Last month, Christina Pellett is the editor of the Agent's Sales Journal, gave us six tips for serving our readers in a down economy.

In this ASBPE Podcast, Christina expands on her advice and describes why her publication:

• acknowledges the hard times by turning to its readers for practical advice on how best to survive uncertainty and the challenges ahead,

• generates reader participation by including on editorial staffs' emails tag lines soliciting input, and

• opts to connect with its readers via LinkedIn more than it does on Facebook or Twitter.
  

Labels: Economy, podcast

As the economy struggles to right itself after the 18-month Great Recession, readers need business-to-business publications more than ever. But the recession has affected practically every sector, publishing included.

So how, with smaller staffs and anemic page counts, can you continue to deliver relevant content to your audience? Conventional wisdom states that those who work smarter than ever to succeed during the bad times will find themselves far ahead of those who hunker down and wait for salad days to return. Here are a few tips for working smarter and delivering practical coverage for helping readers to do the same.

1. Acknowledge the bad times. Don't hide behind Pollyanna optimism and spin, and don’t ignore what’s going on in the hopes that you’ll lift your readers’ spirits. This isn’t business as usual.

2. Offer hope and encouragement. As the editor of a publication geared toward insurance producers, the news isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. But with everything we do – illustration, photography, story tone – we attempt to imbue a sense of “you can do it.” It’s in nobody’s best interest to be so full of gloom that your readers decide to jump ship and switch to another career field.

3. Feature reader-generated stories and advice. My magazine features a two-person editorial staff and a less-than-amazing freelance budget. Yet our most popular story to date – one that has been in the top five most popular stories on our website every month since it first ran in December 2009 – was one called “52 Prospecting Tips for 52 Weeks.” We asked readers, regular contributors, and other experts for their best tips on finding new clients in a new economy. Often, five minutes spent putting a call out for such submissions – on Twitter, in LinkedIn groups, on your Facebook fan page, on the home page of your magazine and within its pages, via email – can net a feature package that serves your readers better than any 2,000-word staff-written story.

4. Run more content than ever. Your budgets and print magazines are shrinking, so this advice probably sounds crazy. But when you take advantage of the limitless space of your website, your social media presence, your blogs, you have plenty of space to bring readers the insight they need to survive. And when you turn to readers and industry contributors to supply you with this content, budgets shouldn’t be an issue.

5. Diversify your reach. Consider how different readers want to receive your content, and deliver it that way. Despite what you may think, this is actually a great time to experiment with new technologies and delivery media. Many companies and service providers are offering lower rates and free trials to try their technology. Can you experiment with ways to optimize your content for the iPad or mobile devices? Can you look into e-newsletters packaged around specific reader needs? What about digital publication of your online issues to expand your audience without cramping your postage and printing budget? Get creative now so your new strategy is firmly in place when the clouds begin to lift.

6. Talk to readers on their turf. The worst thing you can do is guess at your readers’ needs and blindly throw content at them. Instead, reach out to your readers on a regularly basis. Visit (and participate in) online discussion forums, amp up your social media presence and interact with readers where they already are, comment on blogs, attend professional events – even travel, if you can. Get personal. Find out what their pain points are. Then, you can figure out what they need before they need it – and deliver.

Christina Pellett is the editor of the Agent's Sales Journal, a business-to-business publication for life and health insurance agents. Follow her on Twitter at @cpellett.

Labels: best practices, Economy

Sam Zell is the devil. Sam Zell is a savior.

Those are the two polarized reactions I always get when I broach the subject of the diminutive bedeviled one from Chicagoland to my journo friends. Well actually, truth be told, the consensus is about 99.9% weighted with the former opinion rather than the latter.

I had the fortune – or misfortune many would say – to cover Zell’s media foray in my recent book Money Talks, Bullsh*t Walks, which was published by Penguin USA’s Portfolio imprint in December 2009. Instead of a slam job on Zell, I purposely took a more balanced approach to the biography, recounting his days as a real estate mogul and addressing the successes and failures of his 40-year business career.

Darker Tone. The task was made all the more complex when he put his Tribune Co., one of America’s most respected media organizations (and owner of revered newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times), into Chapter 11 bankruptcy only weeks before my manuscript was due. Suddenly the book took on a different tone.

As with so many business people, Zell thought he knew media. After all, it was just another industry to conquer. And to a certain extent, he’s right, it is a business. But it is also known as the “Fourth Estate” for a reason, and as the proud holder of a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri and someone who has worked all sides of the media landscape over the past 25+ years, I understand the personalities and complexities of this often insular environment.

One of the undeniable facts about the B2B world is that, like Tribune, most of today’s B2B businesses are saddled with debt. Many have also gone through so-called “pre-packaged” bankruptcies and come out with tidier balance sheets, though still debt laden. New and savvier management teams are now in place.

More Work, Less Pay. Cost cutting had been the order of the day, and as ad sales continue to limp along, just as in the world of daily newspapers, reinvesting in media properties is challenged. Raise your hand if you know someone in B2B publishing, or media in general for that matter, who is doing more work for less pay than two years ago. I thought so.

