process. This person should own the editorial calendar, define workflows, coordinate SME reviews, and act as the central point of contact between content creators, strategists, designers, and stakeholders.

2. Create Standard Operating Procedures

Document your editorial workflow from ideation to publication. This includes content brief templates, review stages, editing checklists, feedback loops, and publishing protocols. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) help streamline processes and reduce friction as your team grows or you onboard outsourced editorial services.

3. Use Editorial Project Management Tools

Invest in tools like Asana, Trello, or Airtable that are built for editorial project management. Customize them to track deadlines, review stages, and monitor publishing status. These tools increase transparency, reduce missed deadlines, and make it easier to collaborate across departments or with external contributors.

4. Define Quality Metrics and Feedback Loops

Establish clear criteria for evaluating content quality. Use peer reviews, editing scorecards, and post-publication analytics to identify what’s working and what’s not. Build feedback loops into the workflow so your team can continuously improve.

5. Scale With Hybrid Teams

As your content needs grow, blend internal and external resources. Use outsourced editorial services for high-volume or specialized content, but ensure your editorial manager maintains oversight and final approval. This approach balances flexibility with brand control.

Can Editorial Management Be Outsourced?

Yes, editorial management can absolutely be outsourced, and for many growing brands, it’s a smart move. As content demands scale, managing editorial workflows internally can stretch resources thin. Outsourcing editorial management allows you to tap into experienced professionals who specialize in content strategy, workflow optimization, and team coordination without the overhead of hiring full-time staff.

How To Outsource Editorial Management

If you’re considering outsourcing, here’s how to approach it effectively:

  1. Define your needs clearly. Are you looking for someone to run your entire editorial operation or to manage a portion of your content (e.g., blog, thought leadership, SEO content)? Clarity on scope helps you find the right partner.

  2. Choose a specialized partner. Look for outsourced editorial services that offer editorial project management as a core service. Ideally, the provider should have experience in your industry, offer access to skilled writers and editors, and understand digital publishing.

  3. Provide brand guidelines and editorial SOPs. Share your content strategy, voice and tone guidelines, SEO standards, and workflow documentation. This ensures the outsourced manager can uphold brand integrity and integrate smoothly with your existing team and tools.

  4. Set up collaborative tools. Use platforms like Google Workspace, Notion, Airtable, or content-specific project management tools to streamline communication and task tracking. This keeps everyone aligned across time zones and departments.

  5. Establish regular check-ins. Weekly or biweekly status meetings help maintain transparency, address bottlenecks, and align content output with business goals.

The Pros of Outsourcing Editorial Managementv

As your content needs grow, an outsourced editorial manager can help you scale efficiently without increasing your internal headcount. Professional editorial managers also bring significant experience in content strategy, workflow design, SEO, and cross-functional collaboration.

External partners also have a fresh perspective and often introduce new ideas and improvements that enhance your content quality and workflow efficiency. Compared to hiring a full-time employee, outsourcing can be more cost-efficient, especially if you only need part-time support or seasonal help. 

And finally, it frees up time, allowing your internal team to focus on creating high-quality content, planning, ideation, and audience insights while the day-to-day operations are handled by a skilled external manager.

The Cons of Outsourcing Editorial Management

The time and effort it takes to find an editorial management team that will meet your needs can be substantial, and it’s important not to rush or skimp. Onboarding time can be minimized with clear documentation and regular communication, but familiarizing your team with your brand and expectations is an investment worth making.

When you’re not working with in-house employees, there may be less immediate access, as an external partner is not in the same office or maybe even the same time zone. Strong communication tools and regular check-ins can help bridge this gap.

Who Is Responsible for Quality Assurance in Editorial Project Management?

Whether editorial management is in-house or outsourced, quality assurance remains a central responsibility of the editorial manager. QA involves more than just proofreading. It includes:

  • Ensuring content aligns with brand tone and messaging.
  • Verifying SEO optimization (keywords, meta descriptions, internal links).
  • Fact-checking and reviewing technical accuracy (often involving SME review).
  • Assessing structure, formatting, and readability.
  • Checking final deliverables against editorial standards before publication.

