Jennifer 8. Lee and Rose Eveleth shared insights for journalism entrepreneurs

9 Tips on Going Solo from Innovative Journalism Entrepreneurs

Jennifer 8. Lee and Rose Eveleth recently shared insights for journalists as part of our “Let’s Talk Media Business” series.

Recognize Three Deal Buckets & Their Challenges

Journalists aiming to develop revenue should do some self-assessment and determine which of three buckets to focus on. — Jennifer 8. Lee

• Micro deals: getting individuals to pay $25 or $100 or some similar amount for something — a product, service or subscription fee, for example. This requires a willingness to wrestle with A/B testing, diving into analytics, and a strong B-to-C orientation.
• Mid-size deals: This involves hunting for deals — business development. It may entail selling ads or identifying potential sponsors.
• Large deals: Enterprise sales or other five-figure partnerships fit in this category. This could involve foundations or other big organizations. Dealing in this terrain requires willingness to work through long sales or partnership cycles, go through lots of legal hoops & tolerate bureaucracy.

Each of these approaches has its own opportunities, challenges and frustrations. Journalists working to develop sustainable…