Keynote previews

Abe Peck

You’ll be talking about the “brand circle.” Tell us more about this.

Abe Peck: A publication’s products — the print magazine, e-newsletters, webinars, events — may be depicted as different points on a circle, at the center of which is the audience member. In my presentation, I intend to show how all of the media properties flow together.

All too often, they don’t. Example: one publisher I know puts out four newsletters, but makes no mention of the them in its print publication. There is no cross-promotion or Web table of contents. I often see this kind of oversight.

How should B2B editors address this?

Peck: They can no longer afford to think of print, digital, and other content as independent silos. They have to rethink the production cycle with a view to better integrating content. That will require, among other things, greater collaboration among staff editors who are responsible for the different media and securing input from audience members.

What benefits can be expected?

Peck: For one, a jump in audience satisfaction because readers are being better served. For the editor, a more integrated and seamless content creation process will be more efficient. If you can align everything that you do, then you’ll save time, as opposed to always getting swamped and lurching from one task to the next.’

Rebecca Rolfes

What is the opportunity for B2B editors to work in what you call “private-label media”?

Rebecca Rolfes: A recent study from the Custom Content Council shows that more corporations are using journalists as content specialists. Companies want people with specific journalism skills. The positions are split almost evenly between print and digital content. Also, salaries are comparable to what journalists would find at traditional B2B publishers.

How does the work in custom publishing differ from that at a B2B publisher?

Rolfes: At a traditional publication, there is the editorial staff and the reader. In a custom scenario, you have the editorial staff, the reader, and the client. So the message needs to come from the client, not the staff. Some publications, for example, carry the client’s byline and not ours — even though we did all of the work.

There is a greater comfort level in custom publishing with “point-of-view” journalism. The client may have an agenda with respect to a product or politics. You, as the editor, need to be comfortable with that. If you can’t park your own opinions at the door, then you may have a problem.

Also, there is an increasing variety of non-traditional publishers. One example is the rock band Radiohead, a client of ours that recently launched a newspaper. So B2B writers and editors who are looking for work in custom publishing need to expand their idea about where the jobs are.

What skills do B2B editors need in the custom publishing arena?

Rolfes: If we’re talking about producing a custom magazine or newsletter, then they’ll have to present story ideas not to the editor, but to the client: People in suits who often have difficulty recognizing a good article in the concept phase. Working in this space requires diplomacy and good presentation skills — you may have to do a PowerPoint.

Publishers and content agencies like mine differ in workflow requirements. Custom and traditional publishers have similar deadlines and production cycles. But agency work is extremely unpredictable. Many journalists aren’t cut out for it.

But I would add there are many more opportunities in agency work. At my firm, for example, I have full-time staffers who are dedicated to content creation for specific editorial projects. But I also have a strong stable of freelance journalists whom I can call on — when for example, a client suddenly needs three videos produced. That’s the sort of flex [staff size] an agency needs that a publishing company doesn’t.

— Warren S. Hersch