6 Reasons Why Journalists Make Excellent Internet Marketers

Writing. (Duh.) Content is king online, and unemployed journalists already have their hands on the crown jewels. Journalists are accustomed to churning out content quickly, frequently and under pressure. They just need to learn how to link out properly and write headlines with decent keywords.

Critical thinking. The best and brightest internet marketers don’t take anything at face value. They question assumptions, challenge authority and always test, test, test. Any halfway decent reporter should have a firm grasp on these concepts by the time they leave journalism school. Always check your facts. Always verify your sources. Never back down to corporate or political pressure when it stands in the way of truth.

Research. Every niche is different, and every website comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Before any real optimization can happen, an internet marketer must study the website and its competitors in that niche and formulate a plan tailored to that website’s needs. Good reporters do this type of in-depth analysis whenever they tackle a new piece so they can provide balanced coverage and not overlook any crucial details.

Connections. Journalists depend on a network of trusted sources who can provide expert opinions and insight on a particular topic. Cultivating and maintaining this network takes a certain level of tact and an understanding of what motivates different types of people. These skills would be especially useful when requesting links and convincing bloggers and online media outlets to write about your website.

Ethics. (I’ll wait a minute so you can stop laughing.) Despite the prevalent belief that all journalists are scum-sucking headline chasers, the reporters I worked with at an alternative newspaper had a deep sense of ethical responsibility to their readers and scorned corporate attempts to manipulate the news. As online marketers, these journalists would most likely lean toward white hat methods to protect their clients from being banned or penalized in the search engines.

Passion for learning. One of the best things about being a reporter was the ability to experience something new with every assignment. On any given day you could be reviewing a local theater production, interviewing a city councilman or riding shotgun with an amateur race car driver. Journalists tend to be as passionate to consume information as they are to produce it. This trait comes in handy when optimizing websites in an unfamiliar niche or staying up-to-date on the latest algorithm changes.