However, one might legitimately argue that Zell could have fared much better in a B2B world. Thanks to B2B’s built-in connection to loyal niche audiences, he probably would have avoided the constant questioning of journalists’ “worth.”

Instead, he javelined himself smack into a brick wall. Newspaper journalists, in particular, were and still are loathe to introspection and perhaps most of all, change, especially when it is driven by billionaire investor types. Zell’s newly installed cast of merry characters – excuse me, managers – at Tribune were colorful to say the least, but they were also viewed as outsiders, people who didn’t “understand” or “get” the media world.

Hate him or hate him, Zell was just named as the 60th richest American by Forbes magazine. So from a wealth standpoint, he’s obviously right more often than he is wrong when it comes to his business acumen. But he also took down one of America’s great media brands, throwing it into bankruptcy after less than a year of ownership.

Hard Lessons. Obviously, judging the economics of the newspaper business is a dicey gambit. At least Zell is right when he believes that media in general have to change the way they do business. No longer can we all afford to think of ourselves as insulated from the realities of simple economics. That has been an especially hard lesson to learn in the recent financial crisis, as we’ve seen so many of our brethren thrust out of work and cherished titles shuttered.

The situation has spawned something else though – a spirit of much needed re-invention. For example, the web has become not only a much more important part of our own lives, but also the lives of our customers. That has built-in B2B advantages written all over it.

Zell believed that print would never die, but it would have to morph and change in lockstep with the viewing habits of its customers or it would indeed go the way of the Dodo.

At least that’s one point where he got it absolutely right.

By Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is publisher of The CPA Technology Advisor, a B2B property serving the nation’s public accountants. He has more than 25 years of experience in communications and marketing, including several stints as editor and publisher for a variety of B2B media. Most recently he ran the custom publishing division at American Airlines.

Labels: Books, Economy

By Nikki Golden

That sound you heard April 16 was the clicking sound of a Domino display being set into motion. The closure of the 23 magazines by Reed Business Information will impact a lot more than the lives of the now 324 talented people now out of work. There will be residual effects that we have not even imagined as of yet.

As cliché as it sounds, there is a symbiotic relationship between B2B publications and the industries they cover. These industries look to B2B pubs to be on top of trends, products, research and most of all, guidance when making decisions that impact their businesses. Isn’t that what most B2B pubs tout in their media kits?

So what’s the message that’s sent when a publisher just up and closes 23 titles and closes down the affiliated trade shows and supplements and takes down the Web sites? Many of these publications were Azbee award-winners, Neal award-winners and finalists. Several of these publications were ASBPE Magazine of the Year award-winners. There is a sense of awe with which the rest of us regard many of these great titles — industry-leading publications in their respective markets.

It is true that the B2B landscape is changing, and we need to change with it, but there’s a dangerous precedent that’s been sent and a very negative message — one that breaks up the relationship between B2B and industries. Partnership opportunities might dry up because companies, associations and the like are reluctant to be stuck holding the ball.

And none of this is taking into account the loss of institutional knowledge that the departure of many of these editors, many of whom have spent lifetimes covering the same industry, leaves behind.

Yesterday news came that a new publishing company was formed to purchase the Supply Chain titles: Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, Supply Chain Management Review and Material Handling Product News. There’s talk that more of these companies might be formed to purchase the intellectual property and restart the titles — and I hope that proves true.

But for the time being, join me in a moment of silence for the 19 titles still RIP:

Labels: Economy, Media Business, State of the Industry

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 Jim Romeo

We have all seen better days.

But could a new way of doing business in the trade press be a latent win-win? Could the bylined feature article, contributed Q-and-A article, or other contributed feature article be an unexploited pathway for advertisers, editors, publishers and freelance writers?

Freelancers are scraping. So are advertisers. And so are many editors. So is there anything that can be done besides sit and brood and hope that this dip in the road doesn't last forever?

Perhaps a new paradigm could emerge: contributed content by the would-be advertiser who hires a freelance writer to write it. Here's how it works. A firm that is tightening its belt just can't afford the same advertising budget until its orders improve and the overall economy improves. But it still wants to market its goods and services. So the firm pitches editors in the trade press, offering to author a feature article about a particular topic which may fit an editorial calendar or trending theme for the publication. The editor bites and says okay, but no sales puffery.

The firm hires the freelance writer at a fraction of the advertising page rate. The freelancer is happy, as even a fraction of the page rate is a decent rate — somewhere in the $1.25-to-$1.50-per-word rate. The writer researches and interviews the firm to create a feature that informs while providing the company a byline in a trade magazine for its industry.

The firm is happy. After all, it got two to three pages of space; even got photos of its business leader or product or service in action. The freelancer is happy, as they got a fatter check than the publication would have paid.

Now is the editor happy? While it's true the publication didn't get the advertising dollars, they did get free content and they didn't have to write it, or do much in the way of art direction for it. Readers get the benefit of the article right from the perspective of the firm that solved a problem, or managed some notable task that readers like to read about.

