G3 Cheat Sheet

Review the SOW and make sure the following issue are clearly defined.

• Is the word count specified? This is important for setting boundaries with clients if they add too much copy during review.
• For infographics, will the pricing allow you to pay the writer about $500-750, plus design costs [ABOUT HOW MUCH?] with at least a 50% margin for the project?
• For g-books, will the pricing allow you to pay the writer up to $1,000, plus design costs [ABOUT HOW MUCH?] with at least a 50% margin for the project?
• Is ideation either included in the SOW or provided in a separate document? Find out from the AM who created the ideation — did the client provide it, or did we?
• If the client created it, ask the CS to review it for any red flags, such as expected difficulty finding data, potential for getting out of scope, lack of focus or potentially ineffective messaging.
• Does the target completion date and/or timeline specified in the SOW reflect a regular timeline?
• If the timeline is shorter than normal, is the project specified as a rush, and is the client paying rush fees?
• For infographics, will there be interactivity? If so, see the Production Guide for Interactive Infographics.
• For g-books, should one-click social should be incorporated?
• Are more than two SME calls specified?

 If you have any questions about the scope of the infographic or g-book, ask the account manager.

If this is a new account for you, start getting oriented with the client and what they do.

• Check if a Dropbox folder exists yet for the client, and if it does, check if it includes background materials. For example, if we created ideation for the projects, we should already have background materials.
• If there are no background materials in the folder, ask the account manager and the CS if the client has provided any resources.
• Visit the client's website and read about its products/services/solutions, particularly those that are relevant to the projects you're starting.
• Note key messaging points and language/industry terminology used throughout their website and in their existing content.

• Look for writers in the C4D writer database by areas of expertise. Check if the notes mention their experience with infographics and/or g-books. (Writers infographic experience will likely do well writing g-books, and vice versa.)
• TIP Try to use the same writer for assets on the same topic and/or on the same SOW. However, if there are more than three assets starting at once, it's best to enlist more than one writer.
• Contact the writer(s) to gauge their availability. Provide the following information:
• Format type and approximate word count
• Topic
• APPROXIMATE start date (based on when the SME call is likely to occur) and 1st draft due date. This will have to be rough estimate for now.
• Wait to share the client's name until you're ready to send the writer assignment package. You may wish to make an exception if the writer works regularly on this client's projects.
• If the writer(s) are available and interested, let them know you'll provide full details soon. (You will do this after the kickoff call.)

The account manager will schedule an internal kickoff call IF any of the following apply:

• The client is new
• The SOW includes $50,000 or more of content
• The SOW includes any strategy/consulting work
• MThe SOW includes any rushed projects
• The AM feels, for any reason, the account team needs to discuss the engagement before the client kickoff call
• Note: If the SOW is for an existing client for whom we hold a regular internal check-in call, the internal kickoff can take place during one of the internal check-in calls.

During the internal kickoff, do the following:

• Ask the AM to provide background on the client relationship and what the client is looking to accomplish.
• Ask the AM or the CS to provide background on the target audience.
• Find out from the AM how the infographic and/or g-book will be used. Is it for a campaign? An event?
• Ask the AM to clarify any questions you have about the SOW.

• Enter the SOW into the Account Tracking Spreadsheet, with all the SOW's individual projects underneath it. Full instructions are located here: #
• For any projects within the SOW that are RUSHED, change the copy in that row to red.
• Set up the necessary Dropbox folders.
• Create a new folder for the client if one doesn't exist yet.
• Within the client folder, add these folders:
• Branding
• [SOW ID] - SOW and Production Timeline (ex: MIC01 - SOW and Production Timeline).
• Include this subfolder: Kickoff_call. Place the recording and transcript of the kickoff call here.
• Background_resources
• Individual project folders
• Name the project folder [Asset ID] - [Asset Type] - [Abbreviated Name]
  (ex: MWG02_001 - WP - Monetization of Online Grocery)
• Include these subfolders for each project folder:
  - Background_resources
  - Writer_legal
  - Recordings_Transcripts
  - Drafts
  - Layouts
  - If the client requires outlines, create an Outlines folder.

Dropbox Folder Example 1 // Dropbox Folder Example 2

• Review the Kickoff Call Checklist and be sure you're ready to discuss each item.
• See the "During Kickoff" instructions below for talking points specific to infographics and g-books, as well as general talking points that are especially important to discuss
• Identify which documents you will share on screen and review during kickoff, including the SOW, any background documents that have been supplied already, brand guidelines, examples of existing assets, etc.
• Reminder Check again that your design lead has been invited to the kickoff call.

