OWAA Session — Sponsored Blogs and Innovative Web Opportunities

The following notes were taken from a craft improvement session of the Outdoor Writers Assn of America (annual conference) on the topic of Sponsored Blogs and Innovative Web Opportunities — presented by Kim Kavin, past president of Boating Writers International (www.bwi.org).

www.boatermouth.com and www.charterwave.com are her two websites.
If you learn just a little about producing websites you look like a genius to many people.
CharterWave became the world’s largest repository of yacht charter content articles.
Sponsored blogs are listed on her website (either hosted on her website or the sponsor’s own site).
Kim also offers her services as a ghost blogger (writing a blog for someone else).
Be smart with URLs (everyone should try to own your own name)
www.google.com/trends
www.google.com/insights/search
Use these two sites to help determine your URL names.
Learn some tech basics
Follow these Twitter geeks: @LanceUlanoff, @pkafka, @mashable, @NiemanLab
Biggest mistake she made…not thinking big enough. Be fearless.

Becoming An Outdoors Communicator (Part Two) — OWAA Conference

Continued from part one…

Bill Powell (OWAA legal counsel)

(Practices law in Columbus, MO.)
(Freelance writer)
Choice of a business entity. Be yourself. Be professional and accurate.
Copyright — the right to profit from any creative work.
Generally the person who creates the work is the owner of the right to copy that work and benefit financially.
If the person who creates something is an employee, then the employer likely owns the copyright to the work. (Work for hire doctrine)
There must be a prior, written agreement if this is not the case.
Independent contractors are not employees, but do work similar to an employee with some restrictions.
As an IC, the presumption is the IC is the owner. A free-lancer is an IC.
If a free-lancer signs a contract (work for hire) then they likely give up their copyright ownership.
Registration of copyright is always encouraged.
If you do one job and then do freelance work on the side — be able to prove you keep all things separate.
After March 1, 1989…it is no longer necessary to include the copyright notice. But do so anyway.
Defamation and slander is two legal areas of trouble for the communicator. Make sure what you say is clearly identified as opinion if you this could be a problem.
Privacy — the law does protect the privacy of certain information. Know the rules.
The presenter keeps referencing a book he wrote entitled: “Legal Handbook For Freelancers” by Bill Powell.
Anything you send out electronic is not private.
Contracts. The law does not always require a written agreement to be an enforceable contract.
Be wary of language speaking of “all rights” or “works for hire.”
If asked to sign a contract, don’t be afraid to modify that contract before agreeing to it.

Michael Furtman (talking on book publishing)

1980s were the heyday of outdoor book publishing.
In about the year 2000, this changed. First to go were the large coffee table books. If people wanted to learn about a subject they turned to these sort of books…then the Internet made things much more available.
Book companies began being run by bean counters instead of editors. Publishing companies became a very traded commodity.
Coffee table books are expensive and risky to produce.
Guide books tend to sell better. People will pay for information to read about where they plan to vacation or travel to.
Book sales are still good for the presenter, but he points out there is a downward trend.
Guidebooks are cheap to produce…usually just a few bucks.
People are reading and writing more than ever…just that much of it is being done on the computer.
Books can still make money. You need to be aggressive in your marketing to publishers.
Plus, publishers need to be aggressive in marketing your finished work.
Publishers will sometimes pay you an “advance” against future royalties.
Work for hire projects are a one-time sale of your work (no future royalties)
Self-publishing. Can be very lucrative, but can also be highly risky.
Pick titles for your books that will stay on the shelves for decades.
Right now the market is in flux…so much dependent on the Internet.
Figure out how you as a book writer can tap into the opportunities.

Jody Stemler (communications consultant)

Be a generalist…but have the expertise by doing your homework when necessary.
It’s not always what you know, but often it’s who you know. Call on the right people.
The beauty of being a consultant or writer, you can choose to live anywhere.
Certain states require a business license if you work out of your house.
Taxes—pay those estimated taxes.
Retirement and benefits is all on your own.
Working from home is great…but you have to be a self-starter to succeed.
Build relationships to gain clients. Let people know what you are doing.
Fill a niche. Offer something that other people need.
As a consultant, know the objectives of your clients.
You have to be detail oriented knowing what you want to accomplish.
Meet your deadlines. Establish a project outline.
Be available, but know that there are times when you are not at work (especially when working from home).
As a consultant, if you do a good job people are going to hear about it. If you do a bad job, even MORE people are going to hear about it.
If you do a good job the work will flow.