The above scenario is played out all the time. What I described, I have been a part of many times. It seems like it takes something away from true-blue editorial, but I'm sorry, it works.

Some editors might say "Hey, it's fine, as long as they don't puff it up and make it an advertorial." That can be easily done. A case study, or exposé of the product or service in action, sells itself without much sales puffery. The byline or bio at the end of the article is all that's needed. As for the foregone advertising dollars — well, that firm now has a relationship with the magazine. A new, very lucrative possibility has been created. The soil is well cultivated for the ad sales staff to court that firm for years down the road as a result of that article. The firm that touts the article that they placed and produced, for not that much money, is a good candidate to buy advertising in the future, or buy other media such as a webinar or podcast that can be used to build its brand, which was initially built in that contributed article. This is real value for the publication as well.

And let's not forget the reader. That reader gets to hear a case study. They get to read about somebody else's problems for a change. Everyone loves to read about how someone had this major undertaking and read in 1,500 words, how a firm built a team, and implemented the latest and greatest solution that looked so daunting. The reader gets first-hand information that can drive their own business model.

All of the above is not as clockwork as I may describe, but in tough times, there must be ways to make lemons out of lemonade, and this just may be worth a closer look. Contributed content via the bylined feature article, such as a case study or even a Q and A on a hot topic, adds value — to the firm, the freelancer, the publication, and, of course, the reader.

Jim Romeo is a freelance writer based in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is a mechanical engineer with and MBA and writes about business and technology. His new leaf in 2010 is to network more and start calling himself a technology evangelist because it sounds cool! www.JimRomeo.net, freelancewriting@yahoo.com.

Labels: Economy, Ethics, Freelancing, Jim Romeo, Management, Media Business, Writing

By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President

I'm calling on all ASBPE members as well as potential members for your feedback. At a very productive meeting of the ASBPE national board, we discussed how the economy has impacted everything - including our membership numbers.

And, it made us want to re-evaluate what we offer our members. So, I'm turning the microphone over to you. What services would you like to see ASBPE offer its members? What things are most valuable to you? Is it more webinars? More local chapter meetings? What do you want out of ASBPE membership? Please let us know. You can add your feedback to the comments here.

Labels: ASBPE Chapters, Economy, Tonie Auer

By Katy Tomasulo
President, ASBPE Washington, D.C. Chapter

During the ASBPE National Editorial Conference in July, I hosted a workshop that offered attendees 19 ideas for combating the down economy. These ideas — all of which have been implemented at B2B publications across the country — resulted in some sort of payback, whether through revenue, readership, or recognition, or a combination of the three. Here are six of my favorites:

1. Revenue: Remodeling Capitalizes on Current Events
When the stimulus package was introduced in February, Remodeling magazine editors immediately realized that the implications — and opportunities — for their readers were huge. The staff scrapped their plans, already in progress, for the June 2009 issue and produced a comprehensive guide to the stimulus package that explained to readers what it was and how they could take advantage of it. And not only were readers in need, manufacturers were eager to advertise so that it was their energy-efficient building products that were chosen for stimulus-dollar spending.
Result: The issue generated a 25%-30% bump in revenue for that month. It also spawned additional and future unbudgeted revenue generators in the form of a sister Web site, a Webinar, a virtual conference, and a pavilion at the magazine’s trade show.

2. Revenue and Readership: Hotel World Network Capitalizes on Down Economy
In response to the recession, Hotel World Network, which includes Hotel & Motel Management and Hotel Design magazines, launched an online campaign “100 Days to Fight the Recession,” a daily e-newsletter that gave readers actionable tips and advice on how to survive the tough market. In addition to the email, the content is housed on the Web in free downloadable PDFs that can be easily saved, printed, and shared. The content also is supported by forums that discuss each day’s topics.
Result: The company brought in a large chunk of unbudgeted revenue and received a fantastic response from readers.

3. Recognition: Engineering News Record Puts Itself in Its Readers’ Shoes
To investigate the state of crane safety at a time when accidents have been occurring too often, Engineering News-Record’s Tudor Van Hampton put himself in his readers’ place: He trained for and took a national certification course in crane safety. Only by experiencing the process could Van Hampton truly know what it was like, share the experience with readers, and bring attention to the importance of safety and training.
Result: ENR earned multiple accolades, including a Neal Award and an ASBPE award.

4. Revenue: Michigan Municipal League’s Business Alliance Program
The editor of Michigan Municipal Review created the “Municipal League Business Alliance Program.” Members (suppliers to local government) joined in exchange for benefits that boost their marketing visibility in the state, including discounted advertising rates and exhibit space. Once created, the program requires little effort or expense to administer.
Result: $150,000 in immediate annual revenue; encouraged further advertising and exhibit space purchasing

5. Readership, Revenue: Digital Editions
If you have a limited print circ, digital editions can expand your reach exponentially by being emailed to a larger subscription base not part of the print run. They also can provide a value-add to market to your print advertisers. Digital editions can require little effort on the part of the edit staff (the print product is simply converted by an outside vendor) or they can be updated with audio, video, and other rich media to enhance the experience even further. Utilizing digital editions also is an alternative, as well as less expensive and less risky, option for special supplements outside the regular print schedule.

