Journalist, search engine optimise thyself
Successful journalists not only know where to find the great stories – but how to make great stories find them. They know lots of people, and know the right people; they hang out in the right places, and they make themselves available.
On the internet you’d call it search engine optimisation (SEO), but while many news organisations now focus on optimising stories for search engines, most journalists fail to realise they should also be search engine optimising themselves.
A search engine optimised journalist is findable, connected, and visible. Your sources and potential sources are moving online – and what’s the first thing they do when they want to connect with someone about a particular issue they feel is becoming important? Google it. Or failing that, they go to their social networks.
If you don’t have a strong presence on either, you’re missing out.
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
George Hopkin
I always recommend journalists take a look to see if the domain http://www.namesurname.com or http://www.namesurname.co.uk is available, and if so, get hold of it.
For less than $10 a year you can then be in control of your own brand.
Dec 2nd, 2008
Craig McGill
An excellent point Paul but one that I fear many journalists won’t take to heart because many seem to go out of their way to avoid being detectabe or found.
Dec 3rd, 2008
raphnexx pacquiao boxer
I am optimizing my own works too.I used to write in campus publication ,now .I like people reading my article in the internet.
May 8th, 2009
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