Here’s a demonstration of the power of how.
I use Timely to publish some of my tweets, and the performance data Timely gives you is a useful insight into which tweets have worked – in terms of getting clicks and retweets – and which have not.
Looking through that data I discovered a theme – that tweets with a How in them tended to do better than those without.For example, a plain-statement tweet got no clicks, but "How to work for Empire Magazine" got 19:
Of the following three tweets, "Secrets of the journalist-entrepreneurs: How they built their own jobs" got 18 clicks and three retweets that took my reach from 676 up to 3,349; "Adam Westbrook on how to build your own job in journalism" (from an interview with Adam, who is always a popular name to put in a tweet) got 27 clicks, three retweets and a reach of 3,349.
The dud was: "Journo or jobsworth? Why not build your own job in journalism?" With no clicks:
By contrast, "How to thrive as a freelance" got 28 clicks and I retweet. But “Your first job in broadcasting – advice from industry experts" got zilch:
The free version of Timely I’m using doesn’t give me the location of those who click on and retweet my posts, but I’m guessing the 64 who clicked, nine of those who retweeted “How group curation works on Wikipedia” at 5.46am UK time were actually overseas:
The other thing the successful tweets have in common is, I guess, a promise of value. I think the anomaly of my most successful tweet that doesn’t have a How in it – “Scoop.it – a great tool for journalists who want to curate a topic long-term” - with 79 clicks, six retweets and a reach of 3,927 - is down to that:
So now I’ll promote this blog post with a series of tweets via Timely, using How in some but not others, and if the results are illuminating I’ll update this post accordingly.
Showing posts with label David Howell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Howell. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Friday, 24 September 2010
Stealth writing: A secret source of income for freelances
Stealth writing is a phrase David Howell has invented to cover all the lucrative freelance writing that is not credited.
In the clip he gives the example of Business Link, a site which has thousands of pages of content, with not a byline to be seen. He writes that content.
He says: “It’s me but no one knows it’s me, and there is tons of stuff that sits under the high profile stuff. If you can find that work there’s a ton of it.
To get it, pick some markets, call and ask where they source their information from. It’s often a third party content provider, and if so you need to find out which, and approach them.
Apply the same skills that you would to getting a story to building your business: research, knock on doors: “People ask me what’s the most important skill doing this, it’s research frankly.
“The other key skill is you need to develop a selling gene, that idea that you aren’t selling something if you’re a journalist is rubbish, because you are.
More from David here http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/704
In the clip he gives the example of Business Link, a site which has thousands of pages of content, with not a byline to be seen. He writes that content.
He says: “It’s me but no one knows it’s me, and there is tons of stuff that sits under the high profile stuff. If you can find that work there’s a ton of it.
To get it, pick some markets, call and ask where they source their information from. It’s often a third party content provider, and if so you need to find out which, and approach them.
Apply the same skills that you would to getting a story to building your business: research, knock on doors: “People ask me what’s the most important skill doing this, it’s research frankly.
“The other key skill is you need to develop a selling gene, that idea that you aren’t selling something if you’re a journalist is rubbish, because you are.
More from David here http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/704
Friday, 16 July 2010
Niche publishing is the future
Whether you are approaching things as a writer or as a publisher, you need to spot a niche and exploit it.
Specialise as a writer and your income rockets, because those you write for know you are an expert in your field.
Hit the right untapped niche as a publisher and you get the same effect.
In the clip, David Howell advises that, if you are starting out, pick a specialism. It may take you a couple of years to build a market and get the connections you need, but it will be worth it.
Contract publishers are the only guys making any money, he says. Those publishers who are paid to produce everything from Sainsbury’s mag through to a specialist newsletter on fibre optics are where the growth is.
They have a bigger freelance budgets, so go for that market.
David says: “If you have a specialist knowledge there is a market for it, there is a magazine or a newsletter out there – it's just finding it.”
