Tips From Successful Niche Creators

On November 4, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY will hold its next Journalism Creator Summit. This free virtual summit will feature creators sharing the mistakes they’ve made, lessons they’ve learned and specific tactics other creators can apply. ​​​The summit is sponsored by the Meta Journalism Project.

The event will draw on six case studies written for the school about the challenges that creators face — and the tools they develop to overcome those challenges. The case study’ writers, Ambreen Ali and Krystal Knapp, will moderate sessions such as “How creators reach their first 10, 100, 1000 paid subscribers” and “Combo Power — How creators find collaborators to work together and amplify impact.”

Beyond Hacks

One of Knapp’s case studies focuses on survival tips for a creator’s first year. She says the creators she talked to eschew “hacks” for growing subscriber lists and instead focus on producing consistent content that addresses their audience’s needs.

They also advise patience. “One of the big things is to keep your expectations in check at the beginning,” Knapps says. “That’s hard for new creators. You launch something, you expect a big splash at the beginning and for a lot of people to sign up right away. And it really takes time.”

In Knapp’s case study on growing an audience, experienced creators recommend reaching out to friends and family first so that “you get in the practice of making the ask.” From there, creators should expand into their broader network. Then, focus on creating a funnel to convert free readers to paid subscribers.

Tapping into community

One of Ali’s case studies looks at collaboration between creators. She says that the most important element for creators who are looking to collaborate is to be clear and up front about the terms of the agreement. “Where people get tripped up is when the expectations don’t align or a partner doesn’t deliver, and then what are the consequences?” she asks.

She says that many creators are hesitant to enter into collaborations because they worry about making a bad decision. “But truly, you just start super small,” she advises. “Test the collaboration by coming up with a really defined way to do it.” If it’s a success, there is always the option to build from there.

Time Goals, Money Goals

Another case study of Knapp’s is about the workflow and time management of creating a podcast. In a medium with so many moving parts, she says one piece of advice is to write down a list of all the tasks that go into the production, and then create a checklist. That will make it easier to see which elements can be outsourced.

Knapp’s final case study focuses on setting prices. She says that many creators pick arbitrary prices based on other products, but there’s a better way. Creators she spoke with surveyed their audience about what they felt was a reasonable price for a subscription, while some publishers offered low ad rates and raised rates after they sold out.

The summit, Ali says, will allow new creators to hear from people who have been working in this space for years in order to demystify the process. “I think this could be a really valuable conversation, even if you haven’t gotten to the point where you’re collaborating, or you haven’t even launched your venture yet, to think about the options you have as you start to frame your idea,” she says.

And Knapp says she hopes the summit will encourage those who are debating becoming a creator to make the leap. “I was really inspired by all these people who just decided to go for it and do it,” she says. “And in experimenting, they found — they would adapt, they would pivot, they would find out the right way.”

The Journalism Creator Summit on How to Succeed as a Journalism Creator — Strategies and Tactics — will take place virtually on Friday, November 4, 2022 from 11am — 3pm ET. Check out our lineup of sessions and speakers and RSVP for this free event.