6. Revenue: Journal of Light Construction Books
The Journal of Light Construction, a trade journal offering hands-on, in-depth coverage of building processes and techniques, capitalized on its trusted content by repackaging 20 years of how-to construction articles into a comprehensive book, “The JLC Field Guide,” and interactive CD-ROM. The book is filled with how-to illustrations, instructions, diagrams, and charts. It was so popular, a second volume was published.
Result: The book cost $300,000 to produce, but generated $750,000 in its first year alone.

Katy Tomasulo is deputy editor for EcoHome magazine, Building Products magazine, and ebuild.com at Hanley Wood Business Media in Washington, D.C.

Labels: ASBPE Conference, Digital, Economy, Katy Tomasulo

By Thomas Temin

If General Motors and Lehman Brothers can bite the dust, why not Gourmet magazine, for so many decades the Bible of chefs and foodies alike? A Wall Street Journal story on Oct. 6 noted that being reviewed in Gourmet could make a chef’s reputation.

Also out the door is Modern Bride, for a while some years ago part of the Cahners stable. The late Cele Lalli was the editor then, and at the editors’ meetings – back when they still had chief editors gatherings in nice resorts or conference centers – she was always a joy to hang out with. Maybe it was the fact she had earlier been editor of Amazing Stories that made Cele so cool and unpretentious.

In those days, Modern Bride might have been chasing Brides – which Conde Nast will continue publishing – but there was advertising enough that they could both have 600-page issues. Those of us in the electronics and engineering magazines would be gaga at the amount of advertising carried in such a seemingly frivolous topic as wedding planning. Cele used to say that readers would continue their subscriptions for six months or a year after getting married.

But even the bosses at Conde Nast must have been dreaming to think that they could publish both Brides and Modern Bride (and Elegant Bride to boot) and sell some differentiating story to advertisers. The acquisition of competitors under a single roof – has there ever been a successful stunt like that where both survive long term? Certainly not in a market where, as in so many markets, ad pages are dropping 25 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent.

Conde, like other publishers, is focusing ever more resources on digital products. In a market like bridal fashion, planning and accessories, the digital possibilities are rich, for sure. Brides.com has all sorts of online toys, such as the fun, if somewhat useless, Create a Cake to full-scale financial and party planning tools for the Big Day. Where else but in a bridal blog might you find out about a new necktie for “hubby” from Thomas Pink that incorporates an i-Pod pocket?

But I suspect this is a market where there will always be at least one dominant print product. Print is still the best way to display the gorgeous wedding gowns and resort destinations, and where a reader can fantasize about her wedding day while lying across the bed instead of sitting at a desk.


Thomas R. Temin is a consultant with 30 years of publishing experience in media and information technology products and services. He is co-host of “The Federal Drive” with Tom Temin and Jane Norris, a weekday morning news and talk program on Federal News Radio AM 1050 in Washington D.C. You can see his weekly column on the op-ed page at www.federalnewsradio.com and contact him at tom.temin@gmail.com.

Labels: Economy, State of the Industry, Thomas R. Temin

By Elena Gontar

Labels: Economy, Elena Gontar

By Elena Gontar

The recession continues and, for some firms, things are not getting better. Most recently, I have been let go from my position as a news writer and editor for one of the leading commercial real estate publications. After 22 years of successful run, the product is rebranding and due to drastic budget cuts, most of the staff had to go.

After eight years with the publication, I was almost positive that the recession was not going to affect me or the product. But it did.

The announcement came in the wake of a bulk of bad news in the industry. And when I think about everything that’s been going on, I fear more difficult times are ahead. While still on staff, I covered daily news, and was amazed to see how many firms went bankrupt or had to close down.

Just a little over two months ago – in April – two major firms in the industry had been forced to say uncle in bankruptcy court. Mall owner and operator General Growth Properties Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in United States Bankruptcy Code. Moreover, nearly 158 regional shopping centers owned by the firm also filed for bankruptcy protection. A few days after the announcement, the firm said that certain additional subsidiaries, including eight regional shopping centers, were also seeking relief under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. And just days after GGP’s bankruptcy announcement, Opus South Corp., one of the divisions of Opus Corp., also filed for Chapter 11.

Is the recent spate of bankruptcies just the tip of the iceberg? As the economy continues its sluggish performance and credit markets remain frozen, will the industry see a rash of bankruptcy filings?

And as the difficult economic times continue, the unemployment rate keeps on the increase. At a time of aggressive store closings, shrinking sales and bankruptcies, it is not easy to stay positive. But I, for one, have no other choice. I always say: Whatever happens is for the best and while one door closes, the other door opens. Right?

In the meantime, during my second week of being unemployed I still can’t help but search the wires for real estate news. It’s a habit that I won’t be able to break for a long time.

