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

What should be taught about entrepreneurialism

J-Schools that teach entrepreneurialism - how to build your own job - are few and far between. In Masterclass 12 of Multimedia journalism: A Practical Guide, we look at those that do, and what we can learn from them.

City University New York is a pioneer.
At Cuny they set out to tackle the fact that journalists didn’t understand their own business by establishing a course in which students must create a business plan for a sustainable (which they define as profitable) journalistic enterprise. Cuny won grants of $100k to give as seed money to the best of the ideas students come up with, as decided by a jury of experts.
Here’s what students learn:
How to create a plan for a sustainable (profitable) journalism business
That plan includes

• An elevator pitch – how to sell the idea briefly and effectively
• A needs statement – why does the world need this business?
• Market research and analysis – deciding who their customers are, and talking to them about the idea
• Competitive analysis
• Product plan – what is it?
• Revenue plan – how’s it going to make money?
• Distribution/marketing plan – how will people discover it?
• Operations plan – how will it operate? What will that cost?
• Launch plan– what are the phases and milestones?

You'll find out much more about entrepreneurialism, building a job, and creating a portfolio career here