• Download the recording of the kickoff call.
• If you kicked off an entire SOW, save the recording in the "Kickoff_call" subfolder within the SOW's Dropbox folder. If you kicked off only certain projects within an SOW, save the recording in each of the projects' "Transcripts_Recordings" folders in Dropbox.
• Transcribe the call and save it in the relevant "Kickoff_call" or "Transcripts_Recordings" folder.
• Inform the AM, CS and design lead once the recording and later the transcript are in Dropbox.
• If this is a new client, once the design checklist comes in, set up a design call before the 2nd draft of copy goes to the client. This meeting is REQUIRED.
• Consider suitable themes for the infographic or g-book, and consult the CS about your ideas. Infographics and g-books with a strong theme tend to be more successful.
• Assign the writers their projects.
• Create the Writer Agreement, outlining the requirements for the assignment, payment, and payment terms.
• Along with the Writer Agreement, send the writer the following information:
• Client: Client name with link to the client's website.
• Assignment description: Description of relevant products/services/solutions, particularly those that are relevant to the projects you're starting. These include:
• Objective of the infographic or g-book
• Format
• Word Count
• How the client will use the infographic or g-book
• Background resources: Existing resources, and how they should be used/their significance
• Best practices for writing infographics and/or g-books: Best Practices for Writing Infographics and G-Books
• Target audience: Explain the job role/title of the target reader, as well as pain points and other key audience information.
• Tone: Editorial style guide, if it exists. If not, briefly explain the client's preferred tone, and provide an example, if possible.
• 1st draft due date: When you set this date, make it realistic for the writer, but also give yourself 1-2 days to review, and send and receive any edit requests to the writer.
• Fee: A general guideline when determining payment for the writer is approximately $1 per word. However, your budget may allow you some flexibility to exceed this guideline if working with a proven writer with expertise in the topic.
  
  For infographics, we usually pay writers $500-750, depending on the complexity of the material and their level of expertise.
  
  For g-books, we usually pay writers $750-1,000, depending on the complexity of the material and their level of expertise.
  
  TIP To determine the flexibility of your budget, follow these guidelines:
• Your total hard costs must total AT MOST half of what we're charging the client. Total hard costs include:
• Writer fee
• Design cost
• Production costs (stock photos, although not commonly used in infographics and g-books)
• Research costs. These may be needed if we're creating a g-book or infographic about research findings, and we're not creating any other asset about the findings.
• Rush fees for writers, designers, and/or researchers
• For example, if we're charging the client $5,000 for an infographic, the TOTAL hard costs must not exceed $2,500.
• Next steps: "Ask them to sign, date and send back the writer SOW.
  
  Set out other next steps. These may include sending their availability for SME calls or sending an outline or a 1st draft (if an SME call is not required)"
• After one business day, if you have not heard from the client about these items, follow up with your contact:
• Background resources promised during kickoff
• SME call scheduling
• For new clients, the Infographic Design Checklist. (Check with the design lead about whether the client submitted this.)
• For new clients, branding call scheduling
• Once the SME call(s) is scheduled, create a Schedule of Production Milestones for the projects you've kicked off, and send it to the client. If no SME call is needed, send the Schedule of Production Milestones within 1 business day of the kickoff call.

