If wrangling writers and chasing down approvals makes you want to throw your laptop, you’re not alone. Most content teams spend too much time lost in email threads, Slack pings, and endless Google Docs comments. If you’re using Letterdrop and still feeling the chaos, this guide is for you. I’ll walk you step-by-step through setting up a streamlined, truly workable process for writer collaboration and approvals—without the headaches.
1. Start With the Right Foundation
Before you do anything in Letterdrop, get clear on these two things:
- Roles: Who’s writing, who’s editing, who’s approving, and who’s just reviewing? If this isn’t obvious, write it down.
- Workflow: What’s your sequence—draft, edit, review, approve, publish? Keep it simple. More steps mean more delays.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate. If you only have two people, you don’t need five workflow stages. The simpler, the better.
2. Set Up Your Workspace and Team
Letterdrop lets you organize your workspace the way you want, but most teams skip the setup and pay for it later. Take ten minutes to do this right:
a. Add Your Team, Assign Roles
- Go to your workspace’s settings.
- Invite everyone who should be involved.
- Assign clear roles: Writer, Editor, Approver, or Observer.
- Writers: Can draft and edit.
- Editors: Can review and comment.
- Approvers: Final say before publishing.
- Observers: Read-only access—don’t crowd the workflow with too many cooks.
Honest take: Don’t give everyone admin rights. That’s how things get messy fast.
b. Organize Topics, Tags, and Content Calendar
- Set up folders or tags for your main content types (blog, case study, newsletter).
- Use the built-in content calendar to map out assignments, deadlines, and publish dates.
What works: Keeping everything in one place. What doesn’t: Letting everyone create their own naming conventions. Standardize or regret it later.
3. Create a Repeatable Workflow
Letterdrop’s workflow builder is powerful, but don’t get lost in the weeds. Here’s how to keep it practical:
a. Define Stages
- Draft
- Edit
- Review
- Approval
- Published
You can rename these, but don’t add more than you need. Each extra step is another chance for something to stall.
b. Set Up Automations and Notifications
- Assign automatic notifications for stage changes (e.g., when a draft moves to “Review,” editors get pinged).
- Set deadlines for each step, but be realistic—setting every article as “urgent” leads to everyone ignoring notifications.
What to ignore: Fancy automation for automation’s sake. If you need a flowchart to explain your workflow, it’s too complicated.
4. Drafting and Collaboration: Keep It in Letterdrop
It’s tempting to draft in Google Docs and paste into Letterdrop later. Resist the urge.
- Draft directly in Letterdrop to keep version history and comments all in one place.
- Use inline comments and suggestions to collaborate—no more “final-final-v3.docx” files.
- Tag team members in comments when you need input or edits.
Pro tip: Make it a rule: “If it’s not in Letterdrop, it doesn’t exist.” This keeps everyone looking at the same version.
5. Editing and Feedback That Doesn’t Suck
The real bottleneck is usually the review process. Here’s how to avoid the nightmare:
- Editors should use in-line suggestions and comments, not vague emails or Slack DMs.
- Set a deadline for edits. Letterdrop lets you assign tasks or comments to specific people—use it.
- Keep feedback concrete. “This intro is weak” is useless; “Lead with the main benefit in the first sentence” is actionable.
Honest take: If someone’s always late with edits, talk to them directly. No tool can fix a chronic bottleneck on its own.
6. Approvals: Make It Fast and Clear
Approvals shouldn’t be a guessing game. Letterdrop lets you assign approvers directly.
- Only assign approval to people who actually need to sign off. The more approvers, the slower you go.
- Use the approval stage—don’t skip it, but don’t let it drag on for days.
- Approvers should leave a clear “approved” comment or click the approve button—no ambiguous “looks good to me” in Slack.
What works: One approver per piece of content. What doesn’t: Group approvals—everyone thinks someone else will do it.
7. Publishing Without Surprises
Once something’s approved, get it published. Letterdrop can push content to your CMS, newsletter, or wherever it needs to go.
- Double-check formatting and links before hitting publish—Letterdrop’s preview isn’t always exactly what you’ll see live.
- Set up publishing permissions carefully. Accidental early launches happen when too many people have the keys.
- Schedule publishing if you want to control timing; don’t rely on a manual “post it at 9am” reminder.
What to ignore: Over-customizing the publishing workflow. Stick with defaults unless you have a real need.
8. Keep Improving (But Don’t Overthink It)
The first version of your workflow won’t be perfect. That’s fine.
- Hold a quick retro after a month: What slowed you down? Where did things get stuck?
- Update your workflow and roles as needed, but avoid “process bloat”—only add steps if they solve a real problem.
- Clean up old drafts and unused tags regularly. Clutter slows everyone down.
Pro tip: Don’t spend more time tweaking the process than actually creating content.
That’s it. You don’t need a consultant or a 10-page SOP to get writer collaboration and approvals running smoothly in Letterdrop. Keep your process simple, make sure everyone knows where to look and what to do, and fix bottlenecks as you spot them. The rest is just noise.