Email and Communication Guidelines

Situations and Courses of Action

As there are many clients and many pieces of content in progress, we want to keep communication and thus the content production process moving. We want you as producers to feel empowered to pursue and acquire answers, and to make it as clear as possible how to do so. Below is a list of scenarios you might encounter and how to approach them.

In scenarios where it says to email the client, make them the primary contact and CC your Customer Success Manager.


Scenarios to Email the Client

In the following scenarios make sure you CC your CSM in every case. If you do not CC them they will not know what is going on with the account.


A piece is only halfway done, has followed the brief perfectly and is already at the minimum word count.


The writer has begun the piece and noticed that the word count required will be considerably longer than the spec sheet asks for. (LINK TO THE BRIEF SPEC) We can either trim the spec sheet to include less content or increase the length of the piece to _____ words. Which would you prefer?


We are happy to follow whatever you think is best!


The brief link doesn’t match the title of the assignment.


We noticed the brief spec for piece (s) _______ (LINK TO BRIEF SPEC) doesn’t match the title of the piece. Could you please take a look and let us know if the content calendar or the brief spec need to be changed?


Note: This scenario only applies if/when the client is providing their own briefs and linking to them in the content calendar. 


A piece listed was already done in the past


We noticed the piece titled ________ was already done in (MONTH and PIECE #) Can you please take a look and let us know which topic you would like us to change it to?


A product/service/offering that is featured in the piece no longer exists, has been discontinued or was replaced with another product.


We noticed the product listed in the piece titled ________ does not appear to exist anymore. Can you please take a look and let us know if you would like to find an alternative product or cancel the piece entirely?


A brief spec/google doc is restricted


We noticed the brief specs/google doc for the following pieces are not viewable. Can you please update the permissions so they are viewable by everybody with the link?

  • Document title, Link to document, Piece title in the platform

Multiple editors on the client side are asking for conflicting edits.


I’ve noticed I am getting some differing feedback from the editors in this account. Specifically they treat <<specific scenario>> differently. Can you please provide guidance on what you would like done in these scenarios in case this arises again? Thank you.


The client is editing pieces you haven't reviewed yet.


Thank you for being so eager to edit the piece titled ________. That piece is actually still in revision with me. Please make sure you are only editing pieces that have been marked as “Pending Final Approval.”


Scenarios to Raise in Slack


A writer refuses to do the edits on the assignment.


Tag your talent manager in the Slack group and ask for their insights. If the edits are reasonable, we will possibly have the writer taken off the piece. If the edits are simple enough you can make them yourself. This is a case-by-case basis.


A writer has not accepted the assignment after 48 hours.


Tag your Talent Success Manager via Slack and inform them of the writer, the piece that hasn't been accepted within the 48 hour timeframe and that you will be assigning to a new writer. Pull it back and offer it to a different writer. If you are uncertain as to which writer to offer, consult your Talent Success Manager via Slack.

The writer rejects the assignment because they don’t have time/the pay is too low.


Reassign the piece to a writer who has the bandwidth. If you are uncertain of writer bandwidth, please consult your Talent Success Manager by tagging them in Slack.

A writer is late on 2 assignments without asking for extensions or a writer continuously asks for extensions.


Tag your Talent Success Manager in the Slack group, explain the situation and have them reach out to the writer to determine the best next steps for you to take.


The client hasn’t responded to a question after being tagged and emailed.


If you have not received a response from the client within 48 hours, please tag your CSM in Slack and let them know.


The client has expressed issues with the quality of editing done by the producer.


Tag your Managing Editor and Talent Success Manager for their feedback.


The client is requesting information that wasn't included in the original brief.


Tag your CSM in the Slack group and let them know. Be as clear and concise as possible within your message. 


A writer referenced a source that is not mentioned on the approved/banned source list.


Use your best judgment. Note and highlight the link when tagging the client so they know you are aware of it.


You are trying to dispatch to a writer and they aren’t showing in the dropdown of available writers.


Click on the “Users” icon on the left rail, type in the writer’s name, and search. Once you find the correct writer you can click save. If there are multiple writers and you aren’t sure which one it is or you can’t find the writer, tag your talent manager in the Slack group.


The brief word count is under or over the scoped word count of the project. Example: The brief says a minimum of 2,500 words and the content calendar says 1,000 words.


Reach out to the CSM on the account via Slack for clarity. The discrepancy may be due to a typo, mistake or scope change. Seek confirmation from the CSM before moving forward. If the CSM is unsure, they will reach out to the client to get further insight to share with you.


A piece is listed twice on the content calendar.


Reach out to your CSM via Slack for clarification.


You are unsure how to ideate for a client. 


Reach out to the CSM via Slack on the account for more information about what the client is looking for. Reach out to the ME on the account via Slack for insight into any learnings from the initial round of ideation. 


The client expressed feedback or discontentment around the SEO Add-On (keywords or execution).


Notify your CSM and the Managing Editor on the account via Slack. Your CSM may reach out to the client to gain additional feedback, and your Managing Editor will gauge whether or not the content is properly optimized according to the SEO Add-On.