Collecting Tools for Engagement

The theme of this year’s annual seminar is Tools for Engagement. As communicators, we know how to communicate. However, engagement has been called the “new word of mouth.” It’s affecting every aspect of the publishing world and it could make you profitable.

Sessions during the AHP Tally-Ho at the Alamo Seminar in San Antonio will focus on engaging your audiences, readers, advertisers, fans, and clients. Speakers will be sharing their engagement tools with AHP members to help us hone our publishing and communication skills.

Opening the seminar at Thursday evening’s welcome reception is Joan Henderson, publisher of Texas Highways magazine and director for TxDOT’s Travel Publication section. Henderson came to Texas Highways in 2014 from Oklahoma Today magazine, where she served as publisher for nearly 20 years. In her keynote address titled True Texas Engagement, Henderson explains how Texas Highways magazine is developing their audience during these times of rapid changes in publishing and technology.

Friday’s line-up includes a variety of engagement tools covering branding, ad sales, grammar, media insurance, business etiquette, and analytics. There are also two sessions devoted to the freelancer.

Larri Jo Starkey spent 13 years in newspapers, writing headlines, correcting grammatical errors and riding herd on a wild crew of copy editors who were all committed to both the holy AP Stylebook and the principle that English is a living language. She now works as an editor for The American Quarter Horse Journal, where she can indulge her passions for writing, editing, photography and the American Quarter Horse.

Her session, Miss Frogbottom Was Wrong – 10 Grammar Errors You Learned in Elementary School, takes you back to the schoolroom of your childhood. Starkey describes her topic as: Your elementary schoolteacher had a room full of writhing children itching for recess. To keep their interest, Miss Frogbottom kept her grammar lessons short – maybe too short. You probably learned the abbreviated version of some grammar rules. She invites attendees to come learn the full rules so you can win a prize in the quiz at the end of the session.

MediaRadar’s CEO Todd Krizelman was born and raised in Palo Alto, near the epicenter of technology innovation. In 2007, Krizelman joined veteran web architect, Jesse Keller, to found MediaRadar. After years of thorough research, development, and data collection, MediaRadar is now the most comprehensive, data company focused on the ad sales market. In his first session, attendees learn about the current State of the Equine Market and how you can capitalize on it. The session focuses on powerful equine market insights like where brands are spending their ad dollars, which brands are new to the category, and how you can leverage this information to your advantage to improve ad sales.

In his second session, Ad Sales Best Practices for Equine Publications, attendees gain insights into how other niche publications have been successful in growing their market share. Find out which ad sales practices you can adopt for your publication and how you can leverage your unique readership to win new advertisers.

If you are publisher or freelancer with an interest in media liability insurance and have a lot of questions, then Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Media Insurance: But Were Afraid to Ask is the session for you. This fundamental educational session discusses coverages afforded under a media and E&O policy and provide examples from a claim standpoint. The session is presented by Lou Scimecca, Senior Vice President and Media/Entertainment Product Manager; Pat Groshong, Assistant Vice President, Claims; and Bobbi Striegel, a Senior Underwriter at AXIS PRO, a business unit of the Professional Lines Division of AXIS Insurance. AXIS PRO, formerly Media/Professional Insurance, underwrites professional liability insurance for Media businesses including newspapers, magazines, book publishers, authors, freelancer writers, radio and television broadcasters and networks, advertising agencies, film producers and distributors, and multimedia companies including internet and online exposures.

Chad Mendell is the former executive editor of The Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care and TheHorse.com where he developed an array of online educational products from videos, newsletters, and webinars. In 2010, he founded CowDog Media, an inbound marketing and web development company focused on helping businesses be more than just a point of purchase for their customers by helping them become an invaluable resource.

Mendell presents a session on Analyzing and Enhancing Your Social Engagement on Friday and then teams up with Erin Ryder Hsu to present Digital Tools to Engage Your Audience on Saturday.

Erin Ryder Hsu is Digital Marketing Manager for Kentucky Equine Research. Combining experience in equine editorial and marketing, Hsu makes the ever-changing (and sometimes overwhelming!) world of digital marketing fun and easy to understand, with a focus on achievable implementation for publishers of any size and tech ability.

Add in a 45 Ideas Panel on Business Etiquette moderated by Pat Trowbridge, plus Sharing Ideas sessions, Navigating the Freelance World moderated by Abigail Boatwright, and Pitch Perfect moderated by Jennifer Bryant, and that closes the toolbox for Friday.

Saturday’s sessions continue to add engagement tools on digital editions, photography, and editorial. The ever-popular, but oh so early, Speed Networking, a fast-paced session for content providers and content buyers, starts off the day at 7 a.m.

