Launch for $0

How to Launch Quickly, Cheaply and Easily

 

The terrific thing for entrepreneurial journalists is that it’s so much easier to launch things than ever before. Here are estimates of what it would have cost to launch professional media products in 1980.

 

TV Channel: $10 million

Magazine: $1 million

Newspaper: $1 million

Radio Station: $500,000

 

What it costs now to launch a channel on a public platform: $0

 

The cost to launch digital products has since fallen toward zero. Using your existing smartphone, laptop and Internet connection you can publish to open platforms almost instantaneously with the potential to reach people around the globe. That doesn’t mean there are no costs associated with building a media venture. But it does mean that TESTING a media concept or piloting a new idea can be done easily, cheaply and quickly. And that’s why entrepreneurial journalists — like entrepreneurs in other realms— are increasingly adopting this launch-and-refine methodology.

 

Open digital platforms now allows us to present ideas in ways that give people a detailed sense of what we have in mind. A rational young journalist with an idea for a new TV station or magazine in 1980 focused on weather, news, or sports wouldn’t have dreamed of actually launching such a thing independently. Unless she was a megamillionaire, she probably couldn’t have afforded even to fund the creation of a sample show that would do justice to her vision of a professional broadcast station. Now there are dozens of free and low-cost tools for creating simple prototypes for virtually any type of media idea. Here’s how you can capitalize on these platforms to quickly launch, test and refine concepts for new media ventures.

 

Capturing Feedback

As you develop various ways to test your ideas, be prepared to take note of any and all reactions you observe. What do people think, say, feel or do? Keep a log of feedback. Include not just verbal feedback but also notes on body language, facial expressions and other impressions.

 

Take note of what questions people ask. Questions reveal a lot about people’s assumptions, expectations, needs, wants and preferences. What aspects of the models you show them do people comment on? What surprises or intrigues them?

 

As you develop more fully-fleshed-out versions of your product, note how reactions change and what people say or do when they encounter what you show them. To stimulate input, ask people what questions they have or what they notice. Then sit back, listen and take notes. It can be helpful to have a friend take notes while you observe or ask questions so you can focus on really listening and interacting with the user.

Pilot an Idea on an Existing Content Platform

The quickest way to create content that people engage with is to post it to an open platform like Medium. If you tag your material, people interested in your subjects can find it whether or not they’ve ever heard of you. Medium distributes content to  users based on relevancy and others’ recommendations. So even if you aren’t famous, people can find your work if they’re interested in the topic. Many of the most widely-read posts on Medium spread simply because they’re good and address a significant issue of contemporary concern.

A shared content platform like Medium makes it easy for anyone to recommend or share what they find with others. That increases the likelihood your content will reach more people than if you had simply posted it on your own site. Because people congregate on content platforms like Medium, others see and engage with your content there without having to remember your Web address or Google it. You can launch your content on Medium for free and take advantage of excellent publishing features like built-in embedding of images, video, slides, social posts, maps and other kinds of content you may want to include.