Share This With A Journalist…
November 18, 2008
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In I previously wrote an in-depth piece on entrepreneurial journalism and writers as brands. In it, I noted that in fact there has never been a better time to be a passionate writer, and I stick with that statement. A quick excerpt from that post:
The web enables anyone to create their own, personal brand of media and share their ideas with thousands or even millions. When you develop content for a publication that is all your own, you:
- Retain 100% of the rights to your work
- Maintain editorial control and total freedom to write on whatever you please
- Retain 100% of the advertising revenue brought in by your work
- Are working to build your own brand and web property
- Are creating something that works for you and makes revenue while you sleep
- Are free to work on your own timetable
- Are free to work from wherever you want, whenever you want
- Can create a group of people loyal to you who will work to promote your content (similar to what Kevin Kelly suggest with 1,000 True Fans, but for writers)
- Begin to build your own network and carve out influence in your writing niche
So it was exciting to see today to that professional blogging platform TypePad, owned by Six Apart, has created “The TypePad Journalist Bailout Program” as an easy path for journalists to step into the world of digital publishing with the ability to monetize their work already built-in.
The timing couldn’t be better, and there is no reason why every journalist interested in new media can’t get involved, even if they also work full-time for another organization.
What Six Apart is offering Journalists:
- A free TypePad Pro blog account.
- Enrollment in the Six Apart Media advertising program (and you, the writer, get to keep the revenue your site generates).
- They will promote your new site on Blogs.com. (a popular blog directory).
How journalists can get involved
Just send the link to your last piece for a newspaper, magazine or broadcast journalism venue to bailout@sixapart.com, and Six Apart will take care of the rest. See more details on the TypePad blog – and they clearly say this will be a limited time offer, so email them ASAP.
In their words:
While we’re obviously having a bit of fun with the “bailout” name, this program is something we’re serious about. The dollar value for you for the TypePad subscription alone works out to over $150 a year, but we know that for a lot of working journalists, one of the biggest obstacles towards independence can be just trying to figure out where to start. Now you’ve got an answer.
Great to see an on-the-edge communications platform reaching out and doing something special for journalists, especially at a time when the future feels uncertain. If you know a writer that has been laid off (or even one that hasn’t) please consider forwarding this offer to them.
While I am a WordPress user (and it is my personal favorite platform), TypePad also is a fantastic platform that many incredibly talented professionals use.
If this specific opportunity has ended…there are plenty of other great options
If TypePad stops their offer before you’ve had a chance to sign up, don’t fret – this is still a huge opportunity for all writers, as I have stated previously.
WordPress is free, buying a domain and hosting is dirt cheap, and you don’t need any special programming knowledge to setup AdSense when you are ready to monetize . There couldn’t be a better time to build your personal publishing platform if you haven’t already.
Related posts from The Future Buzz
Career Security Not Job Security (Part 2)
The Social Web: The Ultimate Scratchpad For Passionate Communications Professionals
Related posts from around the web
12 Useful Online Tools For Journalists (10000words.net)
Transforming Your Blog Into Really Big Business (SkellieWag)
The End Of Tangible Media Is Clearly In Sight (Micro Persuasion)
Ken Kadet replied | Nov 19, 2008 (14 comments)
Thanks for posting this … interesting stuff for anyone wondering how professional journalism will survive. I’d have trouble believing that meat-and-potatoes journalists will be able to support themselves this way, but it’s something…
Adam Singer replied | Nov 19, 2008 (563 comments)
@Ken Kadet – maybe not fully support, but get their feet wet – sure. I know publishers without much traffic that get an extra $250 a month in AdSense revenue (and that scales as you build an audience).
Perhaps more importantly though is to learn the web and the power of personal publishing while building connections.
I think just the first step of getting involved can make all the difference so I was excited to see TypePad making this easy.
Angela Connor replied | Nov 19, 2008 (10 comments)
This is nothing short of brilliant. I’ve been brainstorming about a role in helping journalists, particularly those who have been laid off. Several ideas have emerged but none have been put into practice. I am going to blog about it on Technolo-J. This is something worth sharing.
Adam Singer replied | Nov 19, 2008 (563 comments)
@Angela – agreed this is a brilliant offering by Six Apart – it is really a win-win situation. Def worth sharing…more journalists in the blogosphere is good for everyone.
Joseph replied | Nov 21, 2008 (1 comment)
I just started reading your blog, but you got some great material here. I really agree with your views on the web and its ability to help with personal branding.
Look forward to reading more!