Production Step: Required actions and Best Practices During Production

SME call

• As soon as the call is scheduled (or even before), ask the writer to develop interview questions and send them to you at least two days before the SME call. Review them, make additions or edits if necessary, place them in the SME Interview Question template, and send the revised version to the client and back to the writer at least 24 hours before the call.
• Introduce the C4D team at the beginning of the call. If the writer is a freelance writer, avoid mentioning that they are a freelancer; we don't lie or conceal the fact that we use freelancers, but we don't want to draw attention to it, either. In front of the client, treat the writer like one of the C4D team.
• Be sure that the conversation addresses all topics the writer needs in order to write a strong infographic or g-book.
• Record and transcribe the call.
• Choose a turnaround time that suits the project timeline.
• In the "Email/Sending Instructions" section, instruct Civicom to email you the transcript once it's completed. (If you don't, it will send the transcript to agaffney@gthreecom.com only.)
• REMINDER Send the transcript to the writer as soon as it's ready
• In the "Project/Cost Center" section, write the asset ID(s) of the infographic and/or g-book for which the SME call was held.
• After the SME call, send a follow-up email to the writer and do the following:
• Thank them for participating in the call.
• Provide an ETA for the transcript.
• Inform them that you'll follow up w/the client about any resources the client promised during the SME call.
• Establish the due date for the outline or the 1st draft.
• Send them the Infographic Draft Template or the G-book Draft Template to use when writing.
• Remind them to include a headline and subhead, as well as scannable elements such as bullet points, headlines, sidebars, etc.
• After confirming the date on which the writer will turn in the 1st draft, follow up with the client and do the following:
• Thank them for coordinating the SME call.
• Provide the date on which you will send the outline or 1st draft. Make sure this date allows you and the design lead time to review the outline or draft from the writer.
• When you receive the 1st draft from the writer, check that:
• It follows the ideation
• It follows all requests made during kickoff
• It includes all key points touched upon during the SME call
• It uses any industry terminology or keywords that the client uses in their existing content, or that the SME used during the call
• It includes a headline
• The tone and style comply with the client's editorial guidelines
• All hyperlinks, including those within footnotes or endnotes, are working
• Follows the best practices outlined in the Best Practices for Writing Infographics and G-Books
• REMINDER You can ask the Content Strategist to review the draft if you're not certain it will meet the client's standards. To be respectful of the CS's time, use this tactic judiciously.
• TIP If you need to ask the writer to make revisions but you're facing a close deadline, it's better to tell the client that the draft isn't where you want it to be and ask for an additional day. In almost every case, sending a client a sub-standard product will do more damage than asking for additional time.

Send D1 to client

• Ask the client to have their team review the draft. If the SME will be reviewing it, their input should be given at this stage.
• Specify the date by which the client should provide feedback, and ask that it be consolidated.
• Regarding calls to action at the end of the infographic or g-book, you can add a note asking what they'd like readers to do. For example, does the client have a learning center to which you can direct readers? Are there additional assets in the campaign? etc.
• REMINDER If this is a new client and you have not already held the branding call, follow up about scheduling it. This call MUST take place by the time you send the 2nd draft of copy for client review, so push the client to get it scheduled now.

Receive feedback on D1

• Decide whether the revisions require the expertise of the writer, or whether you can make the changes yourself without taking too much time.
• REMINDER Remember that our writer agreements include two rounds of revisions from the writer, so factor this in when deciding whether to make the edits yourself or send back to the writer.
• Establish the ETA for the 2nd draft, and inform the client.
• WARNING If the client's feedback meets any of these criteria, the project might get out of scope:
• Any of the edits would take the infographic or g-book in a new direction
• Requests to add topics that you consider tangential
• Any of the edits will require adding significantly to the copy and pushing it beyond the word count or format that reflect best practices for infographics and g-books.
• What should you do?
• Before making any changes, ask your design lead to review the feedback and determine whether there's danger of scope creep.
• Copy the AM on all these communications.

Send D2 to client

• Check that all requested changes have been made, and that errors were not introduced in the process.
• Make sure the infographic or g-book still complies with best practices. If you have any doubt, ask your design lead to review the draft before sending back to the client.
• Specify the date by which the client should provide feedback.
• REMINDER For new clients, the branding call MUST have occurred by this stage.

Receive feedback on D2

• WARNING If the client's feedback meets any of these criteria, the project might get out of scope:
• The amount of feedback is greater than that on the 1st draft
• Any of the edits would take the infographic or g-book in a new direction
• Requests to add topics that you consider tangential
• Any of the edits will require adding significantly to the copy and pushing it beyond the word count specified in the SOW.
• What should you do?
• Ask your CS to provide a second opinion on whether there's a danger of scope creep.
• Ask your CS for suggested solutions that will meet the client's require while mitigating the risk of scope creep.
• Copy the AM on all of these communications.

Send final draft to client

• We need explicit approval of the final draft via email before we can move to design. Inform the client that this is the final draft and ask for their approval, or for any final, minor edits. Inform them that we need their approval in order to move into design.
• Specify the date by which the client should provide approval/final feedback.
• Again, if you see the warning signs of scope creep, take the actions listed in the previous steps.