Chris Hunt (Trout Unlimited, non-profit communicating)

www.eatmorebrooktrout.com (presenter’s personal website)
Earned media — getting the word out without spending lots of money.
TU is reaching out to the blogosphere more than they are to print these days.
Non-profit outreach is rewarding because you can see it working.
It can be challenging to get on the radar to share your goals to the media.
The press generally looks to non-profits as “the good guys.”
The key is to identify the people who can be most helpful to you.
Learn how to “use” the media, in a good way.
Control your message and be consistent. The message needs to correlate with the work the group is doing.
Be a real person…the media looks for that credibility.
Take the media outdoors and show them what you are trying to do.

Steve Lightfoot (state agency communicating)

Works for the Texas Game, Fish and Parks.
Considers his work a liaison with the general public.
Working for an agency is not a bad thing…most still have money.
The traditional communicators are the Public Information officer.
Many state agencies have their own magazines or publications. Many will accept freelance work.
Free-lancers can create a niche (such as radio programming) for a department.
Agencies are now looking to social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.)
When state agencies have cutbacks, this is usually to their full-time staff. These cuts create opportunities for free-lancers.
Approach the agency with the concept of providing contract work. It can be lucrative.
Remember, government has fiscal years. Sometimes at the end of the year there is money that needs to be used. Be there for them to spend it on you.
Build relationships with the people who make decisions.
Be willing to do something different. This will get you noticed quicker.
Government work can get dull…too many forms, procedures, etc. You also have to rely on politicians at times.
Have to be able to think quick on your feet…be flexible.

Robin Giner (OWAA Executive Director)

1927 OWAA was born.
This is the 83^rd annual writer conference.
About 1,000 individual members with about 300 supporting (corporate) members.

Becoming An Outdoors Communicator (Part One) — OWAA Conference

The following blog post is notes taken from an Outdoor Writers Association of America conference geared toward beginning outdoor communicators. The content is provided from the perspective of a number of outdoor speakers (as credited below). If you want to become an outdoor communicator, hopefully some of these tips will help you.

Mark Freeman (Medford Mailtribune, newspaper columnist)

Newspapers are becoming very multi-media (adding video content, etc.)
Full-time newspaper writers are going away replaced largely by free-lancers. This creates opportunity for newcomers.
At your local paper, find out who the people are. Ask them how they might need assistance (hunting/fishing reports, etc.)
Consider writing little filler stories…newspapers love them.
Get good at the fillers, and soon you might be doing full feature stories.
The goal is to get your foot in the door. Look for the non-conventional ways.
Be prepared, not all of these gigs are very lucrative.
You need a positive attitude and perseverance to succeed.
Get your name out there as a writer and things will happen.

Jack Bauer (photographer)

Millions of images purchased annually for books, magazines, calendars, greeting cards, organization publications and even the fine art markets.
Lots of room for new people to break in.
Develop an attitude as a professional. This breaks you apart from those who carry around point and shoot cameras.
Be brutally critical of your own work. Don’t shoot for average. Remember, you’re only as good as your worst image.
Composition, lighting and subject matter are important.
Get a professional already in the field to critique your work.
Approaching buyers — query/letter for article photos. Try to create a need for your photos.
Most magazine editors will submit a photo want list — get a hold of that list. You might have to submit a portfolio first to prove to that editor you are worthy of getting the chance.
Photos with a strong regional or local theme tend to sell better.
Other opportunities include making personal contact with buyers, having a web presence, being in professional publications, and simply “finding the source.”
In terms of making an editorial submission — mail a CD, Email to the editor, upload the file to an ftp site.
Initial contributions should be low-res images that open easy.
What is a publication quality image? It needs to be 11” x 14” at 300 dpi for a two page spread.
Don’t over process photos before you submit them. Most photo purchasers want to do their own processing — color processing, etc.
Don’t send too many images.
Make sure you only send images that match the request.
Photo editors are extremely busy people — don’t waste their time with things they don’t want to see.
Expect to be paid upon publication of the photo…not when the photo is accepted.
Being a photographer today requires computer skills for editing and submitting.
A photographer must be organized cataloging the images, as well as tracking the submissions.
You have to market your work. Even good photographs will not sell themselves.
Some photographers are specialists — becoming known for a specific subject matter (fly-fishing) or technique (macro photographer).
Most photographers, however, are generalists in their work.
Marketable images — scenics, wildlife, people, geography/landmarks, macro-flora, etc.
Know the market, study the publications.
Capture both traditional and unique perspectives.
Shoot with an eye to the future. Anticipate seasonal needs/requests. Most publications will think about a year ahead.
Attitudes matter — be patient, persistent, proud and optimistic.

