By Tonie Auer

• How can your publication succeed online?
• What points should a social media policy address?
• What challenges will face us as we convert our magazine from print to digital only?

Answers to these questions — and quite a few others — are in these 20 high-value posts from the ASBPE National Blog.

We combed through posts from the blog's three-plus years of existence to compile some of the best. In choosing these posts, we had specific criteria in mind. We wanted to highlight posts that provide actionable, “how-to” material in an easy-to-use format (blogs with bullet lists and checklists were favored). We also wanted the posts, as a group, to cover a variety of topics.

With those considerations in mind, here are 20 of the best ASBPE National Blog posts, roughly in reverse chronological order.

• Two posts by past ASBPE president Steven Roll address social media guidelines. One is “It's Never Too Early to Adopt a Social Media Policy”; the other is
  
  
• “Got a Social Media Policy?”
  
  
• “President’s Letter: It’s All About Brand at the Symposium,” by current ASBPE president Warren Hersch, reports on ASBPE’s November 2009 Digital Symposium.
  
  
• “5 Things To Consider When Converting To Digital Only” is a Q&A with Sara Zailskas of Housing Giants on her publication's experience of the process. The piece was contributed by Chicago chapter board member Erin Erickson.
  
  
• “McCracken: Experimentation Vital to Web-Launch Success” is another report from the Digital Symposium, this time on a session presented by Technologizer founder (and former PC World editor in chief) Harry McCracken.
  
  
• “6 Ideas To Boost Revenue, Readership, or Recognition” contains advice from ASBPE Washington, D.C., chapter president Katy Tomasulo.
  
  
• “SEO Best Practices” was contributed by former Website Magazine staffer Maureen Alley.
  
  
• “Twitter Tips for B2B Editors,” another post from ASBPE officer Katy Tomasulo, features advice specifically for those of us who work at business, trade, professional, and association publications.
  
  
• “Top 10 Strategies To Drive Traffic To Your Blog” was contributed by Michelle Rafter, a long-time freelancer on technology and other topics. Rafter writes the very popular blog Word Count, aimed at freelance writers and editors.
  
  
• “Seven Reasons Why You Should Start Your Own Blog” was contributed by Steve Roll, who did just that with the Latin America travel blog Travelojos.
  
  
• “No Matter How Painful, Editorial Productivity Should Be Analyzed” came from Howard Rauch, an editorial consultant and chair of ASBPE’s ethics committee.
  
  
• “No Solid Answer To ‘What’s Next For B2B?’” reported on a roundtable hosted by ASBPE’s Cleveland chapter.
  
  
• “Want To Learn HTML? Get Your Feet Wet” offers basic coding tips from ASBPE web editor Martha Spizziri.
  
  
• “We Are Already Marketers” is Christina Pellett’s argument for why editors shouldn’t balk at requests to help market their publications. Pellett is now editor of Agent Sales Journal.
  
  
• In “Building Your Wings on the Way Down,” Technologizer's Harry McCracken gives advice on starting a new publishing venture.
  

• Joe Pulizzi, founder of the custom publishing marketplace Junta42 Match, contributed three posts with advice for freelance writers. “Getting into the Custom Game” tells freelancers how to break into custom publishing (aka content marketing);
  
  
• “The Freelance Writing Retirement Plan: Create an Asset” gives advice for maximizing income; and
  
  
• “You Are What the Web Says You Are: Writers and Social Media” explains how many writers’ online presences are lacking.
  
  
• The advice in “Making Time for Print and Online” comes from Dan Blank, director of content strategy and development for Reed Business Information. (Dan also blogs at danblank.com.)
  
  
• “Sure, ’09 Will Be Tough. You Can Tell the Grownups, Though: They Think Rationally” comes from consultant Thomas H. Temin, It still holds up in 2010.
  

The ASBPE National Blog’s value never stops. We have ongoing discussions scheduled on plenty of hot topics. And take advantage of the opportunity to express your own view via a follow-up post. Email me at tonieauer@gmail.com.

Labels: Blogging/Blogging Strategy, Career/Employment, Custom Media, Digital, Economy, Freelancing, HTML, Management, Media Business, Productivity, Social Media, Technology, Tonie Auer

By Howard Rauch

Most editors are knocking themselves out facing the dual challenge of creating great content for websites and printed media. But be warned: When it comes to electronic media, you must prepare for the eventuality of a competitive analysis attack.

How will you respond to opposition claims that their website is clearly superior? Do you already conduct regular electronic media strengths/weaknesses reviews? If snafus in your content delivery are detected, do you remedy them promptly?

I’ve been thinking more often about stuff like this since I began handling e-newsletter/website review projects. My evaluation process usually begins with a check of how publications drive readers to their websites. Among other things, it’s surprising to find magazines that don’t even include an “on the web” contents page.

The next phase – which is where the rest of this column is focused – is e-newsletter evaluation. As a former newsletter editor, I am especially vexed about one aspect of today’s typical electronic approach. That is . . . most e-newsletters function as a contents page for the website. There is very little independent news value readers can take away without going further. In terms of competitive comparisons, we need to think about how existing information value can be enhanced.

Anyway, here is a list of seven e-newsletter factors that could prove burdensome if your competitors have the edge. In the future, I expect my list to swell to at least 25 items.

1. Dedicated editorial webstaff. This should be the top concern. It’s impressive for competitors to emphasize that advantage if it exists.

