contentious.com

(NOTE: This is the final part in a series. Parts 1, 2, and 3 are also available online.)

So what’s the bottom line? What makes content good – or not? Although this is a practically infinite topic, it can be broken down.

Here are a few practical and philosophical guidelines that seem to apply pretty much across the board, regardless of the type of online venue or content…

THE AUDIENCE IS THE JUDGE

The biggest key to determining the quality of online content is who says it’s good or bad. Of course, theoretically anyone on the planet could have an opinion on your venue’s content. However, the people whose opinions truly matter are the members of your target audience(s).

If your target readers know your content exists, and if your content “works” for them most of the time, then you did a good job as a publisher. However, if your target readers never heard of your project, or if they think your content sucks (or is mediocre, dull, confusing, or simply unreliable), then you probably failed. There’s not much room in between.

I know this sounds harsh, but hey – the publishing world is a harsh, competitive place! Despite what you may have heard about pompous editors and publishers or prima donna writers, egos have no place in the publishing world – even online. So get used to listening to people, taking criticism and compliments with equanimity, and making tough (even gut-wrenching) decisions about what, how, and when to publish.

Regardless of which readers your online venue targets, I can virtually guarantee that when those people are online they’re demanding and fickle. You must earn their respect and loyalty, and keep earning it. You must give them a clear reason to keep choosing your venue over your myriad competitors.

Bear in mind that this does not mean you should live in perpetual fear of offending people. Some types of readers (such as people who want to read political commentary, art criticism, or even cartoons) actually want to be challenged. In fact, for many people that’s a major part of what they expect from the online experience. And if no one ever complains, you’re probably not doing your job right.

If you believe your venue’s target readers are looking for a challenge, then do your best to take some well-considered risks with your content. However, be prepared to take the inevitable “heat” associated with this strategy.

All of this underscores the importance of figuring out who you want to reach before you publish. If you don’t define your venue’s target audience(s) up front, then you’ll never be able to tell whether you’re succeeding or failing as a publisher. Ultimately, that kind of doubt leads many potentially great online publishers to despair about (or just lose interest in) their projects.

There is one caveat to the “target audience” issue: If the primary goal of your content is pure personal or artistic expression, then the “target audience” concept pretty much goes out the window (at least as a precondition for the work). And that’s fine! There’s plenty of room online for pure expression. However, if pure expression is your true purpose in publishing online, be honest with yourself about that.

YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SATSIFACTION COUNTS

While what your target audience thinks about your online venue counts, it isn’t the only thing that matters. Your own opinion of the content you publish matters a great deal, too.

Are you proud of the work you publish online? Does it really matter to you? Do you feel like it makes some kind of difference? It doesn’t matter whether your writing an article, a novel, or advertising copy for your company’s latest line of can openers – do you really think you’ve done your best with that content, and do you think your target audience will truly understand what you’re trying to communicate?

Those questions may sound silly in some circumstances, but they’re really not – not even for the can-opener ad copy. Remember, when you publish anything on the Web you’re automatically competing for each audience member’s attention against virtually every other Web site out there. So every piece of content should count.

Part of the “satisfaction issue” is whether the work you publish online meets your own personal or professional standards. This includes editorial quality, informational quality, liveliness, timeliness, exclusivity, or any other factor that matters to you.

In another sense, your primary satisfaction as a publisher could derive from furthering some greater goal. For some, this could mean increasing fostering a sense of community among a particular group of people (people with handicaps, new parents, origami enthusiasts, etc.). Or it could mean giving a clear voice to a particular viewpoint, or raising awareness of a particular issue. Or it could simply mean helping people navigate effectively through the minutiae of their lives. Or even just making people laugh.

YOUR MOTIVATING PASSION

When publishing online, it’s important to never forget the genesis of your venture. What made you want to start publishing online in the first place?

This is an emotional issue as well as a rational one. In fact, sites that are propelled by some kind of initial passion (even if it is simply “to provide the very best agricultural news for Nebraska, because the farmers of Nebraska deserve it, dammit!”) tend to yield the most effective and compelling content.

Of course, some online venues take this passion too far, and their content deteriorates into rants or diatribes…or simply far more detail than anyone would ever care to explore. If your target audience supports that, fine (as fans of Rush Limbaugh or Jim Hightower, or even conspiracy-theory buffs, can attest). But if not, then strive to remain aware of your motivating passion without becoming totally consumed by it.

For some publishers (especially corporate or e-commerce sites) making money is a motivating passion. However, by and large the very best online content results when making money is not the primary motivation for publishing.

