Upon first hearing about The Huffington Post’s new Contributor Platform, I have to say, I was skeptical. Would anyone read my articles? Would traffic to my site increase? Would my request to join the Contributor Platform and its scores of wannabe journalists even be approved? More importantly, would I quickly become internet famous and soon post a YouTube video of myself hanging with Grumpy Cat?
While it’s unlikely this post will catapult me into the highest stratosphere of internet stardom, I do believe that, with a touch of shameless self promotion, it’s possible to net enough traffic that it becomes flagged for review by The Huffington Post’s editors and subsequently selected to be featured on the site’s category pages. Prior to the new(ish) Contributor Platform, all posts by external contributors were subject to an editorial approval process, but not anymore. Articles are posted immediately, without review. While this does guarantee an article will be live on huffingtonpost.com, it doesn’t necessarily lead to what anyone is really after: readers, commenters, lively debate, increased traffic, “The Dress”-level fame (it was blue).
This has all left me wondering, “has the Contributor Platform helped anyone accomplish their goals? And, what was the process really like?” I set out to learn the truth, and the truth is, current contributors are having overwhelmingly positive experiences.
Having your own blog is great, but sometimes you need to find new outlets and audiences to grow your existing user base.
“The process was very simple and I had no problems using it. My goal was to find another platform to educate my target market (students and parents looking for funding to lower the costs of college). Yes, I was able to reach new consumers and share college funding strategies with them. I had an excellent experience.”
-Ashley Hill
In the past, there were delays to content approvals due to the editorial process in place. Now, timely content can be crafted and published just as easily as it is to tweet in real-time.
“Overall, I give the Open Contributor platform a high rating. I love being able to post without delay.”
-Kelly Hughes
While every contributor may not have an article featured, it’s certainly a game-changer when it happens.
“Since becoming a contributor, I’ve published 6 articles and received one feature on Huffington Post Voice Parent. My Huffington Post experience has been nothing short of amazing, in addition to being an Amazon #1 best selling author, I have had the opportunity to leverage being a Huffington Post contributor to open the doors to other opportunities and joint ventures. If I had to rate my overall experience, I would rate it a 9.5.”
-Kendra Garcia
However, the platform may be experiencing growing pains. Contributors offered many suggestions to improve the user experience:
“The only issue is that the article published through this platform is not necessarily to be featured. They should optimize the system and every submitted article should automatically reach the editor. He or she should comment on it when approving or rejecting for featuring, which will be useful for the contributor.”
-Danyal Effendi
“My main frustration was that during the transition, I didn't get any communication from HuffPo that I was becoming an Open Contributor. So a blog post I had submitted right before the transition was sitting in limbo waiting for an editor's approval for almost two weeks. When my account changed over to the Open Contributor platform, I simply posted the blog directly. But I was little nervous for a week or two that a duplicate post would appear. Thankfully it never did.”
-Kelly Hughes
Perhaps this is just a bit too meta, but in sea of change to the world of media, content, and journalism, it’s an interesting look at the future of publishing. What are your thoughts on the new open contributor platform or contributor networks in general?