Maureen Alley's Blog

Do you take time to step outside your industry and take a look around? If not, you could be doing a great disservice to your publication and readers.

For many editors, you probably work 40-plus hours a week with the goal of producing a quality magazine that will appeal to your readers. You’re pulled in many directions, and your duty list only gets longer each day. Well, here’s another thing to add to your list: Get your head out of the cave and take a look around. Are you really in touch with your readers and the industry? Seriously.

Previously, I worked on a magazine where ego was a must for the industry. Everyone has one – including the magazine staff. As a newbie to the industry and magazine, I brought a different perspective. I questioned things that were never questioned, I made comments that seemed elementary to them, and I suggested changes that seemed unnecessary to them. And I was left scratching my head. Why weren’t they utilizing a different perspective? Why didn’t they see that not everyone in the industry is an expert or has the same experience as them? Why not take a fresh look at the industry and magazine, and see if we can do things better?

Knowing your industry and readers is number one when you’re working tirelessly to produce a magazine. But thinking you know everything can actually hurt your product. If you have a new intern or employee on staff, take advantage of their fresh eyes. Ask them to take an honest look at what you’re doing. And ask for feedback. Not everything needs to be upward communication. Interns and other new staff members bring perspective that you need to appreciate.

If you hire someone new and your goal is to simply teach them everything you know, and ask them to regurgitate it back, you aren’t learning or improving. You aren’t improving, your magazine isn’t improving and your process is doomed to be stagnate. Swallow your ego and take a look at what your new colleagues see. You’ll be a better employee for it, and produce a better product.

For four years, I learned the ins and outs of traditional B2B magazine publishing as an editor. I was good at my job and I loved mostly every aspect of it. Except the struggle and push back from so many at the company regarding the Web. The common response to new duties included, “That’s not my job” or “What’s the point of that” or “That’s a waste of time” or “I don’t have time for that.” By the end of my time at the company, I was so frustrated and dismayed by the lack of ambition to move publications into today’s technology.

I still don’t understand why so many B2B editors refuse to move forward. Maybe it’s the lack of desire to do more, maybe it’s the scary thought of change, or maybe it’s really they just don’t have the time. However, ultimately I bet it lies in the fact that people don’t understand the technologies, how they can help brands or how to streamline processes.

In the fall of 2008, I wrote a grad paper on the B2B and the Web. I interviewed Paul Conley, owner and president of Paul Conley Consulting – an industry heavy-hitter who pushes B2B execs and editors to move forward. One highlight (among many) from that paper is this quote from Conley: “There are no easy jobs left in b-to-b. Every job in journalism is much more like a journalism job. You don’t have monthly deadlines any more, now you have daily newsletters. Now you need to write shorter and learn new things. And for a certain group of reporters, this is a nightmare.”

I also interviewed Prescott Shibles, CEO of Vital Business Media and publisher of eMedia Vitals. Shibles is another industry heavy-hitter who saw the writing on the wall a long time ago. The content coming out of Vital Business Media and eMedia Vitals mixes B2B with the Web industry – content coverage that more B2B publishers should notice. A highlight (among many) from my interview with Shibles:  “There was a rush to news content. The news content is a model getting hammered so you have to be careful on how you approach the news on the Web. Frequency is important but being relevant is more important. Creating a re-write of a press release and putting it on the homepage when the product isn’t relevant to the readership is not what you should do.”

While I’m still in dismay by the many numbers of B2B editors and executives who still don’t understand the new opportunities, there are some of them out there moving forward. There’s a saying among the editors who do understand: They “get it.” Talk to any editor who is utilizing new tools and they will tell you about the ones who “don’t get it.”

This time may be a challenge for most editors, but it’s exciting. B2B editors are no longer left with “easy jobs.” And who wants an easy job?  That’s not any fun!