In outsourced scenarios, the provider of editorial project management services typically owns the QA process, but it’s still important for your internal team to periodically review final outputs – especially in the early stages of a partnership. Some brands also designate an in-house content strategist or marketing manager to do a final check before publishing.

The key is to build QA into the content workflow and make it a shared priority between internal and external stakeholders.

What Is SME Review?

SME review, or subject matter expert review, is a crucial step in the content creation process, especially for brands that produce technical, complex, or industry-specific content. It means having a topic expert review the content for accuracy, clarity, and depth before it’s published.

SMEs may be internal team members (like engineers, consultants, medical professionals, or product managers) or external contributors brought in through outsourced editorial services. Their insights ensure that the content doesn’t just sound correct but is factually correct and valuable to the target audience.

Where SME Review Fits Into Editorial Project Management

In the context of editorial project management, SME review typically takes place after a draft has been written but before it enters the final editing or formatting stages. Here’s how it fits into a standard content workflow:

  1. Briefing stage: The editorial manager may involve an SME during ideation or briefing to provide technical input, key concepts, or supporting resources.

  2. Drafting stage: Writers create the first version of the content based on the brief and any initial SME input.

  3. SME review stage: The draft is sent to the SME for fact-checking, accuracy review, and technical feedback. They flag any inconsistencies or areas that require more detail.

  4. Revisions and edits: The writer revises the content based on the SME’s comments, often collaborating with the editorial manager to maintain clarity and voice.

  5. Quality assurance: The editorial manager conducts the final quality assurance check, ensuring that the revised content meets brand guidelines, is optimized for SEO, and is ready for publication.

Why SME Review Matters

Expert-reviewed content demonstrates thought leadership and builds credibility with readers – especially in technical or regulated industries. And it reduces risk. Inaccurate or misleading content can damage brand reputation or even lead to legal issues. SME review acts as a safeguard. SMEs also enhance content with real-world insights, case studies, or industry trends that elevate the material beyond surface-level writing, adding depth and relevance.

For brands working with outsourced editorial services, the editorial manager often facilitates SME review by coordinating between freelance writers and internal experts. This collaboration ensures that the content maintains its technical integrity while flowing through a seamless editorial process.

Conclusion

High-performing content teams don’t succeed by chance. They’re backed by smart systems, clear processes, and intentional leadership. Editorial management is the secret ingredient that transforms good content operations into great ones. It brings order to creative chaos, keeps stakeholders aligned, and ensures that every piece of content is strategic, accurate, and impactful.

Whether you’re managing an in-house team or scaling with outsourced editorial services, embracing editorial project management is essential. At Proofed, we have a team of expert editors that can help your company during each stage of the editorial process. Schedule a call with us today to learn more.

FAQs

What is editorial project management and how does it support content workflows?

Editorial project management is the structured oversight of the content creation process – from strategy and ideation to drafting, editing, review, and publication. It supports content workflows by organizing tasks, coordinating contributors, managing deadlines, and ensuring each piece of content aligns with brand goals and quality standards.

How does editorial project management differ from general project management?

While both roles involve managing timelines and teams, editorial project management is designed for content production. It requires an understanding of storytelling, brand voice, SEO, content strategy, and audience engagement. General project management focuses more broadly on scope, resources, and deliverables across any industry, without the creative and editorial nuances unique to content creation.

Can editorial project management be outsourced?

Yes, and it’s a popular option for growing brands. Outsourcing to a provider of editorial services allows companies to access skilled editorial managers without the cost of full-time hires. These professionals handle everything from editorial calendars and SME reviews to quality assurance and team coordination, all while aligning with internal brand and marketing strategies.

Who is responsible for quality assurance in editorial project management?

The editorial project manager, whether internal or external, is primarily responsible for quality assurance. This includes ensuring that all content is grammatically sound, brand-compliant, technically accurate, SEO-optimized, and properly formatted. In some workflows, final QA may also involve content leads or marketing managers as an added layer of review before publication.

How does SME review fit into the editorial project management process?

SME review typically occurs after the first draft is complete and before the final editorial polish. The editorial project manager coordinates this step, facilitating feedback from subject matter experts and integrating their insights into the content. This ensures accuracy and authority, particularly in technical, medical, legal, or highly specialized content.

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