Maddy French, Founder of The Blogsmith and Senior Content Marketing Manager at DigitalOcean, joined Josh Spilker of AirOps to go behind the build on content engineering, showing how she transforms messy transcripts and voice notes into structured workflows using a mix of Fireflies, Evernote, Slack and AirOps.

Top takeaways:

- Small, repeatable workflows that address everyday challenges often create the biggest impact.

- Find a workflow to convert meeting notes and recordings into structured outlines and action items using AI-powered workflows.

- Maddie's process includes integrating Fireflies, Evernote, AirOps, Google Docs, Slack, and Zapier for an end-to-end workflow that saves hours.

- Remember, automation amplifies productivity, but human review ensures quality, accuracy, and context.

- Clear SOPs, consistent prompts, and iterative refinement help scale content engineering across teams.

Best Practices and Key Learnings for Workflows

Maddy shared practical strategies that content teams can implement immediately to boost productivity and quality. Here's what stood out:

1. Build simple automations for daily tasks

Start with the basics that you repeat every day. These quick wins deliver immediate time savings and build momentum.

• Set up workflows that automatically pull transcripts, summarize meetings, and distribute outputs to key channels.
• Use tools like AirOps to create triggers and actions that match your real-world routines.
• Begin with a single daily process and expand as you see clear benefits.

"Sometimes it's the basic things that, like, make the most impact, because this is something I do every day." — Maddy French

2. Map workflows from end goal to input

Successful automation starts with the outcome in mind, then works backward to identify the necessary steps.

Identify the main problem or bottleneck in your current process before building a solution. Ask yourself: "What's the end result I need, and what inputs will get me there?"

• Outline triggers, actions, and outputs to keep your workflow focused and efficient.
• Test and refine each step to ensure it delivers the intended results.

3. Keep humans in the loop for quality and accountability

Human oversight remains critical even in automated workflows. Quality control checkpoints ensure your content maintains brand standards.

• Build review stages into every workflow, especially for client- or public-facing outputs.
• Use AirOps features that pause automation until a human approves the next step.
• Maintain clear ownership over final outputs to safeguard quality.

"There is no automation that I don't touch myself, right, before doing something with it." — Maddy French

4. Use integrations to connect your content stack

The real power comes from connecting your tools. Even non-technical teams can create powerful integrations with the right approach.

• Authenticate tools through AirOps for seamless setup with minimal technical overhead.
• Design workflows that centralize outputs and automate multi-step processes.
• Leverage Zapier triggers (like tags in Evernote) for flexible, reliable automation.

5. Start broad, then specialize and document

Begin with general-purpose workflows, then refine them as you learn what works best for your specific needs.

• Documenting scalable content processes with SOPs makes workflows repeatable and scalable.
• Participate in learning cohorts or review shared workflows for inspiration and best practices.
• Refine prompts and outputs for specific use cases as your team's needs evolve.

How to put these insights into practice

Content automation is no longer a nice-to-have—it's a must for teams that want to move faster and stay competitive. The key is starting with real problems, building simple workflows, and then layering on integrations and human review to keep quality high.

To implement these strategies, map out your current bottlenecks and daily routines, then experiment with automating a single process using tools like AirOps. As you gain confidence, expand your workflows, connect more tools, and document everything so your team can scale with ease.

Want to see how AirOps can help your team? Book a call to get started.