Risa Weinreb-Wyatt (travel writer)

According to USA Today, travel writing is one of the top 3 dream jobs to be found.
What are the outlets for travel writing? Broadcast (radio and TV), newspapers, magazines, guide books, foreign markets, blogs, iPhone apps.
Types of travel writing: Travel trade, business travel, Consumers.
So, how do you break in? Remember, your backyard can be someone else’s dream vacation.
Pitch the story to editors in distant locations.
If you do travel, you can pitch a story to your local outlets.
Get experience — you might even have to start out by offering your work for little or no money.
Try to become an expert. It’s better to be an economist who writes rather than a writer who talks about economics.
Join OWAA and other organizations for networking.
Tell the people what they need to know. Where to go, where to stay, what to expect, etc.
Read others’ stories and determine what you like/dislike.
Go to the website www.mediabistro.com for assistance.
Find new markets. Go to Barnes and Nobles to see what people are writing. What are their demographics.
Look at the advertising that publications are running. For example, publications running lots of ads for a certain destination will likely run stories for these places, too.
Where can you break in? That is the goal.
Keep in mind, it is very competitive in this field.
Media outlets are in crisis which creates fewer opportunities for the writer.
Travel writing is very professionally rewarding. The presenter explains how she even had an opportunity to eat bat on one experience.

Tim Holschlag (angling book author, free-lancer)

You need to know the publication to get it right. Read the publication so you know what you are doing.
Follow the writer guidelines…they have them for a purpose.
Find out who the person is to contact. Personalize it…don’t just send something to “the editor.”
Be forceful, but not pushy to be a pest. You need to follow up if you don’t hear something.
Persistence is an important factor to make it.
When you make your pitch, explain how you can offer some new information or insight on a topic.
Explain your expertise.
Narrow your focus to what you are good at before you try to offer too much.
Strive to be a good wordsmith.
Don’t take shortcuts on your research.
Be a good interviewer, but also be a good interviewee.
The goal is to earn the trust of the editors first, and then ultimately the readers.
Be a good business person — don’t give your work away. This is particularly true if publications are late or no pay.

Rick Jordan (radio personality)

You have to find a sponsor…this is key.
Get to know somebody at the radio station. Stations need talent.
Buy the program manager, sales manager or GM a cup of coffee and pick their brain.
Expect to start slow. Polish your craft by gaining experience.
Use the local angle.
Sometimes it pays to be a BSer.
The outdoors can be a lucrative time-slot for stations in garnering advertising. Remind the stations of that fact.
Bring the station ideas for sales contacts.
Once the listeners become familiar with you…then you know you’ve made it.
Make yourself valuable to the station.

Dan Small (television)

Started in the biz about 26 years ago.
Probably would not happen this way now, but Dan was asked to come in and interview for hosting a TV show when he had no previous experience.
Many opportunities exist today on hundreds of channels.
Do something local (3 to 5 minute drop ins for local news).
Dan does the 1/2 hour magazine format (including hunting, fishing and general outdoors).
In contrast, many shows are now niche market (all turkey hunting, etc.)
Theme shows (like Tiffany and Lee Lakosky)
Sponsor driven shows (Ducks Unlimited, Beretta, etc.)
Broadcast TV differs because it takes a lot of money.
Dan’s parting thoughts…don’t go into TV. It’s too expensive (he’s being sarcastic).