Receive final approval

• Email the client that you've moved the asset into design. Tell them that the next step is to send a preliminary design draft to get their feedback on the design style. Explain that this will be a partial design, not a full design.
• WARNINGAt this stage, the client SHOULD NOT be attempting to add new information, rewrite significant portions of the draft, or make any other significant edits. If they do, diplomatically remind them that the draft has final approval, ask whether they consider the changes absolutely necessary, and inform them of the delays that will result. Copy the AM on these communications. If the changes are necessary, determine whether the writer will need to be paid an additional fee; if so, check the impact of this cost on the budget, and inform the AM so they can get the client's approval of the additional expense. Again, for any changes, watch for scope creap and consult your design lead.

Proofread

• Send the copy to be proofread, and copy your design lead. This gives the design team some time to prepare for the assignment.
• When proofing is completed, review the edits and clean up the draft. You can choose to reject changes.
• Save the final, proofed, clean draft as "FDRAFT." Example: Siemens_SMN044_EBK_Path-to-Replacement_FDRAFT_v007

Send to design with design notes

• Add design notes to the final draft. These are notes for your design lead.
• For infographics, design notes should provide the following:
• General notes giving overall suggestions or instructions for design, including a reminder of the theme. For example, indicate whether the asset is related to or part of the same campaign as another existing asset, specific instructions from the client, suggestions for types of graphics, etc. Include any notes that will help the designer illustrate the concepts.
• Define headers, subheads, callouts, lists and important stats. When defining headers and subheads, indicate levels, where H1 is for the headline and subhead, H2 is forheadings, etc.
• Add notes at the beginning of each new section, giving visual suggestions
• Highlight key ideas in headings and copy
• For g-books, design notes are similar to those for infographics, but also include suggested page breaks
• Add "DesignNotes" to the end of the file name. Ex: Siemens_SMN044_EBK_Path-to-Replacement_FDRAFT_v007_DesignNotes
• Example of infographic design notes »
• Example of g-book design notes »

Send proof of concept to client

• Check the preliminary layout for the following:
• All copy is included and is in the correct order. TIP You can do this efficiently by comparing the first sentence of each paragraph in the layout with the first sentence of each paragraph in the final draft (Word doc). Also check that none of the copy is repeated.
• The general guidelines you provided in the design notes are reflected.
• Brand guidelines generally look to have been followed. For example, if the client requires strict use of brand colors, are there other colors included that may not be acceptable to the client?
• Graphics are related to the copy that they accompany, and design looks polished
• When you send the proof of concept, remind the client that it is a design of the first several sections or pages, and ask if the design style is on point.
• Specify by what date the client should provide feedback.

Receive feedback on proof of concept

• "Review the feedback. Take note of any signs of scope creep.
• Send to the designer.
• Determine the ETA for L1, and inform the client.

Send L1 to client

• Check the layout for the following:
• All feedback on the proof of concept is reflected in L1.
• All the copy in the final draft is included in the layout, and none of the paragraphs, charts, etc. are missing or repeated.
• Headings are in the design styles that reflect their correct level (H2, H3, etc.)
• All links are working correctly
• Specify by what date the client should provide feedback.

Receive feedback on L1

• Review the feedback. Take note of any signs of scope creep.
• Send to the designer.
• Determine the ETA for L2, and inform the client.

Send L2 to client

• Check that all feedback on L1 is reflected in L2.
• Specify by what date the client should provide feedback.

Receive feedback on L2

• Review the feedback. Take note of any signs of scope creep.
• Send to the designer.
• Determine the ETA for the final layout, and inform the client.

Send final layout to client

• We need explicit approval of the final layout via email before we can begin finalizing the infographic/g-book. Inform the client that this is the final draft, and ask for their approval, or for any final, minor edits. Inform them that, if it's approved, we'll perform a final proofread, then send them the final PDF and source files.
• Specify the date by which the client should provide approval/final feedback.

Receive final approval

• At this stage, if the client still has edits, they should be minor. You can either send these edits to your designer and then send to proofing, or — if the edits a reminimal — you can send it straight to proofreading.

Proofread

• Send the copy to be proofread.
• Save the proofread document and review the edits.
• If you decide to edit or remove any of the proofreader's markups, first do a save-as to create a new version, then make your changes and send to your design lead.

Deliver final PDF and source files

• Save the final PDF in Dropbox.
• Send the client the final PDF as an attachment, along with a Dropbox link to or a zip folder containing the source files.