Kristen Kornbluth (@kornbIuth), a volunteer with the ONA Resource Team, compiled these key moments from the ONA20 session on Oct. 16, 2020. To view a recording of the session, register for on-demand access to the ONA20 archive. Session participants included:
- Lindsay Deutsch (Loyalty Editor, USA TODAY)
- JJ Velasquez (Audience Engagement Editor, San Antonio Report)
- Moderator: Elana Zak (Senior Programming Editor, CNN Business)
5 key takeaways:
- Meet readers where they are. Make pop-up email newsletters that serve a purpose for them (for example, COVID-19 pop-up newsletters that were spawned at the beginning of the pandemic when people were hungry for information).
- Overcommunicate with your team about starting the project — make sure the vision for the pop-up is fleshed out to the best of your ability, and make sure everybody is on the same page about how it will be executed (who’s writing it, when will it publish, who’s the #2 people if the #1 is out, etc.). Once it’s deployed, ask for reader feedback and change things accordingly.
- Act instinctively when tweaking the product., and be ready to pivot quickly based on feedback.
- Cross-promote other news products in your pop-up newsletters to get the audience interested in your other offerings.
- Have a goal with your pop-up product and commit to it. What does the readership need? Figure that out, and make sure your whole team is on board with it.
Memorable/tweetable quotes:
- “We did things almost instinctively rather than with copious amounts of planning.” —JJ Velasquez
- “Make sure you have a stated goal in mind when starting a pop-up, and that the team is aware of it.” —JJ Velasquez
- “Is this worthy of landing in the ‘living room’ of your reader? Is it a public service? If yes, it’s worthwhile.” —Lindsay Deutsch
Links to additional resources
Was there anything mentioned in the session that attendees might want to track down?