What’s on the iPod: Backyard Skulls by Frightened Rabbit
It’s been a very productive week. I’ve wrapped up two projects and I got the invoices out. Let’s hope some of that shows up before the holidays.
Today and the rest of the week will be full-out marketing. I’d love to have some more work lined up now for either later in the month or January. I have one project coming to me in a week or two, but until it arrives, even though I’m 98-percent certain it will, it’s not a project. You writers who have been at this a while know what I mean –there’s no such thing as a sure thing.
In a conversation with a writer friend, we landed on the subject of the new role of writers, specifically journalists. In fact, the last episode of The Newsroom illustrated in detail the changes that have occurred in journalism. Now, journalists are tweeting, posting, and writing to get the most comments, hits, and traffic.
It’s not better — it’s different. I’d argue it’s worse, but only in terms of the topics being covered (I truly don’t care to know what yet another Kardashian is doing). The line between true news and “info-tainment” has blurred beyond recognition. From a journalistic perspective, I’m old school. News is news and is as unbiased as you can present it. But that’s not what’s selling, and what’s selling matters to those who are selling it.
And we freelance writers have to find our own way to come to terms with that.
The truth is our profession morphed quite a while ago. The minute you opened that Twitter account or signed in to your LinkedIn or Google+ accounts, you’ve become part of the morphing. News and information — sensationalized or not — is now instant and viral.
And there’s no reason why, freelance writer, you can’t capitalize on that. In fact, if you’re good at your job, you’re doing that already and have been for quite a while.
I’m not advocating taking on projects you clearly don’t believe in (no one should do that). I’m advocating learning a few new tools, methods, or styles of writing and adding them to your skill set.
And don’t forget to charge for it. Those skills come with a price tag. That’s where freelance writers can improve earnings and expand the client base.
Here are a few avenues for you to consider:
Learn to tweet. Seriously, it’s one of the most potent tools we have right now. And go beyond tweeting to understanding when, how, what, etc. Find the hash tags that reach the largest audience. Understand timing and how to promote without offending. Build it into your overall marketing and sale efforts. That way, when a client asks you to tweet for them, you’re already on it.
Creating more buzz with your writing. That doesn’t mean you have to go the way of the sensationalist news. You can create a bigger conversation in what you do right now. Create more noticeable headlines. Break up text into bite-sized chunks (an assignment I have right now is to write an article that can be used in a slide-show format). Your audience has changed — they don’t want to read 2,000 words online that feel like 2,000 words. But they’re more inclined to read 400 words at a time in five visually interesting sections.
Tackle the controversial topic. When I wrote about the anti-vaccine movement, I knew it would be controversial, so I took extra care to present it without coming to conclusions or showing bias. Didn’t matter — there were still hundreds of comments. The editors loved it because they were able to stick to their focus area and capture tons of traffic without compromising their journalistic standards. That’s a great way to stick to your own standards while giving editors and clients the traffic they crave.
Look for Top Ten list ideas. You don’t have to present it to your editors as a top ten (or five or four…) but as an idea. List the points you want to make. Suggest the format could be a top list, if they’d like it that way. Lists sell. You can still retain your journalistic integrity by just switching your delivery format.
Learn effective use of keywords. You don’t even have to promise them to your client, but knowing what keywords to pepper (lightly — always lightly) into the content helps drive more traffic to their sites. Forget stuffing the damn article with random words that are just awkward as hell — any idiot can do that. You’re a writer. Show just how creative you can be while keeping your eye on the impact words.
Things I think you shouldn’t resort to:
No exclamation points. I feel so strongly about this that I nearly used one right there. Exclamation points in a journalistic article makes it a fluff piece, in my opinion. Unless you’re writing for a magazine that uses them a lot or a pseudo-publication that’s a cover for an opinion magazine, don’t succumb.
No random keywords in senseless places. It bears repeating. I remember years ago being given assignments that required six instances of this phrase, five instances of that phrase, and four repetitions of these three words — within a 400-word article. How many ways can you say “business insurance policy” without it becoming obvious? One. However, I had to make that work six times. Thank goodness that company went under. You have to give quality, not quantity.
No skimping on the skills. I know one writer who bills herself as a “top writing professional” whose sentences are often unintelligible. If you don’t care for the details, stop calling yourself a professional, I say. Proofread. Slow down. Be considerate of your audience and your clients — deliver content that’s compelling and understandable.
Writers, how did you/do you adapt to the demands of the profession as things changed and continue to change?
I cringe at the term "entertainment journalist," even if it's what some of my editors call me. Why? That's what the "reporters" on showbiz "news" shows call themselves. You know, the talking heads who insinuate themselves into their stories whenever possible, acting like they're buddy-buddy with the celebrities they interview…and then launching their own reality shows, getting paid to tweet about products, and acting as if they're celebrities, too.
It was annoying when I first noticed the trend 15 or so years ago. Now it seems some people take jobs as "reporters" for some of those shows as a stepping stone to fame. Their own fame.
I'm old school. I research things, interview people, and write articles. I keep myself out of the stories. I use the same approach no matter the industry I'm covering. I've never taken a journalism course – I didn't even write for a school paper – but I probably have higher journalistic standards than half of the people calling themselves "entertainment journalists."
Sorry, Paula. I hate the term too, and I'd never refer to you in that way. You're a journalist first.
But you know, it's a really good point. A lot of the problems start and end with how you refer to yourself.
Now I know why I hang out here – kindred souls! 🙂
Chet Huntly had this to say, “Journalists were never intended to be the cheerleaders of a society, the conductors of applause, the sycophants. Tragically, that is their assigned role in authoritarian societies, but not here – not yet.”
The "yet" may be. 😉
Good quote, there, Cathy. Sad, but true.