Module 15Stage: Approve90 min

Content Operations

Write a brief that lets someone else create the post correctly without back-and-forth.

Jump to lesson:
01Content Briefs02Approval Systems03Content QA04Asset Organization05Content SOPs
1
Lesson 1

Content Briefs

Objective

Write a brief that lets someone else create the post correctly without back-and-forth.

Teach
A brief should state: objective, pillar, key message, format, tone notes, and deadline — enough that a teammate doesn't need to ask clarifying questions.
Real-World Example
A one-paragraph brief with those 6 fields prevents a designer from guessing what the post is supposed to achieve.
Common Mistake
Briefs that only say "make something about X" with no objective or tone guidance.
Practical Exercise

Write a full brief for your next post using the 6 fields above.

Lesson Checkpoint

A complete content brief should include at minimum

2
Lesson 2

Approval Systems

Objective

Design a simple approval step that catches mistakes without slowing everything down.

Teach
One clear approver, one clear deadline, and a checklist (brand voice, accuracy, CTA, spelling) keeps approval fast and useful instead of a bottleneck.
Real-World Example
A single "approve or request changes" step 48 hours before publish, against a 4-point checklist.
Common Mistake
Approval by committee with no single owner, which slows everything and diffuses responsibility.
Practical Exercise

Write your 4-point approval checklist and name who owns final sign-off.

Lesson Checkpoint

An efficient approval process usually has

3
Lesson 3

Content QA

Objective

Catch errors before they go live.

Teach
Quality-check for: factual accuracy, brand voice match, correct links/tags, spelling, and platform formatting — in that priority order.
Real-World Example
A broken link in a CTA is a QA failure that directly costs conversions, worth checking every time.
Common Mistake
Focusing QA only on spelling and missing factual errors or broken links, which cost more.
Practical Exercise

Build a 5-point QA checklist and run it against your last published post.

Lesson Checkpoint

The highest-priority QA check is usually

4
Lesson 4

Asset Organization

Objective

Set up a simple, findable system for content assets.

Teach
Organize by campaign or month, with consistent naming (date_platform_topic), so anyone on the team can find and reuse assets without asking.
Real-World Example
"2026-09_ig_[launch-teaser.mp](http://launch-teaser.mp)4" is more findable than "final_final_[v3.mp](http://v3.mp)4."
Common Mistake
Inconsistent or vague file names that make past assets impossible to find or reuse.
Practical Exercise

Rename your last 5 content files using a consistent naming pattern.

Lesson Checkpoint

Good asset organization mainly helps by

5
Lesson 5

Content SOPs

Objective

Write a standard operating procedure so quality doesn't depend on one person.

Teach
An SOP documents the repeatable steps (brief → draft → QA → approve → schedule → publish) so a new team member can follow the same process.
Real-World Example
A written SOP means a new hire can run the content process in week one instead of needing months of tribal knowledge.
Common Mistake
Keeping the process "in someone's head" instead of writing it down, creating a single point of failure.
Practical Exercise

Write your content SOP as a simple numbered list, step by step.

Lesson Checkpoint

An SOP's main purpose is to

Module Template

**Content Production SOP** — see Templates Library.

Deepen Your Knowledge
  • •HubSpot Academy — team workflow lessons
  • •Asana / project management blog resources on content operations
Module Checkpoint Assessment

Test Your Mastery of Module 15

5 questions · 70% passing threshold required

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