2. Evidence of enterprise. One way to get this point across is by identifying several articles that are web exclusives. Linking to newspaper articles or copies of corporate press announcements, while informative, is not the best sign of enterprise.

3. Informative news previews. Several e-newsletters simply list a bunch of headlines. Instead, each head should be accompanied by at least a three- or four-line blurb.

4. Content variety. Instead of a total news item focus, provide a longer preview of a current blog. Include interesting excerpts from current reader forums. Run a problem/solution contest; advise visitors that winners’ names will be posted in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

5. Tightly edited copy. Blurbs linking to news articles that consist of a parade of 30- or 40-word sentences won’t do. In one recent e-newsletter analysis involving 20 news articles, almost half of the sentences used ran beyond 30 words; several were in the 40-50 range.

6. No junk allowed. Most e-newsletter editors understand that featured news blurbs should link to high-value, in-depth website articles. But sometimes less than best-of-show items sneak through. For instance, be wary of allowing three-sentence newsletter blurbs that link to “full” articles (sometimes of a puffy nature) consisting of four or five sentences.

7. Emphasize statistical expertise. If your competition rarely publishes original research, your e-newsletter is an important way to exploit that shortfall. Perhaps you can even include occasional self-contained data summaries – no need to click for additional details.

Whether or not you concur with the above suggestions is incidental. The important thing – as in any competitive analysis review – is that you should create and regularly apply an evaluation system that can be quantified.

Howard Rauch is president of Editorial Solutions Inc., a consultancy focusing on B2B magazines. Rauch is the 2002 recipient of ASBPE’s Lifetime Achievement Award. You can contact him directly at howard@editsol.com.

Labels: Custom Media, Editing, Email Newsletters, Howard Rauch

By Joe Pulizzi

I get approached at least once a week by freelancer writers trying to get involved in custom publishing. For those of you not familiar with custom publishing, it's the business of corporations creating and distributing their own content, much like media companies. Sometimes called content marketing or branded content, custom publishing is challenging for writers to break into because it's becoming a "reseller" or "distributor" based business.

If you are looking to develop a relationship with a media property, it's pretty easy to find out who the contact is. Depending on the company's size, your contact will most likely be a managing editor, editorial assistant or chief editor. If only custom were that easy...

If you are searching for custom business, there are two different organizations to target. One would be the corporation doing the custom publishing, the other would be the custom publisher, which produces the turnkey content project on behalf of the client.

ContentWise (formerly Publications Management) recently found that over 80% of companies produce custom content projects (mostly custom magazines and newsletters) internally. That comprises a $30+ billion dollar industry alone. If you were smart, you'd think to target companies in your expert industries for editorial projects. Titles to contact would be the marketing director, marketing communications manager, PR manager or sometimes even the human resources manager (for employee projects).

The problem with focusing on companies includes three things. First, you are limited in the amount of projects you can get from one single company. Second, the trend is toward nonmedia companies outsourcing to custom publishers. And finally, most marketing types don't have a good understanding of the publishing process, so getting them to understand that you are needed is hit or miss.

Because of these challenges, more and more freelancers are targeting custom publishers. The upside to getting "in" with custom publishers is that once you develop a long-term relationship, the opportunity for more projects increases significantly. While I was at Penton Custom Media, we used to rely on about six to 10 freelancers for the majority of our projects.

The problem is getting to the "in" part. Custom publishers like using journalists they are familiar with, and usually only go outside when there is a topic they don't have in their editorial database. Custom publishers literally get tens of calls and packages each week from writers looking for work. Those packages usually end up in the "pile of good intentions" and nothing happens.

That said, the potential will continue to be with custom publishers, since more and more corporations are outsourcing their content, and because of the fact that content marketing is becoming increasingly important to the overall integrated marketing program for businesses in general.

Here are some tips for getting an opportunity with a custom publisher:

1. Specific expertise is key. If you are a generalist, you'll have a tough time with a custom publisher. Figure out what your "key content expertise" areas are and then find custom publishers that align with that expertise. Once you figure out the companies that match your strengths, the pitch will be that much better.

2. How's your website? You can send the best welcome package in the world, but today's editorial directors for custom publishers check out the web first. If they're at all interested, they Google you or view your website. How's your web presence? If it needs some work, get moving. [Editor's note: See Joe's previous post, "You Are What the Web Says You Are: Writers and Social Media," for some ideas for beefing up your web presence.]

3. Can we meet? Busy custom editors have trouble making the time to review anything you've sent, or even take your call. If there is a way you can swing it that you'll be in town, future business is more likely. I would say we ended up doing business with almost every editor that paid us a visit.

4. Do your research. Before you give the editor a call, make sure you know the publications they work on. Maybe there is a new section you can recommend for their client's magazine or website that they haven't thought of. Sure, some editors might be taken aback, but the ones who aren't will love you and hire you.

For more, check out this post from the Junta42 blog by guest contributor Tom Peric on the relationship between editors and freelance writers.

Joe Pulizzi is a writer, speaker and evangelist for content marketing and recently named American Business Media's "Custom Media Innovator of the Year." He is coauthor of the book Get Content. Get Customers. and founder of Junta42 Match, a marketplace for matching custom publishers and writers with corporations looking to launch content-based projects.

Labels: Custom Media, Freelancing, Joe Pulizzi