266 jane hiebert white presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Blogging For Journals: Worth It?
SSP – May 29, 2008
Jane Hiebert-White Executive PublisherHealth Affairs [email protected]
Weblogs Cumulative: March 2003 - March 2007
Maybe We Should Launch A Blog?
• Dec. 2003: Marketing consultant suggests journal blog– Jump on growth trend– Reach and engage new audiences– Comment on health reform debate as it happens
• 2004: Webmaster researches blogs; finds Google Search loves blogs– Work on convincing Editor– Begin developing
Editorial Board – “What’s A Blog?”
2005: Board has many questions; back to drawing board
--Aren’t blogs “unmannered, uninformative, un-fun, self-indulgent meanderings, somewhat akin to graduate school midterm papers?”
--Will this diminish the journal brand?
--What about peer review?
--Who’ll read it?
--Will the content be substantive enough? Will it add value?
--Does this mean I’ll get more emails in my inbox?
--As an author, do I now need to keep up with blogs, too?
Find A Leadership Champion
April 2006: Champion for Blog renews interest
Summer/Fall 2006: Blog redeveloped
October 5, 2006: Health Affairs Blog
-- Leading Journal Author convinces Editor to try blog, agrees to write
-- Web usability testing includes blog questions-- Plan content, staffing, process-- Address Board concerns-- Work with HighWire on related links (article to blog)-- Customized WordPress programming
Health Affairs Blog Format
The 500-1000 Word Post
Two Parallel Content Streams:
-- “Discussions/commentaries on hot topics where we lack the time, expertise, and perhaps interest for a full 4000-word peer-reviewed article, but where we have something of value to say for our audience.”
-- Invited “Contributing Voices”: from external authors; may express opinion; often leaders in the field
-- Internal “From the Staff” Posts: context-setting; highlight new timely articles or other resources in field; no opinion, more journalistic
Benefits of Journal Blogging
Drive Traffic To Journal Content
Opportunity To Participate In Current Debate
Expand Author Pool; Author Benefits
Reach New Audiences
Referrals to Journal Content -- 1st Q 2008Referrals to Journal Content -- 1st Q 2008
No Referral
Benefits of Journal Blogging
Drive Traffic To Journal Content
-- More traffic to journal articles than from PubMed; top 10 driver
-- Opportunity to link to both new and older articles
--Increase Google Search ranking of journal content
--Overall rise in Web traffic
Benefits of Journal Blogging
Opportunity to Participate in Current Policy Debate
--Commentary on health reform, election, new legislation
--Help strengthen relevance of journal; attractive to potential authors, subscribers, funders
--Attract media attention: Health Affairs Blog cited in Washington Post
Benefits of Journal Blogging
Expands Author Pool, Author Benefits
--Attract high-level authors interested in “op-ed” opportunity, but who may not write full, peer-reviewed article
--Can extend the debate on a journal author’s paper
--Authors can float proposals (before full-fledged paper)
--More opportunities to include new, less senior authors
Benefits of Journal Blogging
Reach New Audiences
--Reaching system stakeholders such as doctors, nurses, consumers, health care industry
--Politically active audience signing up
--Blog feed picked up by universities for student audience
Journal Blogging: The Down Side
Takes Significant Staff Time
Need Continued Journal Leadership Support
Need Strategy To Cover Costs
Need To Market Blog
Hard To Engage Audience
Lessons Learned
Need clear rationale of why blog helps your journal andfits your mission
-- Provocative voices most read on blogs—but does this fit your mission? -- Will your audience read and/or comment on blogs?
-- Is there a need for commentary/discussion between issue cycle?
-- Can blog supplement what you publish in journal?
•Inteviews or “Roundtable discussion” with authors in journal•Invited commentary on new journal articles•Reports from conferences, news items that used to appear in print
Lessons Learned
-- Daily blogging is preferable to maintain traffic
-- Staff with journalistic experience helpful
-- Help academic authors learn to write in blog style
-- Technical staff available?
-- Staff to invite guest posts, edit, post quickly, moderate comments
Staffing needs: Plan to devote about 30% of a writer’s time
More Lessons Learned
Need to promote to attract comments & readers
--Email blasts, RSS feeds, blog aggregators
--Link to blog on all journal press, marketing materials
--Link from journal content pages back to blog
--Participate in blog community (carnivals, comment on other blogs)
--Get community to link to your blog (authors, audience stakeholders)
So, Is Blogging Worth It?
Traffic Up
New Authors
Engaged Audience
Gaining experience with new publishing format
Return on investment
✔
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✔
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