Uppermost in many AHP attendees’ minds is digital publishing and making it profitable. Jakob Fenger, Product Manager for both the Digital Studio® and FlipandShare™, products with Mirabel Technologies, presents Steps to Profitable Digital Editions. This session is for anyone who wants to start producing digital editions or wants to make their existing digital editions more profitable. It’s packed with information on how to create successful and profitable digital editions by utilizing website, social media, and email promotions.

Fenger came to Mirabel Technologies after successful careers in professional soccer and real estate. At Mirabel Technologies he began his career as a Software Consultant, training and advising clients on The Magazine Manager software, but quickly moved into a Product Manager role for the digital division. As Product Manager, he manages the marketing and product development for Mirabel Technologies digital pagination and digital/tablet edition software solutions for newspaper and magazine publishers, including FlipandShare™. He works with new and existing clients to assist them in creating and promoting digital editions and frequently moderates webinars and other online educational seminars.

When it seems that everyone is becoming a professional photographer, media professionals must produce superior work consistently if they are going to attract an enthusiastic audience for their publication, website or blog. During his nearly 40-year career, Darrell Dodds published or edited five equine magazines including Western Horseman, Western Lifestyle Retailer, Horse & Rider, Paint Horse Journal and Appaloosa Journal. His session, Better Together: Photographic Collaboration and the Creative Process, shows attendees how creativity thrives on diversity, tension, sharing and collaboration. “Two or more creative people can leverage these benefits if they can learn to play well together,” says Dodds.

Dodds retired from the equine publishing industry last year however remains active with his commercial and editorial photography business.

As a creative artist, Scott Trees strives to bring the extraordinary out of the ordinary, not just in his work but in his life. This philosophy has served him well, and in the world of international equestrian photography and video production, Trees has received prominent recognition. An entertaining and informative speaker, Trees generously shares his vast knowledge and experiences with AHP members in The Power of an Image: Photographs for Marketing in a Digital World.

Every day on Facebook alone over 200 million photographs are uploaded, which equates to about 6 billion per month. Add to that list, trade publications, consumer magazines, and commercial applications, and it is clear that the digital age has created a deluge of photographic imagery. “Today’s technology has made the act of taking pictures easy. But if you are going to use a photograph to market a product, it needs to capture audience attention. As a result, when it comes to marketing, the importance of a good photograph has never been more important than in today’s digital world. The equestrian industry is not immune to that fact,” says Trees.

Trees also offers portfolio and photography critiquing sessions on Saturday afternoon. For more details contact Chris at ahorsepubs@aol.com.

Sharpening our skills in journalism is paramount to an association that strives for media excellence. Three editorial sessions target topics of interest from members. They are presented by a husband and wife team of career journalists and journalism educators.

Kathryn Jones has more than 30 years of experience writing for newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly and Texas Highways. Her specialties are travel and feature writing and she often writes about the Southwest and its culture. Jones’ work also has appeared in Time, Life, Elle Décor, Town & Country, Endless Vacation, the Harvard Business School Bulletin and many other publications. She also teaches journalism at Tarleton State University.

Dan Malone is a veteran journalist and author. As a staff writer for The Dallas Morning News, Malone and a colleague won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He also was the News’ Fort Worth Bureau chief. Earlier, Malone worked as a staff writer for Fort Worth Weekly and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He currently is an assistant professor of journalism at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

The couple live on a ranch south of Glen Rose, Texas, with their horses, longhorns and miniature donkeys.

Jones presents the first two sessions. Niche publications often cover the same topics year after year. Finding Fresh Approaches to Familiar Stories answers the questions: How do you revitalize stories with interesting angles and fresh approaches? How do you develop a writing style that matches your brand? This session will help you find that unique voice.

Engaging Ledes, Sources, and Quotes covers three areas of improvement often seen in awards contest critiques. Don’t bury that lede! Instead, develop the best lede that will engage your audience quickly. How to use multiple sources to give credibility to a story, and how to use quotes to their best effect to enliven stories are covered in this session.

The Changing Scope of News Reporting and Ethics is perhaps one of the most important sessions of the day to the future of journalism and it’s presented by Jones and Malone together. News reporting takes place on so many different platforms today – print, online and on social media. Standards of accuracy and fairness often aren’t the same, however, on Facebook and Twitter. Following ethical guidelines and fact checking information are more important than ever. How do you recycle news among print, online and social media platforms and keep it fresh, focused and factual?

That sums up the educational segment of the AHP seminar, but engagement is also social. Networking is as important and beneficial. Making new clients, new friends, or new contacts are all part of the engagement during the activities and event functions. full schedule of events

Registration is still available. For more information on registering, seminar activities, and hotel reservations for the AHP Tally-Ho at the Alamo Seminar, a members-only event, visit http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/programs/seminars/


Tally-Ho! See you in San Antonio.

Chris