So, yes, life can be unfair and at times difficult, but feeling depressed isn’t going to help. My advice to those who are in the same situation as I am at the moment is to stay positive and look on the bright side. Get motivated and something good is bound to happen.

Elena Gontar is a real estate writer in Brooklyn. She can be reached at elenagontar@gmail.com.

Labels: Economy, Elena Gontar, State of the Industry

The headline says it all: “support.com to Laid-Off Journalists: ‘We’ve Got Your Back’ ”

Looks like support.com hopes to get in the good graces of laid off journalists, so when they go back to work, they'll sing their praises.

According to a news release, support.com, a remote technology service company, recognizes the contributions of journalists to the American way of life and is offering unemployed members of the media across the U.S. three free months of remote PC service to ensure they can maintain the tools of their trade as they look for new jobs or set up freelance work.

To take advantage of this offer, unemployed journalists should e-mail a link of a recent clip to journalist@support.com between now and August 31, 2009, to get a code good for three free months of support.com services. The code may be redeemed at www.support.com.

Labels: Career/Employment, Economy

By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President

Our industry is hurting, and I'm not talking about media and journalism alone, but also B2B publishing. Two of my dear friends and former editors were laid off just a few weeks ago right after their freelance budgets were eliminated. So, now the work of four full-time editors/writers along with the contributions of multiple freelancers landed square upon the shoulders of two people. Good luck to ya'll.

I saw a post on Facebook from an ASBPE colleague that he had to lay off three highly competent journalists from his staff, too. A few days later came the post on Facebook from a friend at the Dallas Business Journal. She was now swimming in the jobless pool, too.

So, maybe it was kismet that the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the ASBPE hosted Janet White, author of Secrets of the Hidden Job Market, to talk on the topic of “Anything You Want, You Got It: A Primer on Using the Law of Attraction.”

White believes that every experience in your life stems from your thoughts, so if you believe your opportunities are limited because the economy is crummy or any other reason, you're right, because of the Law of Attraction, you're always right.

"The Law of Attraction is a metaphysical law that turns your thoughts feelings and beliefs into your experiences.Whatever you think about is what you attract. Whatever you give your focus to, good or bad, becomes your truth," White said.

White had a living example at our DFW chapter meeting: Connie Gore, a former writer for GlobeSt.com. She was laid off in November when her employer eliminated positions. Gore admitted she was thinking about wanting a new challenge when the job loss occurred.

"You told the law, 'Get me out of here,' and the law complied," White told Gore. "You were focused on getting out of there and the universe shoved you out."

"What you could have done was focus on what you actually want: security and a steady financial abundance. Instead, now you’re focused on having a challenge and the universe has no problem creating challenges for Connie," White explained.

Just like working in a garden where you till the soil, plant the seed and pull the weeds, it is not a one-time effort, but weeks, months and years of tending that garden for it to grow, she said.

"You can plant consciously: This is what I choose to grow. Or you can plan unconsciously by worrying, doubting and fretting," White said.

With a four-step process, she said anyone can come to understand how powerful their thoughts are and what they can do to change their lives for the better.

The first step is to manifest your dream job. Know what you want and visualize it, she said. Don’t worry about the process of getting it.

"Create that mental vision of you having what you want and play that mental video at least three times a day because you want that image to go from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind," White said. "You are training your mind to accept this as a new reality, which helps you build your belief that you have it."

Building belief is a process that often doesn’t happen overnight, she said. It is like a daily affirmation a la Stuart Smalley. Maybe he had the right idea after all. I had to smile as I thought about "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggonit, people like me!" But, maybe she was on to something.

"Anything you say becomes your reality," White emphasized. "This is so important for you to understand. I live this stuff. I know the power of my word in my life. I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought."

White said she is "advocating changing your thinking. Move out of fear and lack and limitation and into saying yes to what you want. You’re not a victim of what is happening out there. This is the whole point, you are not a victim of conditions. When you really use this law, you will discover that conditions change because you have changed the way you look at conditions."

White's second step is to "be the person who has it." This is where a lot of people stop, she said. Take what you do with what you love and apply it to any field that you want to, she advised.

Been a real estate writer and that industry is drying up? Well, take your passion for something else and combine it with the love for writing, she recommended.

The third step is to do what feels right. "While you’re having so much fun living, thinking and acting as if you have what you desire, if you have embodied it, your intuition will start talking to you big time. It will give you instructions and you should follow those inner nudges. That is your higher self -- your guidance system -- helping navigate for you," she said.

The fourth -- and final -- step is the most difficult of them all, White said. "You must allow what will come to you and get out of your own way. The doubt, the fear, the worry has to move over. Believe that 'Yes I can have it and yes it is possible.' You may not know how it is possible, but that is the job of the universe. The universe knows stuff you will never know. You see with mortal eyes, but the universe sees things you can’t possibly know and see, when you get out of your way and move toward your goal with the right mindset you won’t have to do much at all," she explained.

