Blogging For Journals: Worth It

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Blogging For Journals Worth It? SSP May 29,
2008
Jane Hiebert-White Executive Publisher Health
Affairs jhiebert-white_at_healthaffairs.org
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Weblogs Cumulative March 2003 - March 2007
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Maybe We Should Launch A Blog?

• Dec. 2003 Marketing consultant suggests journal
  blog
• Jump on growth trend
• Reach and engage new audiences
• Comment on health reform debate as it happens
• 2004 Webmaster researches blogs finds Google
  Search loves blogs
• Work on convincing Editor
• Begin developing

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2005 Board has many questions back to drawing
board
--Arent blogs unmannered, uninformative,
un-fun, self-indulgent meanderings, somewhat
akin to graduate school midterm papers? --Will
this diminish the journal brand? --What about
peer review? --Wholl read it? --Will the
content be substantive enough? Will it add
value? --Does this mean Ill get more emails in
my inbox? --As an author, do I now need to keep
up with blogs, too?
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-- Leading Journal Author convinces Editor to try
blog, agrees to write
-- Web usability testing includes blog
questions-- Plan content, staffing, process--
Address Board concerns -- Work with HighWire on
related links (article to blog) -- Customized
WordPress programming
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-- Discussions/commentaries on hot topics where
we lack the time, expertise, and perhaps
interest for a full 4000-word peer-reviewed
article, but where we have something of
value to say for our audience.
-- Invited Contributing Voices from external
authors may express opinion often leaders
in the field
-- Internal From the Staff Posts
context-setting highlight new timely articles
or other resources in field no opinion, more
journalistic
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Referrals to Journal Content -- 1st Q 2008
No Referral
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Drive Traffic To Journal Content
-- More traffic to journal articles than from
PubMed top 10 driver -- Opportunity to link to
both new and older articles --Increase Google
Search ranking of journal content --Overall rise
in Web traffic
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Opportunity to Participate in Current Policy
Debate
--Commentary on health reform, election, new
legislation --Help strengthen relevance of
journal attractive to potential authors,
subscribers, funders --Attract media attention
Health Affairs Blog cited in Washington Post
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Expands Author Pool, Author Benefits
--Attract high-level authors interested in
op-ed opportunity, but who may not write full,
peer-reviewed article --Can extend the debate on
a journal authors paper --Authors can float
proposals (before full-fledged paper) --More
opportunities to include new, less senior
authors
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Reach New Audiences
--Reaching system stakeholders such as doctors,
nurses, consumers, health care industry --Politic
ally active audience signing up --Blog feed
picked up by universities for student audience
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-- Daily blogging is preferable to maintain
traffic -- Staff with journalistic experience
helpful -- Help academic authors learn to write
in blog style -- Technical staff available? --
Staff to invite guest posts, edit, post quickly,
moderate comments
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Traffic Up
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New Authors
?
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Engaged Audience
Return on investment
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Gaining experience with new publishing format
?
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Jane Hiebert-White Executive Publisher Health
Affairs jhiebert-white_at_healthaffairs.org