Rob Mills

Rob Mills thinks a lot about content operations. As Head of Content at GatherContent, which provides a content operations platform, he both manages and writes about content ops. So, yes, this episode gets a little meta at times :)

Rob sees the growing multidisciplinary nature of content work as a "fun challenge." He revels in the demands of connecting the many ops worlds that converge in his: content ops, design ops, research ops, and dev ops.

Rob and I talked about:

his background in journalism, data analysis, agency work as a project manager, and audience research at the BBC

how the exact scope of his role as the Head of Content at GatherContent changes daily, even hourly

some of the pioneers in the field of content ops: Deane Barker, Colleen Jones, Rahel Bailie, and Hilary Marsh

the hallmarks of their approach at GatherContent to content operations: repeatability, scalability, systemization

the three pillars of content ops: people, process, and technology

how content ops can help scale operations of any size

the people challenges in implementing a content operation - e.g., helping large numbers of diverse content creators to understand where their efforts fit in a workflow

his efforts to scale up the amount of content they create at GatherContent (and how his 2015 self is hindering the effort)

the challenges of measuring the effectiveness of legacy content

the difference between being data-informed and data-driven - and the importance of trusting your instincts when reviewing content performance

how he incorporates qualitative information, like reader correspondence, in his ongoing evaluation of content

how the evaluation of old content can help you decide where to scale up your new-content efforts

his involvement in the GatherContent product - proofing content, helping with onboarding scripts, etc.

the importance of workflow in content operations

insights from workflow masterclasses he has conducted on how long it takes to produce a "typical" piece of content - 15 hours for a 750-word web page, e.g.

the hazards of underestimating the time and effort it takes to create content, especially when you're scaling operations

how having clearly articulated workflows can help instill accountability and visibility (not blame or finger-pointing) and identify and deal with bottlenecks

how tools like workflows and style guides can make folks' lives easier - by showing them how they fit into the process and clarifying their roles

how the very nature of a workflow can inspire reflection on how to improve it

the growing multidisciplinary nature of content work

how the convergence of content ops, design ops, research ops, and dev ops are creating a "fun challenge" for folks who work with content

Rob's Bio

Robert is Head of Content for GatherContent, the Content Operations Platform. He develops, implements, measures, and refines their content strategy and is editor in chief of the GatherContent blog. He is responsible for organizing, producing, and publishing all GatherContent’s educational webinars, books, and assets.

He’s a journalism graduate, ex-BBC audience researcher, and former studio and project manager.

Robert has written for leading web publications including UX Booth, Content Marketing Institute, Smashing Magazine, and WebTuts. He has spoken at events including Confab, ContentEd, LavaCon Conf, and Content Strategy Forum amongst others. You can find him on Twitter @RobertMills.

Video

Here’s the video version of our conversation:

https://youtu.be/bbCW0YmAXXk

Podcast Intro Transcript

If you publish digital content at any scale, you are running a content operation.