White has a knack for trusting that everything she needs will come to her. "I wasn't going to make it happen, but I was going to let it happen," White recounted.

So, has it worked for me? I'm not sure yet. But, I do believe in the power of positive thinking. My husband was laid off last year and out of work for seven months. In the meantime, we trusted the Universe (or God, or whom or whatever you want to call that higher power). My faith waivered and my frustration rose, but through it all, I came back to trusting that when one door closes, another opens.

So far, so good. My power of positive thinking is keeping me busy. I've had at least three different publications eliminate their freelance budgets (therefore eliminating their need for me). I've managed to find jobs when others have disappeared, and I'm doing more work for less money overall.

Just like White said -- the hardest part for me is convincing myself that I'm not waiting for the other shoe to drop. No. I'm waiting for another opportunity to arrive.

You can find more information about White and her book at http://www.jobmarketsecrets.com/. To get your copy of Your Layoff and the Law of Attraction, just send an email with "Your Layoff Ebook" in the subject line to jobmarketsecrets@aol.com.

Labels: ASBPE Chapters, Career/Employment, Economy, State of the Industry, Tonie Auer

By Thomas R. Temin

How do you balance the experience of web site visitors with the need to drive revenue?

Judging from visits to a number of B2B sites lately, it seems as if in at least half the cases, revenue is winning out over a clean user experience.

Like, “window shade” ads that drop right down over the story you are trying to access. Or worse, that come up before the home page itself. Sometimes these ads are accompanied by a coy link: “Skip this introductory screen.” Introductory screen? Talk about a euphemism.

Equally maddening are the survey boxes that pop up while you are reading. Especially egregious are those that stay in the middle of the screen even while you try to scroll past them. Sometimes they are advertising-driven, sometimes put there by a bozo in the digital media department is trying to gauge reader interest, nevermind that a good program to mine the log files can give you reams of information about reader habits.

How about animated ads that sometimes seem designed to invoke seizures? One site had a basketball team ad, with a spinning basketball that was so annoying, the publication must have gotten reader complaints, because the ad suddenly started appearing with the animation turned off.

Watched any videos online lately? What was a 15-second standard for ads has crept to 30 seconds in some cases. That will prompt a lot of visitors to say, “Fhuggetaboutit.”

I get steamed by mouse-over, or roll-over, ads that serve up even when you haven’t clicked on them. Sure, there’s a tiny little message on the link area, but that is easily overlooked. And, some sites today are so slow to load, that fidgety visitors who are mousing around, trying to read something before the 110 elements that comprise the page finally loaded, inadvertently mouse-over an ad.

Given the dire straits in which the publishing industry finds itself, it’s no wonder that advertisers have the upper hand. They are clever at devising ways to get their ads served up, and few publishers are in a position to turn down revenue.

So the best that editors can do is make sure, once readers clear the clutter of ads, that sites are as cleanly presented and fast-loading as possible. (Problems created by editors and site designers themselves will be the topic for another day.)

Perhaps there is even a deeper strategy: use of editorial thinking to suggest classier ways advertisers can get their messages across without gumming up the site. Sponsored video sections with good production values, white papers presented in a straightforward fashion and other paid-for content – as long as it is clearly labeled so as not to fool readers – might appeal to advertisers and get them to skip the gimmicks. Everyone would be better off.

Thomas R. Temin is a consultant with 30 years of publishing experience in media and information technology products and services. He is also co-host of “The Federal Drive” with Tom Temin and Jane Norris, a weekday morning news and talk program on Federal News Radio AM 1500 in Washington D.C. You can see his weekly column on the op-ed page at www.federalnewsradio.com/ and contact him at tom.temin@gmail.com.

Labels: Career/Employment, Economy, Management, Media Business, Thomas R. Temin

Fast-changing financial conditions have pushed retirement further into the future for some, and made it impossible for others. Many current retirees have been forced to cut expenses or go back to work – or both. The National Press Foundation is offering a four-day, all-expenses-paid seminar for journalists. The seminar explores the transformed world of retirement investment and the impact of the international financial crisis. We’ll look at the outlook on retirement and how Americans may plan for it in the future, as well as the demographics and basic terminology needed to write about retirement issues.

Business, consumer and lifestyle writers and editors, as well as editorial writers, will take away a wealth of new story ideas, sources and methods.

Topics under consideration:

• What do I do now? New financial strategies in retirement;
• Long-term outlook for entitlement programs;
• Changing lifestyle expectations in retirement; Women’s issues in retirement;
• Writing about financial issues for broadcast; and more.

Journalists will have on-the-record access to experts from the federal government, AARP, the Brookings Institution and other reputable think tanks, and will visit appropriate Washington venues. Interested fellows may attend a reception at Nationals Park during a game with the San Francisco Giants, courtesy of the funder, Prudential Financial, Inc.

Please submit the application form, a cover letter explaining your interest in the program, a brief bio, three clips, and one letter of recommendation from a supervisor. Visit our web site for more information and application form. This program runs May 31-June 3 in Washington, D.C. Apply by Monday, April 6.