See the rest of David howell's Masterclass in Magazine Publishing at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk
Specialise as a writer and your income rockets, because those you write for know you are an expert in your field.
Hit the right untapped niche as a publisher and you get the same effect.
In the clip, David Howell advises that, if you are starting out, pick a specialism. It may take you a couple of years to build a market and get the connections you need, but it will be worth it.
Contract publishers are the only guys making any money, he says. Those publishers who are paid to produce everything from Sainsbury’s mag through to a specialist newsletter on fibre optics are where the growth is.
They have a bigger freelance budgets, so go for that market.
David says: “If you have a specialist knowledge there is a market for it, there is a magazine or a newsletter out there – it's just finding it.”
See the rest of David howell's Masterclass in Magazine Publishing at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Publish your own magazine: how to get the help you will need
However entrepreneurial you are, you can't do everything well yourself. In creating a successful magazine, you'll need to bring in experts to cover the areas you don't shine in.
In the clip, David Howell talks of how, for him, the areas he needed to bring others in on were layout and design, and advertising and promotion.
He says: “I particularly needed help with advertising, and there are plenty of freelance advertising execs around who you can hire.”
You can find the rest of David's masterclass on magazine publishing here: http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/749/edit and the full Entreprensurialism masterclass, Build Your Own Job, at http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/698
In the clip, David Howell talks of how, for him, the areas he needed to bring others in on were layout and design, and advertising and promotion.
He says: “I particularly needed help with advertising, and there are plenty of freelance advertising execs around who you can hire.”
You can find the rest of David's masterclass on magazine publishing here: http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/749/edit and the full Entreprensurialism masterclass, Build Your Own Job, at http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/698
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
The key to successful freelancing: broaden your horizons
David Howell believes many freelance journalists are focused too much on a narrow part of their potential market. You need to broaden your horizons, avoid being blinkered.
In the clip he says: “Writing for newspapers, specialist magazines, websites is actually a tiny percentage of who you could be writing for,” and he reveals where that wider market can be found.
And what about all the publications you could produce? Too few journalists ever consider becoming publishers. David looked at what he had an interest in, a passion for, and the right skills for, and set about creating publications that played to to these strengths.
He says publishing has never been easier, with ink on paper no longer being an essential requirement for many titles.
His experience echoes what Adam Westbrook advocates in the opening overview of Masterclass 12 at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk
Find David's full Masterclass on Magazine Publishing here: http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/749
In the clip he says: “Writing for newspapers, specialist magazines, websites is actually a tiny percentage of who you could be writing for,” and he reveals where that wider market can be found.
And what about all the publications you could produce? Too few journalists ever consider becoming publishers. David looked at what he had an interest in, a passion for, and the right skills for, and set about creating publications that played to to these strengths.
He says publishing has never been easier, with ink on paper no longer being an essential requirement for many titles.
His experience echoes what Adam Westbrook advocates in the opening overview of Masterclass 12 at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk
Find David's full Masterclass on Magazine Publishing here: http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/749
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
How to get your magazine pitch right
In order to sell your idea for a magazine to a publisher, distributor, wholesaler or retailer, you need to have a great idea, developed into a convincing pitch, and supported with a dummy or other concrete demonstration of what the magazine will look and feel like.
In the clip, David Howell explains that the pitch is essential, so any potential partner knows what they are going to get if they work with you.
Back your idea up; demonstrate a gap in the market and have the research to prove that it exists.
Look at the sections of Masterclass 12 at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk on creating a business for much more on this topic. You'll also find David Howell's full Magazine Publishing Masterclass at http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/749
In the clip, David Howell explains that the pitch is essential, so any potential partner knows what they are going to get if they work with you.
Back your idea up; demonstrate a gap in the market and have the research to prove that it exists.
Look at the sections of Masterclass 12 at www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk on creating a business for much more on this topic. You'll also find David Howell's full Magazine Publishing Masterclass at http://www.multimedia-journalism.co.uk/node/749
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