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Resources
Shepherdson's 'Marketing Plan'
Presenter and author Nancy Shepherdson shared "Your Personal Marketing Plan" with attendees at the 2010 conference in Chicago. With her permission, we've made the plan available here as a Word document, so that you can add your own ideas to her points.
WPCI members advise skills, networking
At a professional development meeting brainstorming session, members offered these suggestions for furthering your career, or at least keeping it going when economic times are tough:
- Network with editors, other members, fellow freelance writers and freelance organizations. When a publication slows down or even fails, keep in touch with editors or other people you have worked with as they may end in a position to once again offer you work. Maintain relationships.
- Keep up your skills, especially in technology. NFPW and other workshops urge members to learn about social networking and get involved on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as a way to make your presence known.
- Read blogs, comment on blogs, start your own blog as a way to let people know you are a writer for hire. Sometimes, news organizations cull the blogs for potential sources for stories.
- Create a brand for yourself and promote it through all the networking ideas above. Link everything to your Web site (and make sure you have a Web site). Don't be afraid of "shameless self-promotion."
- Retain ownership of your work. See material as first rights only, then resell it. Protect your brand (see above).
- High school journalism advisers should consider offering advertisers free online ads if they purchase print ads.
- Urge high schools to use an activity fee to support newspapers, much as high schools collect fees for athletics and other activities.
- Pay it forward: Mentor a talented journalist who may be a new members at WPCI or a new colleage at work. Help the person sharpen skills, navigate through difficult stories or projects, and encourage him or her to seek professional memberships such as WPCI.
- Sharpen your own skills:
- Do not write your lead before you do the interview. You will already have skewed the interview the way you think it should go. By and large, no matter how much information you've Googled, something will be said that's even better. Start writing in your head on the way home.
- Temper your adjectives. Even if you're writing lighter fare, don't get carried away. If you're writing news, don't use them at all. They're opinions. If you have 750 words and can't make it, go with 500 - without adjectives, but make every word count. Your editor will thank you.
- Ask questions to be sure you have the right quotes, numbers, whathaveyou. And, if you can't read page-proof, make sure you read the printed copy well to make sure your words haven't been rearranged by an editor/copy editor.
- Want more? Check out Steve Buttry's great advice, "Thoughts on redirecting and rejunvenating a career."
The Web
The Web offers journalists ways to keep in touch with one another, with industry issues and with communications events around the nation. We also can use the Web to find information to support out work and to link to others in our professions. Here are some useful sites. Please e-mail Webmaster to offer your own favorite links to add to this page.
Articles
Professional organizations
- National Federation of Press Women
- Society of Professional Journalists
- Indiana SPJ
- Public Relations Society of America
- Indiana Collegiate Press
- Hoosier State Press Association
- ASNE High School Journalism Web site
- High School Journalism Institute at Indiana University
- American Society of Newspaper Editors
- National Press Photographers Association
Other NFPW affiliates
- Alaska Press Women
- Arizona Press Women
- Arkansas Press Women
- Colorado Press Women
- Delaware Press Association
- Idaho Press Women
- Kansas Professional Communicators
- Nebraska Press Women
- North Dakota Professional Communicators
- Virginia Press Women
Journalism Web sites
- The Poynter Center
- American Journalism Review
- Center for Media and Public Affairs
- Citizen Access Project
- Editor & Publisher
Starting places on the Web
- Inspire, database for Indiana residents
- Here are tips and tools to better use search engines, specifically Google
- Internet Public Library, organized by topic
- Newswise: Search tools for reporters
- Verify information: ways to check if the info you are using is accurate
- Searching blogs: Search engines, advice
Reporting resources
- IRE's Beat Source Guide, a good resource for getting started.
- NewsLab offers Better Beat Reporting, as well as other self-help info for journalists
- The Working Reporter, full-service resource to searches, media, reference
- A Journalist's Guide to the Internet, quick links to all kinds of reference materials
- Power Reporting, "computer assisted journalism."
- Internet News Bureau, search online news archives
- JournalistExpress, quick links to dozens of media organizations
- Reporter's Desktop, search engines, reference links and news links all on one page
- Guide to investigative journalism from the PBS series, America's Investigative Reports
- Reporter.org's links to news sources and to trade or specialty publications
- Web Sites for Journalists
What Web resources do you use?
Contribute to this list by e-mailing your favorite resources to Webmaster@wpcindiana.org.
The fine print:
