5 Collaboration Strategies for Remote creatives

Did you know that creative roles such as writers, designers, and video editors are some of the most commonly outsourced jobs for companies?

The nature of these roles often means that they can be comfortably performed from a remote location. Furthermore, outsourcing creatives provides businesses with a wider selection of talents 💪 who can better reflect the message 📨 that they want for their brand.

However, online collaboration brings its own challenges, especially for a process as volatile as content creation. Time zones, work habits, and lack of communication can easily get in the way of delivering satisfying and effective content pieces.

How can you avoid this?

There are many ways to reap the benefits of remote content creation, without having to deal with its downsides 📉. Here are a few tips on how you can do that:

Set Up a Proper Remote Workplace

Working in a homely environment 🏡 may diminish your productivity as overall productivity relies on having the motivation to think out of the box, learn new things, and work collaboratively. This can be hard to find when your working space is only a few paces away from your nice, comfy bed.

Having a separate work environment 👩💻 makes it easier to transition into a working mindset and get started with a creative flow 🔥. Being in a dedicated working space also makes you feel more connected 📲 to your role and colleagues, making collaboration feel smoother.

Use Online Collaboration Tools

The best way to stay connected when working from home is to use online collaboration tools that let everyone communicate instantly and effectively. For remote creatives, some of the most vital tools are Instant Messaging apps, Video Conferencing software, Document Sharing programs, and Project Management Tools.

Here are a few examples of each.

Instant Messaging: Allow colleagues to reach out 📳 and address any concerns that pop up during content creation.

👉 Discord

👉 WhatsApp

👉 Slack

Video Conferencing: Lets team members meet virtually 🤳 for regular checkups or updates 💬. It also enables them to present plans, concepts 🎨, and ideas to their colleagues.

👉 Google Hangouts

👉 Zoom

👉 Microsoft Teams

Document Collaboration: Creatives can work and leave comments on drafts 📋that they're currently working on. This makes it faster 🏃♀️ and easier to revise content as it's created.

👉 Google Docs

👉 Notion

👉 Confluence

Project Management: Team members are kept aware of what needs to be done and when it's due. Project Management achieved this through progress and resource tracking 🧱, allowing team leaders and their members to monitor projects from beginning 🆕 to end 🔚.

👉 Jira

👉 Trello

👉 Figma

Arrange Huddles for Inspiration

Finding inspiration is one of the best ways to get creative juices flowing 🌼. This is because people get motivated when there's something that stimulates their drive to do better.

Team huddles are effective methods of inspiring teammates and pushing everyone to give their all toward a common goal. It may feel forced or unnatural at the start, but being inspired by colleagues helps build team morale which is a hard thing to do when everyone is miles away from each other.

Schedule Weekly Idea-Sharing Days

It's easy to run out of ideas when you create content for a living. That's where your colleagues can come in! Workshops and brainstorming sessions are great for getting people to express their unique ideas 💡 or visions that could inspire their colleagues.

This also provides other benefits such as giving recognition to those who come up with effective ideas. It also creates a space where everyone is free to express what they think, resulting in a team that is only truly limited by their imagination. Lastly, it builds camaraderie for a creative team who works remotely and doesn’t have many chances to interact with each other outside of work.

Take Creative Breaks

Writer's block is a real thing! And it's not just for writers. Any creative will run to a point where ideas just can't seem to come out. This is especially true for creatives who work from home, as their limited environment is not often conducive to providing inspiration for new concepts.

While it's important to meet deadlines, it's also important to allow colleagues to take some time off. Watching a movie, reading a new book, or taking a walk 🚶♂️ and seeing new sights 👁🗨 are great ways to coax new ideas for content.

Inspiration is all around us and it can be easy to miss when you're stuck all day working on the four walls of your home office.

If We Can Do It, So Can You!

At Starshot, our teams are distributed across multiple different continents and time zones around the globe 🌎. From big-city apartments 🌆, to suburban homes, coffee shops ☕, and remote cottages 🏡, we thoroughly embrace the challenges and rewards of being 100% remote.

We’re a company full of creatives! Designers, developers, designers, project managers, game artists, and content creators all come together to provide a service that’s perfectly tailored to each of our clients. Our systems are designed to make the most out of our flexible setup, allowing our colleagues to maximize the freedom of working remotely with only the bare minimum of difficulties.