120 teams · · 1 min read
How content teams actually ship: a survey of 120 teams
We asked 120 in-house content teams how they plan, write, review and publish, and how long each step really takes.
By Alan
LinkedIn ghostwriter & B2B content strategist
Key finding
41%of content teams have no editorial calendar
TL;DR
- 41% of teams have no editorial calendar and plan week to week.
- Review is the slowest step: a median of 6 days from first draft to approval.
- Teams with a written style guide publish 1.8× more posts per month.
How we did it
We surveyed 120 in-house content teams at B2B companies with 20 to 2,000 employees. Each team lead answered 24 questions about planning, writing, review and publishing, and estimated the time spent on each step for their last five posts.
What we found
Planning is the weakest link. Four in ten teams have no calendar at all, and another quarter keep one that is “mostly out of date”.
Review takes longer than writing. The median post spends 3 days in drafting and 6 days waiting for feedback, usually from a subject-matter expert.
What to do with this
- Keep a simple calendar, even a shared spreadsheet, and plan a month ahead.
- Book expert review time when you assign the post, not after the draft is done.
- Write down your style rules once instead of repeating them in every review.