Look at it this way: While your ability to make yourself rich might be your driving passion, it’s almost certainly not your target audience’s passion! Visitors will be drawn to your online venue only if they share your passion on some level and respect your efforts. If they sense that you’re simply trying to manipulate them, they’ll abandon you with a single click – even if you’re selling the best product in the world.

(The corollary to that is if you’re presenting e-commerce-related content in terms of how much money you can save your readers. Now, that will probably get their attention!)

When pondering the goals and motivations of your online venue, don’t spend all your time looking backward. Your motivations for publishing surely will evolve, as will your definition of your target audience. Online media is fluid and diverse – far more so than any other media.

Therefore, while it’s important to never forget why you started publishing online, it’s equally important to keep asking yourself, “Why am I publishing online TODAY?”

CHOOSE YOUR WRITERS WELL, AND TREAT THEM WELL

NOTE: Without content creators, you can’t have content. Most of the time, the content creators with whom online publishers deal are writers. Therefore, this section primarily addresses working with writers. However, the points given here could apply equally to photographers, illustrators, e-learning professionals, and other content creators.

Online media (particularly the Web and e-mail) lends itself well to self-publishing. In fact, for many venues the publisher is the main writer. Startup costs and skill requirements are low, which by and large is a strength of this media.

However, the tradeoff is that revenue streams for most online venues are murky or nonexistent. The vast majority can’t afford to pay writers – or at least, not pay them what they’re worth.

Nevertheless, it’s important not to rationalize this situation by devaluing writing (and writers). Writing is a demanding skill that has significant value. Without great writers, you can’t have great content. Therefore, smart publishers who work with staff, freelance, or volunteer writers always treat them fairly.

What does this mean in practical terms?

First of all, online publishers ideally should select writers carefully, even when relying on volunteers. That can be a tough thing to do, “beggars can’t be choosers” and all that. However, it’s crucial.

Your publication’s audience, mission, and standards always must come first. Therefore, if an eager volunteer writer submits an article that’s not appropriate or that simply cannot be salvaged through heavy editing, the right thing to do is to politely but firmly decline to publish it.

Then again, you should always try to make the best with what’s available. If you offer writers no pay or paltry pay, then accept that you won’t be able to attract the best writers. In this case, it helps to be willing to provide substantial editing and coaching, to help your writers develop. Or allow a flexibility of format that helps leverage the strengths of individual writers.

Also, realize that when you’re not spending money to acquire high-quality writing, you should expect to devote commensurate resources to getting the writing you do acquire into publishable form. Often it ends up being cheaper simply to pay for good writing in the first place.

If you’re trying to attract good writers to work for your venue, avoid touting the “exposure” your venue provides. Most writers are amused by such claims, and some even become downright insulted at this ploy. Frankly, only novice writers can be lured by vague promises of “exposure” – and even many novices know better than that! Professional or experienced writers know the value of their work, and they expect publishers to acknowledge that value and compensate them for it fairly.

Work closely with your writers, especially during the content development process. This up-front work is the best way to ensure that the final work will be on time and of publishable quality. (Or, conversely, you’ll discover early if the assignment is so problematic that it should be abandoned or postponed.) Make assignments carefully, be clear about your expectations, and evaluate progress periodically – especially when working with a writer for the first time.

If possible, prepare a “writer’s guidelines” document to explain your venue’s content requirements and preferences for documentation, style, tone, topics, etc.

Understand copyright law, and recognize that this issue is crucial to professional writers. Think carefully about what rights your publication really needs to acquire. It’s simply bad business to try to grab more rights than you need. This tactic has caused several venues to lose their best writers.

Also, if you need more than first-publication rights, realize that those rights have additional value and you probably will be asked to pay extra for them. The bottom line with copyright is, you’re never buying the work itself – you’re buying the right to use that work in certain ways. (Unless you’re dealing with staff writers, or unless it’s a work-for-hire contract. You’ll have trouble hiring the best writers on work-for-hire terms, unless the pay is very attractive and secondary markets for the work are minimal.)

Finally, always use a contract or some basic letter of agreement (if only by e-mail) that clarifies the understanding on copyright issues for each work, even for volunteer work. (Yes, volunteers own copyrights, too!) This is for your venue’s protection as well as to satisfy your writers.

SERIES CONCLUSION

So…is that it? Have I addressed every aspect of how to think like a publisher? Of course not!

Is everything I’ve written in these four columns appropriate for every single online publishing situation? No way!

This is an emerging medium, and all online publishers have to figure out their own rules. I only hope that I’ve provided some useful points to ponder.

Whatever you publish, I hope you’re doing it the very best way you know how. Ultimately, that approach to publishing benefits everyone.