It figures: Just as editorial budgets are contracting, the world of information is exploding. The days when managing editors were merely charged with overseeing a print publication are behind us. To survive (preferably with sanity intact), we must work more efficiently than ever. Here are some tips for generating content—whether for your magazine, blog or website—that will make the most use of your time and budget.
1. Relying on member volunteers and staff. The magazine that I manage—Optics & Photonics News—relies on our member-scientists and staff for about 90 percent of our content, so I am very familiar with this approach. We have an advisory committee of scientists who suggest names of potential authors.
The main drawback is that your members are not professional writers and their copy will often require a fair amount of work. The big plus—it's free. Although editors may fear that their members will cringe at being heavily edited, my experience is just the opposite. Members are often grateful to have an editorial pro help them look good to the world. If you respect what you do, others will too.
The key to making this work: Give detailed writing guidelines and plan article assignments early. Ask members to submit copy at least three months before your cover date. This gives you ample time for back-and-forth revisions.
Also, take the time to praise and thank contributors—as well as to communicate why you made the edits you did. Part of an editor's job is to teach. Sure, this requires an up-front time investment, but the pay-off is huge. Over time, you will grow reliable writers who can give you what you want the first time around.
2. Quickie formats. Use article formats that are both popular with readers and easy for an editor or staff writer to create, including:
· Q & As. This is a popular technique in print magazines and blogs. E-mail a member or industry luminary a list of questions that will interest your readers, and ask him or her to provide answers while staying within your length guidelines. Write a quick title and intro—and voila!
· Roundtables. These are easy to put together, and they go over well with readers. Pose several questions to key leaders in your association on topics that invite various perspectives. For example, I might ask four or five scientists for their views on sustainable energy solutions and the role that optical technology can play in providing them. Each person would e-mail me a paragraph or two, and I would then organize them into a single article or web feature.
· Image-based features. A few years ago, one of our members told me that his late mother had been an accomplished artist who used optical science as the inspiration for many of her paintings. I asked him if he would be willing to allow us to reproduce full-bleed images of her work for our magazine.
We created a gallery-like feature article that required only an introduction and brief explanations of the paintings. This type of content gives readers a breather from more text-heavy articles, and it can be easily repurposed into an online slideshow. Talk to members who may be willing to share their photography, illustrations or artwork in your magazine or on the web.
3. Crowd-sourcing. Crowd-sourcing is the practice of making an open appeal to your readers to perform editorial and design tasks. It is a practice that Association Media & Publishing uses successfully for its Signature magazine. The magazine team invites members who are graphic designers to volunteer to design articles as part of a "Designer Showcase.” The featured designer gets some exposure and a fresh challenge out of the deal, while the Signature team gets some needed help. Everybody wins.
Another effective crowd-sourcing technique: Reader contests. We've had photo contests, caption contests, and a few reader "challenges” in which we asked readers to supply their interpretations of a scientific problem. Forget about saving money. This is simply a great way to engage members.
4. Freelancer writers. For professional writers (and arguably the rest of us), one of the less fortunate aspects of the new Internet world order is a general devaluing of the written word. What this means in practical terms is that many freelancers are earning less than they used to, at least online.
While many print publications have offered freelancers a compensation rate of about $1/word for years, most websites are paying far less for online editorial work. Before you hire writers, make sure you understand what the going rate is for whatever it is you ask them to do.
Some freelancers may be willing to work for slightly less if you agree to lock them into a contract for a set number of articles per year. This is a great option for writers whose work you know and trust—and it gives the writer work they can depend on.
I admit it: Some days I feel overwhelmed by how much more is expected of communicators these days. But, hey, I'm not giving up my lunch hour over it. I'd rather work smarter, not harder.
