Secrets of Outdoor Communicators, Part One

If you didn’t attend last week’s Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA) Conference, you are in luck as I studiously took notes during one the highlights of the conference: a session with iconic outdoor communicators. The four gentlemen I am highlighting are Wade Bourne, J. Wayne Fears, John Phillips and Mark Sosin.

The panel had probably 100 years experiences between the four of them. They each had 10 minutes to share their “secret sauce” of making it work (being profitable?) in our tough world. I’ll rehash some of the points Wade Bourne shared here and I’ll post “Part Two” next week.

Wade Bourne is host of “Wired2Fish” radio (and Wired2Hunt), but he also was the host of In-Fisherman radio and the TV host for Ducks Unlimited Television for many years. Bourne says he’s been in the business for 31 years as a full-time freelance writer & broadcaster.
Wade’s tips:

1. Treat your business as a business! Actually, this was repeated several times during the session. Even during Q&A, an attendee said “We are all just trying to get paid to hunt and fish” and that struck a cord with the panelists. Yes, that is true, but if you don’t treat it like a business, then you may end up making $7 an hour on that “dream” assignment because it took you five days to get the animal.
2. Network. Attending conferences, shows and events is a must to keeping personal contacts strong. I strongly second this. Numerous times I’ve discovered key information from casual conversation during a conference.
3. Diversity. Wade is a radio and TV host, writer and now conference speaker. I would say he’s done a good job of diversification. Bourne put it this way, “Do one interview, write a story, do a radio piece, write for the internet. One piece of information can be used five times.”  
   

   SEOPA Conference attendees were able to kick-start their "one day" dreams into action. Photo: mlgroveruk

4. Embrace new technology. If you are reading this blog, then you are probably doing this. We unsuccessfully tried to get Mark Sosin to tweet during the conference. He’s embracing it a little more, though.
5. Find a niche – work to become an “expert” in a particular field. We all know Sosin as “Mr. Saltwater.” Although, Mark will quickly tell you he’s a great fly-fisherman, he markets to the masses as the saltwater expert. Who is “Mr. Pheasant” or “Ms. Quail?” Could be you!
6. Anticipate changes and be prepared for them. This is along the lines of diversification and not putting all your eggs in one basket. If a magazine folds, then you should already have arsenal of other publications (print or digital) in your digital rolodex.
7. Recycle old material for the internet. A magazine article from 10 years ago becomes tomorrow’s blog post or online editorial.
8. Do business “eyeball to eyeball.” I like this one. Bourne said traveling to your editors or sponsors offices can solidify a relationship for years to come. I agree. If I am in town on business for a conference, I’ll find out who I know in the area to visit. Meetings face-to-face are golden.
9. Treat your readers/listeners/viewers as your customers. Answer their phone calls, emails or Facebook postings. I have a little golden rule on this at Sportsman Channel. If you call me, I’ll call you back versus an email. I believe you took the time to make the call, so I’ll make the time to respond via call. If I call someone and they respond via email, I take it as an insult. Your editors might have this same little quirk.
10. Value yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for a raise on your next project. If you don’t value your time, no one else will. My mom has owned several companies over the years and one of them was as a professional upholster. She is a type “A” personality when it comes to the finished product, which means she put A LOT of time in making sure all seams were perfect. However, people wouldn’t pay the dollar per hour wage she needed to make the business thrive. Either she had to move quicker to make more money per hour, which meant the work may not be up to her standards, or fold the business. She valued her quality of work too much and folded the business. (Although I had her re-upholster three antique chairs and a couch in my house recently. Awesome work.)

Any of Bourne’s tips resonate with you and your business? If you had to add tip #11 – what would it be?