Ever read an article on how to mash potatoes or fix your toilet? Chances are, if you’ve typed anything in Google search starting with “how to” or “what to do when,” you’ve read articles written by content farmers, freelance writers who work for sites like eHow and Livestrong.com.

In the latest Mediabistro AvantGuild feature, a former Demand Media writer tells what it’s really like toiling on the content farm. On a typical day, she writes, she’d find assignments ranging from “the serious to the completely inane.”

There were usually plenty of writeable titles to choose from, but occasionally I’d come across a dud like “How to Furnish a Giraffe” or “20 Benefits of a 3CQ On the JLRM36.” There were also a thousand iterations of the same article: “How to Dye Your Hair Pink,” “Best Pink Hair Color for Brunettes” or “How to Change Your Hair from Blonde to Pink.” Sometimes these redundancies were beneficial, because I could use the same resources for multiple articles and save time on research. At others, the droning nature of this process made me wonder, “What am I doing?”

For more, read My Year as a Content Farm Writer.

The full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

– Sherry Yuan

(L to R) David Carr of  The New York Times, James Bennet of The Atlantic, Joanna Coles of Cosmopolitan, Chris Hughes of The New Republic, Jane Pratt of xojane.com

Last night, eminent editors-in-chief gathered for a discussion at NYU’s annual “Media Talk” panel. The event was moderated by David Carr of The New York Times and the panelists included: James Bennet of The Atlantic, Joanna Coles of Cosmopolitan, Chris Hughes of The New Republic and Jane Pratt of xojane.com. Among the discussion of the changing media biz was some helpful advice on how journalists and publishers can approach online commenters. We’ve gathered some of the highlights below: Read more

California Lawyer may cover more nationally-oriented stories, like Supreme Court cases, but the mag always ties it all back to its home state.  To land a byline here, it indeed helps to be based in California, but writers don’t necessarily have to live in the Golden State to pitch.

Aimed at — you guessed it — California lawyers, the pub covers one of the most talked-about legal markets with analysis, in-depth features, technology updates and practical advice. “We cover groundbreaking cases, compelling controversies and fascinating personalities, and, as a monthly magazine, we seek to go beyond the headlines of the day with lively writing and in-depth reporting,” said managing editor Chuleenan Svetvilas.

Even better, they’re looking for more freelance feature writers and pay up to $3,000 for quality pieces. For pitching etiquette and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: California Lawyer.

– Sherry Yuan

The full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

Every summer, I promise that I’m going to use the downtime to get my act together and work on my website and portfolio, and then get lazy about doing all of the work.  That’s why my ears always perk up when I hear about portfolio sites that do all of the hard work for you.

It’s surprising that there aren’t more portfolio building sites targeted at journalists, ones focused on just showcasing your clips, without making you choose background themes and fonts reminiscent of an early MySpace page. But don’t forget about Clippings.me if you, like me, need to get your clips together and don’t have the advanced skills to create your own gorgeous, professional website.

Clippings.me was a pioneer in the market and has just launched a professional package that makes using the site more intuitive and, quite frankly, makes it something you can be proud to link to or use as a digital resume.

The Pro Package runs you $8 per month. You can upload as many clips — print and web articles, video, even podcasts — to your page, as you can with the free version. The perks include being able to host your own domain and have access to social media stats. You can see exactly where your specific clips were shared and commented on, as well as your clippings.me profile.  Read more

It ain’t easy being in the media business these days, or so they say.  There are in fact lots of people allegedly, or actually, raking in digital dollars, according to this article from Fortune. They’re all content producers with a journalistic twist. They are all different in their own ways, but you can parse out some ingredients for financial success in the industry. 

Not surprisingly the top, profitable companies are: The Huffington Post, Gawker Media, The Awl, Business Insider, SAY Media, Vox Media, and BuzzFeed. 

So what sets them apart?

 1. Niche, Niche, Niche

Choire Sicha of The Awl says they only want to be read by ‘smart people,’ and as it’s grown, it’s added other niche sites to its cache, like the female focused The Hairpin. Business Insider lives off of business and technology news and gossip, straight from the mouth of editor ‘Wall Street bad boy’ Henry Blodget. Gawker peddles snark, and BuzzFeed caters to culturally in-tune Millenials and their parents. HuffPo is grandfather of all of them — they have the verticals and dedicated, SEO hungry, writing staff for everything. By dabbling in it all, they essentially cater to segmented, yet focused, audiences. All of these organizations are like the good old magazines of the paper days: each site has a distinct look, feel and tone, reminiscent of say, Sassy or even Spin. It’s no wonder that Jane Pratt is part of the profitable crew under SAY Media. All of this ties into the next thing profitable companies have in common…  Read more