Posts Tagged ‘editors’

Maximise the Life of Your Articles

Calling all writers and freelance journalists, editors and publishers. Now is the time to breathe more life into your articles. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate, get closer to your readers and engage their mind and soul – we’re talking revolution.

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to monitor and process, and for the more popular articles, it is either a case of only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used, or where online comments have been allowed, well written and good comments can be buried under poorly written and abusive comments.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, to most people it is an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response received, just consider the number of letters that go unpublished and unread.

As it is now

The Internet has brought new channels of communication and created opportunities that allow us to challenge traditional methods. The Internet is now a mature technology, no longer the preserve of technical geeks but a technology that has been embraced by a global population, young and old allowing us now to re-evaluate the way things are done. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

Readers of any article often would like to comment, traditionally this has required them to feel strongly enough to write a letter, or now, with the convenience of the Internet, send an email or write a comment. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to compose an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although interesting a letters page or a list of comments are at best a snapshot of views or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a well crafted and well written letter on any given subject may hold the view of the minority, or the majority but due to the free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable feedback from your readers and in a form that can be easily measured. Just as important as you communicating with your readers is providing your readers with a channel to communicate with you; a method where they know it will count.

Want a snapshot of opinion? Did they like that article? Did your readers agree with what was said or do they take the opposite view?

Now it’s easy

Traditional printed surveys would have taken considerable effort to design, publish and collate, a process that was too long winded and justifiable only for the niche and important topics.

However, using a hosted survey site surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking questionnaires and surveys created in minutes make the perfect complement to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantages over letters, e-mails and comments are that with online surveys all the feedback gathered is properly managed and easily measured with sites like Survey Galaxy providing you with real time polls and charts that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It’s not even one or the other now

By linking each article to an online survey it will not only extend the life of the article, as people have a channel to express their views, but it will involve your readers in the discussion and in a way where they know their opinion will be counted.

If you think they would rather send an email? – not a problem – just include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s quick, low cost, and easy to do; it will empower and engage the reader, provide first class feedback and having established a communication channel you then have the opportunity to promote other related articles.

Try it for yourself and record your view of this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

Popularity: unranked [?]

Extend the Reach of your Articles

Calling all editors, publishers, journalists and freelance writers. It is time to breathe more life into your copy. Turn your articles into living pieces that spark measurable debate and that allows you to engage with your readers mind and soul – we’re talking revolution.

As it was in the beginning

Publishers have for many years relied on letters to get feedback from their readers and although email has opened up this method of communication it is still time consuming and difficult to process with only a fraction of the received correspondence ever being used.

As well as being an overhead for the publisher, it can also be an unrewarding medium in terms of the amount of effort required and response that is received, just consider the number of letters that go unread and unpublished.

As it is now

With the Internet traditional methods of communications can be challenged and replaced or complemented with new methods of doing things. Now a mature technology, the Internet is no longer the preserve of geeks and nerds but a technology that has been embraced by the global population, the young and the old, that invites new ways of doing things. Newspapers, trade journals, magazines and ezines now have the opportunity to change the mental process.

When people read an article they often would like to comment, and historically this has required them to feel strongly enough to put pen to paper; or with the creation of the Internet send an email or write a comment. Emails make communication easier but it still takes time to craft an email and time for the majority, is what they haven’t got.

Although interesting a letters page or a list of comments are at best a snapshot of views or an endless unmanaged list of comments; a well crafted and well written letter on any given subject may hold the view of the minority, or the majority but due to the free text form it is difficult, or near impossible, to measure.

As it should be

Now consider the advantages of linking articles to online surveys where as a publisher you will have the ability to obtain valuable readership feedback in a form that can be easily measured. Just as important as you communicating with your readers is giving your readers a way to communicate with you where they know it will count.

Want an instant snapshot of opinion? How much did they like the article? Did the sentiments expressed in the article have the support of the audience or do the readers have a different view?

Now it is easy

Traditional printed surveys would have taken considerable effort to design, publish and collate, a process that was too long winded and justifiable only for the niche and important topics.

However, using a hosted survey site surveys and questionnaires can be created and published via the Internet by anyone who has a pulse. Professional looking questionnaires and surveys created in minutes make the perfect complement to articles that prompt opinion and debate.

The advantage over letters, e-mails and comments are that all the feedback is properly managed and measured and sites like Survey Galaxy will provide you with a real time poll that you can either keep to yourself or share with your readers.

It can be complementary

Linking articles to online surveys will extend the life of the article and involve your readers in the discussion in a way where they are confident that their opinion will be counted.

You think they would rather send an email? – no problem – include the facility within the survey and get the best of both worlds.

It’s fast, low cost, and easy to do; it will engage and empower the reader, provide excellent feedback and having established a dialogue you then have the opportunity to link to other related articles.

There is an opportunity to register your view of this article here:- Readership Feedback Survey

Popularity: unranked [?]