The National Press Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that develops issue-based training programs for journalists around the world.

Contact: Maha Masud, Program Assistant at 202-663-7285 or email at programs@nationalpress.org

Labels: Economy, Education

By Robin Sherman

The Wall Street Journal is closing its news research library, it has been reported; another form of cost-cutting.

Now, we have another loss of institutional research capability. Research is now left to the individual reporter using software databases, which cannot think analytically and discern context like a human. Reporters must now learn the collective knowledge of the trained librarians. The semantic web is not really here yet, and editors, librarians, journalists, even readers, still have to tag content properly so it can be found, read, and used.

How many B2B editors and writers have ever had the help of news librarians?

Robin Sherman is a principal at Robin Sherman Editorial and Design Services and associate director and newsletter editor for the ASBPE.

Labels: Economy, Journalism, Robin Sherman

By Thomas R. Temin

It must have been about three years ago that I was having coffee with a former assistant managing editor at the Washington Post. We met just after the first of what would be several waves of layoffs and buyouts at the paper. Her staff had been cut by about 10 percent. She was realistic about the situation, and had told her staff, “Let’s face it. The blanket doesn’t quite cover the bed anymore.”

The blanket doesn’t cover the bed.

That’s become the condition throughout the publishing world — maybe the entire economy — in the last few months. The resources to do what we used to do, they just aren’t there. So now is the time to think realistically, rationally. Not scared and hair-trigger.

My friend’s response was simple but rational: Narrow the focus a bit and concentrate on doing what remained as well as possible. Eliminate some nonessential nice-to-haves, but keep the meat on the bones.

If only that was the strategy of all publishers. To be sure, not many monthly business-to-business, controlled circulation magazines can afford eight or nine full-time editors and writers, plus copy editor, art director and makeup person. It’s not, say, 1989 in the computer industry any more.

The problem is too many publishers are not merely trimming the blanket, they are slashing it down to a Barbie-doll size. They are not thinking rationally. In a growing number of titles, you can see the effects of overstretched editorial staffs. Both print and digital products suffer.

Matching resources to the business you really have makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is cutting so much that the product suffers and then wondering why the market seems to be disappearing. No, that’s the way leveraged roll-up outfits operate, but not committed, passionate publishers. Don’t be like the airlines and declare war on your customers by diminishing your product.

Remember how expensive color was once upon a time when each shade required the art department to cut a Rubylith and entailed stripping and plate charges at the printer? During one recession, I promised a crusty publisher I would slash color — and color costs — right away. He steamed: “Don’t just cut color! You’ll have a dull book!” Better, he told a then-young EIC, spend on color where you’ll get the most impact, trying to reduce overall costs. Do it rationally, in other words.

Here are a few pieces of advice for 2009:

• Be a little ruthless in your appraisal of what you can afford to print and what you need for a good web site. Both can’t be all things to all readers. But print is not dead, and in some highly visual markets it never will be. Approach the print-digital challenge for the constantly shifting balance it is. Talk of “dead tree” editions is irrational. Using print as efficiently as possible in terms of frequency, format and content — that’s rational.
  
  
• Take care of your franchise players. If the staff must be smaller, don’t expect a top-notch publication from a bunch of cheap kids. For a recognized and high-performing chief editor or senior editor, what, in the end, is the real cost of having them leave as opposed to giving them a $5,000 bonus? Remember, we’re still in the journalism business, and expecting great editorial on the cheap is daydreaming. It’s like sales. Nobody ever went broke paying sales commissions.
  
  
• Look for cheap ’n’ easy digital solutions to your need for interactivity and social networking on your site. I know one title that grafted its logo onto a Google group and created a nearly free reader-interaction site. At least it buys time.
  
  
• Don’t be squeamish about third-party content. It’s a long way from judiciously augmenting your staff and freelance work with third-party content, and turning your site into a mindless, RSS-driven link-fest. Again, think rationally.

Thomas R. Temin is a consultant with 30 years of publishing experience in media and information technology products and services. He is also co-host of “The Federal Drive” with Tom Temin and Jane Norris, a weekday morning news and talk program on Federal News Radio AM 1500 in Washington D.C. You can see his weekly column on the op-ed page at www.federalnewsradio.com and contact him at tom.temin@gmail.com.

Labels: Economy, State of the Industry, Thomas R. Temin

By Howard Rauch

Any claims that you deliver top editorial content are groundless if you lack a decent travel budget. Yet many staffs today are “restricted to quarters” in terms of field trips. When I talk to editors around the country, I hear a constant “we can’t go anywhere” litany. This is particularly troublesome in those cases where only a token editor is permitted to attend an industry’s major convention.

Yes, we could blame this situation on the current economy. However, some editorial staffs were always chained to the desk as a matter of cost containment policy.

