QUESTION
What if my list's winners are editorially selected, not reader's choice? How do we improve workflow and save time and energy for editorially curated lists? Can DataJoe help?
BACKGROUND
Some publishers create Best of the City, Best Restaurants, that are NOT voting-based, but rather selected by their editorial team each year. STAGES
- Fact Gathering. Editors explore different establishments to begin collected enough data to render a judgment.
- Notation. Editors make notes for their records.
- Seletion. Editors determine winners, based on their observations and experiences.
- Collation. Editors input their choices, by category, into some repository (such as Excel, Word, or directly into their CMS).
- Verification/Updating. Editors begin a campaign to collect contact information and other data tidbits about the selected winners, and input this into the repository.
- Design Stage. Editors send the file with their results to their design team, which then conducts formatting and transfer into InDesign, eventually resulting in a publishable product.
- Online Deployment. Editors send the file to the Web team, which then formats the file into a Web-friendly format and uploads to the site.
TYPICAL CHALLENGES
- Collation is a manual and sometimes clumsy process of getting editors to add their data to a file. This can lead to multiple file versions and potential inaccuracies.
- Verification/Updating is also a manual process. Typically contact info is collected by phone calling or individual email, which can be time consuming for editorial staff.
- Design stage requires multiple steps of receiving, formatting, and converting the original file to InDesign. Some of these steps can be eliminated. Sometimes, last minute changes happen on the InDesign page, compromising the integrity of the original data before it ever gets an opportunity to be deployed online. Evenually, the print and online products can begin to diverge.
- Online Deployment is also a process of manual file conversion which can be unnecessarily time consuming for Web staff. Also, this creates a disconnect between the online product and the original data file -- when changes need to be made, the Web team needs to get involved all over again - thus, typically, the product remains untouched for the full year unless an emergency correction needs to be made.
DATAJOE SOLUTIONS
- DataJoe solves these problems by providing a central, Web-based database, accessible by all editors. This database becomes the central repository directly feeding both the print and online product.
- DataJoe can drastically automate the Verification/Updating stage, by allowing editors to send direct survey blasts to all winners at one time.
- DataJoe's automated print-export features bridges the gap between editorial and design, eliminating some unnecessary formatting steps.
- DataJoe's online deployment tools ensure that, after initial implementation, the Web team's involvement can be minimal-to-non-existent. Editors have the power to finalize lists and then flip a switch to have them show up online.
DATAJOE RESULTS
- DataJoe's clients save (on average) hundreds of hours a year by automating their data collection, print publishing, and online publishing workflow.
- DataJoe's workflow makes it possible to add more products to the mix, empowering editorial and removing the need to expend unnecessary Web team resources for simple list deployment.
QUESTIONS?
Post a comment below, shoot me an email (johnny@datajoe.com) or give me a call (303-989-1300).
MY ONLY REQUEST
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