This section offers resources on building both a direct audience and distributed audiences, which are reached through syndication and redistribution of content. We are not trying to be comprehensive and current on all the available technology, which is constantly changing, but are focusing here on concepts and strategies for nonprofit news.
Building Direct Audience
- Audience Development Plans
The Audience Development Plan (From Startup Guide) - Learning the Best Ways to Grow Our Local News Subscribers (2019, OpenNews)
- Tips for Nonprofit Marketing Automation (Heller Consulting, 2015, registration required to download PDF)
- SEO
Global Investigative Journalism Network’s SEO Crash Course: How to Optimize Your News Website
- Social Media
How to Enhance Your Social Media Presence (2011, but still applicable basic tips for using Twitter) - Email and Newsletters
Email Newsletters: Strategies and Tactics to Grow Audience #1 (Tim Windsor for INN, 2019 video)
International Symposium on Online Journalism 2018 panel
What PolitiFact Learned about Making Money and Earning Trust (Medium, 2019)
How to Start Your Own Media Newsletter (The Splice Newsroom via GIJN, 2018)
Best Practices for Your Email Unsubscribe Page (Nonprofit Marketing Guide, 2018) - Events
Events Guide (Local News Lab, 2017)
The Art of Hosting Meaningful Media Events (The Engaged Journalism Lab via Medium, 2018)
Story Circles: Deep Listening and Bridge Building on Issues That Matter (California Capital Public Radio, 2018)
Building Community, Innovation: The Power of Coding Workshops, Hackathons for Nonprofit News Organizations (2013) - Other Community-building Ideas
Nonprofit Newsprint Targets Underserved Audiences, Builds Partnerships, Marketing Base (2013)
Podcasting 101, a 10-part instructional video series to support early-stage podcasters around the world, from PRX and the Google Podcasts creator program (2019)
- Audience Metrics and Analytics
Critical Publisher Benchmarks for Digital Subscription Success (FTI Consulting, 2019)
Tutorial: DIY Engagement Tracking (2015)
Distributing through third parties
- Impact through reach
Collaboration Is a Hallmark of News Nonprofits, New INN Index Finds, Center for Cooperative Media (2018)
- Distribution as promotion*
- Partnership agreements
Journalism Partnerships (2014 report from the Pew Research Center)
When News Collaboration Becomes Urgent (2015)
Embracing Inherent Tensions in Partnership (Imagine Canada, 2018)
How The Lens and ProPublica Created ‘Losing Ground’ (2014 case study)
- Distribution/syndication agreements*
- Platform distribution strategies
INN’s Republication Tracker Tool (INN Labs, 2019)
* Check back later for this section.