Maybe I was spoiled when growing up in the B2B business. In my first job as a mere assistant editor, I was instructed to plan several field trips to meet my readers. Later, I landed a spot as managing editor for a small tabloid where the publisher was determined to build a bigger magazine. He wanted me to be everywhere! At one point, I attended regional association meetings across the country almost every week. Ultimately, this face-to-face content helped us to rise from industry upstart to industry leader. Before becoming a consultant, I spent 21 years with another travel-oriented publisher. At one point, I traveled at least 80 days a year.

Is frequent travel glamorous? Hardly! It’s a tough proposition. Will it provide a more authoritative view of real life in your industry? Absolutely! But truth be told, many editors never wanted to travel in the first place. So for them, today’s restrictions are just fine.

There’s another side to this coin, of course. Where editorial travel budget is available, it’s not always used wisely. That’s why you must prove to management that your staff travels productively. In my VP/editorial days, my company used a separate travel expense voucher for editors. The form required them, among other things, to itemize all coverage emanating from any trips and the issues in which it would appear. Every six months, I prepared an editorial travel summary for my management group. It showed such things as travel activity broken down into convention visits versus other fieldwork. We could tell at a glance who our most productive travelers were as opposed to those who were clearly wasting travel bucks.

Finally, I think that every editorial staff member should be visiting the industry every month. That visit could be a swing in your local area. Surely that wouldn’t bust somebody’s budget!

It just seems that we are so focused now on website content that maybe we’ve forgotten how B2B magazines built authoritative images long before the internet. If there is anything you can do to boost your field presence time, do so. Competitively speaking, it’s a smart move!

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: Economy, Howard Rauch, Management

By Tonie Auer
DFW Chapter President/National Blog Chairwoman

Thanksgiving has left most of us anxious for the winter holidays and the fun that goes with the Christmas music, the lights of the menorahs and visiting with family and friends. Work? Well, that is a necessary evil, isn't it?

When it comes to the B2B publishing industry, there is news aplenty.

Here are a few worthwhile articles I rounded up for a quick read while grabbing lunch at your desk, so you can leave early for that holiday party or school event later in the evening.

Medill Reports - written and produced by graduate journalism students at Northwestern University’s Medill school- reported that expanded services are the key to revenue growth for the struggling business-to-business magazine publishing industry, said a group of experts at industry conference in Chicago recently.

Reed Construction Data offers tips for B2B publishers to flourish in the tighter economy.

Rick Edmond at PoynterOnline reported on Paying for the News: Five Seeds for the Future of Journalism.

Labels: Economy, State of the Industry, Tonie Auer

By Katy Tomasulo
Washington, DC Chapter President

In my industry, construction, publishers are facing a double-downturn problem: the one that’s hitting all publications plus the housing market crash that’s taking an added toll.

But that hasn’t stopped some magazines and sponsors from keeping up on innovation and continuing to communicate with customers when seemingly few are doing so. One bright spot in particular comes from my sister publication, Tools of the Trade. The truck pictured below isn’t merely a work vehicle. It’s a gleaming, hulking mobile marketing program that, at least in my opinion, is an indicator that even in a down market our advertisers still understand the value of impactful marketing tools and our readers are still interested in hearing about new products and programs.

Outfitted with all kinds of tools, gear, and high-tech features, the Site Commander Ultimate Work Truck is pretty much designed to make Tools of the Trade’s core audience — professional contractors — dream big. Three versions of the truck are currently touring the country, stopping at home centers and job sites where those pros will get first-hand exposure to the products and services on board. Readers who can’t see it in person can read about the new technologies through extensive coverage in the magazine and on the trucks’ Web site. At the end of the tour, one of the trucks will be given away through a sweepstakes.

While this is not the first year this program has run, it is by far the most ambitious version to date and it is the only one to be launched in such a tumultuous time in the housing market.

What does all this have to do with editors? To me, it’s further proof that we should never stop innovating and that we play a vital role in creating great ideas that sell — even though we do so while still respecting the church-and-state line. The Ultimate Work Truck idea originated with Tools’ editor Rick Schwolsky and a former publisher. This year, that idea is a revenue-generating bright spot that is a win-win-win for the magazine, the sponsors, and the readers. And, as Schwolsky says, “not only do we get to create programs and products tailored exactly by our intimacy with our readers’ needs and interests, but we turn it all into original and exclusive print and Web content with home-field advantage.”

As editors, we’re not doing the selling. But we do know our audience best and that means we’re best suited to come up with those fresh ideas — whether they be work trucks, show homes, magazine supplements, or Webinars — that will make customers — both vendors and readers alike — want to take part. We have to find new ways to partner and create packages of print, Web, and special programs that suit individual needs while still satisfying our ever-ultimate goal: providing value to our audience.

Even during tough times, vendors still have a message to get out. In fact, some say it’s more important than ever since there are fewer customers to be had. Schwolsky compares this year’s Site Commander to the scene in the movie Forrest Gump when Forrest’s shrimp boat is the only one still left working in the aftermath of a hurricane. The bounty was plentiful because it was the only one going to market.

At the risk of being cliché, more than ever now really is the time to think outside that proverbial box.

Labels: Economy, Katy Tomasulo, Media Business, State of the Industry