Offer up a list of potential articles. It’s also important to show you have plenty of ideas so you won’t be a one-hit wonder. Most sites want long-term relationships; not only is it easier from an administrative point of view, it also fosters site continuity and helps grow their reader base.
Here are some of the articles I proposed:
- How to Fit a Star Peg Into a Team Whole. How do you maintain team balance and cohesion if one employee is a star? (Could be an outstanding salesman, superstar programmer, etc.) I’ll talk to Johan Bruyneel, the director of Lance Armstrong's cycling teams, and get input on how he successfully built teams around an alpha-dog star.
- Why Identical Treatment is Unfair. Treating employees identically does you and your employees a disservice. I'll toss in a little personality styles research regarding how people work, process information, etc. Bottom line, if you want to be fair you can't treat employees the same.
- Why Howard Stern is a Better Leader Than You. This one is an argument starter since Howard Stern is a polarizing figure. Lessons learned: Stick to your vision, lead by example, work harder than your team, don't try to be everything to everyone, be willing to publicly praise your company, find the strengths in every employee and play to those strengths, don't let "no" hold you back since success is largely based on effort and persistence and not on an initial idea. Bonus if it gets mentioned on his show. (Which it eventually did; I was on the Howard 100 News.)
- What Happens at the Crossroads of Creativity and Business? "Normal" leadership and business challenges are almost identical to those faced in the arts. And every business has a creative component, even if it produces a commodity. I'll get insight from Michael Hirst, executive producer of HBO series The Tudors and screenwriter of the two Cate Blanchett Elizabeth movies. He’s been on both sides of the creativity/business spectrum, sometimes at the same time.
- Five Things to Say Every Morning. I'm not that smart, I'm not that funny, I'm not that important, my work friends aren't my real friends, my employees and customers can't be my friends, and my employees will never and should never care as much as I do. The goal is to start every day focused on being the boss you would want to work for.
Before you develop your list, think about the titles and topics above. Each has a how-to component. Some are at the least mildly controversial. Some have a little “juice.”
Some titles got a lot more juice: My editor changed “How to Fit a Star Peg in a Team Whole” (mildly clever but not attention-getting) to “Managing Lance Armstrong: An Exclusive Interview With His Team's Director.” The new title gave readers a much better reason to click.
Good articles provide valuable information, spark a little thought and sometimes a little debate, and draw an audience. If you always preach to the choir your only readers are choir members. If you aren’t willing to take a strong position you’re boring.
Editors want to know you get that. Work hard on your samples. It's assumed that the samples you send represent your very best work, so make them outstanding.
Work just as hard on your proposed list of articles. Editors want to know you have a lot more in you and that you already have ideas for how to build an audience.
Have a question? Email questions@blackbirdinc.com and it may appear in a future column. Please indicate if you would like your name and company name to appear.
