Full disclosure: I work part-time for the company that launched Content Cloud and publishes Content Desk. Even fuller disclosure: having used it to commission out a portfolio of features for a client magazine, I have to say: I’m a big fan.
Why?
First, while I have a pretty solid contacts book from nearly two decades as a writer and editor, the opportunity to bring in new writers is a huge plus – particularly when I’m commissioning on niche topics that might not be a core subject for my existing cohort of freelancers.
It’s not just about subject expertise. In the past I’ve contacted writers I know will deliver good work, only to find they’re too busy to take my job. That leaves me thumbing through my contacts book for alternatives when the deadline is now three days closer – and good writers are even harder to bring on board. With Content Cloud, only writers with capacity bid for jobs – and I’ve always had a few to choose from if someone finds they can’t deliver on time.
The Content Cloud team has done a great job getting good writers on the system, too. I’ve had names pop up to bid for jobs that I know are great writers – but I don’t know them personally and wouldn’t have assumed they’d take my work. (That might be a personality flaw on my part, of course…) When you’re seeing legends from their niche appearing in your marketplace to write on something you know they have a reputation for, it’s a great feeling.
Then the process is very reassuring. Issue the brief, wait for the bids to come it, check the marketplace and award the job. It’s nice and clear-cut – and for someone like me, who’s a terrible deadline junkie and lacks basic organisational skills, that discipline and timetabling is a brilliant plus.
But like any digital service, Content Cloud is evolving – and it’s not perfect or perfectly intuitive. So here are my tips for using it to commission creatives:
Brief carefully
I like to write long and prescriptive briefs. But in my youth, I’d be cavalier: “write me an feature about pensions!” was a typical brief. And on Content Cloud that’s just as much of a mistake as on the phone. Tell writers exactly what you want, who you want them to speak to and what your audience is. They’ll make better bids that way.
Know the system’s limits
The brief field in the job creation screen isn’t infinite. So ensure you get all the really important points into the 300 or so words you have to play with. (The techie geniuses behind the application are working on ways to make this field longer. Watch this space.)
Add info wherever possible
Many (most) briefs won’t fit in 300 words. But you can always upload a Word file with the full brief as “supporting documentation” when you’re setting up the job. Make a note at the top of the main brief that you’ve uploaded a document that creators ought to read. Then I like to put in that “full” brief a backgrounder on the company, web site or magazine the freelancer will be working for. Not everyone will read it – but the best freelancers like to have a context for their work. It saves heartache later if you can clear about tone, sensitivities and contacts.
Check your bidders
Even before the deadline for last bids, you can check who’s pitching for the job by clicking the “award” link for that job in the marketplace screen. That brings up the bidders, their expertise, their comments (smart freelancers add in links to similar work or ideas for the work you’re commissioning) and you can click through to their profiles. A good tip is to check their Content Cloud portfolio – but I always like to see their LinkedIn profile or twitter feed, too.
Use the comments boxes
After you’ve advertised the job, you can add comments (visible to all bidders) if new info crops up. But I think the comments box that you’re offered after you’ve assigned a job is even more important. A note to the preferred bidder immediately makes a lot of sense, and although it’s far from compulsory, it can also trigger off useful email exchanges to clarify and refine the brief.
I’ll have further thoughts as I use the system more. But if I’m brutally honest, commissioning via Content Cloud has dispelled many of the misgivings I had about the whole idea of this kind of system when we were launching it. I’ve been able to hire some terrific writers in a structured, but not restrictive, way. And I know that the back-end admin (especially payments… see above for my self-evaluation on work organisation…) is all part of the service.
I still can’t wait for version 2.0, of course. But, like any digital service, if I didn’t think Content Cloud was really useful and had bags of potential, I’d wouldn’t be looking forward what it can offer next. And I am.
