The word "Bridezilla" and an editor who just didn't get it, round after round of layoffs and re-orgs, and women's news relegated to the Lifestyles section. It was all enough for journalist Joanna Cattanach. She quit her newspaper job to run her own website for women, much to the amazement of fellow co-workers. They thought it was insane to quit a paying job, especially in this economy, to take on the ever-growing heap of websites for women.
It probably doesn't seem very crazy to them now. Joanna's ChickTalkDallas.com, a site she started last June to focus on news stories and blog entries for Dallas women, is kicking butt. No longer reliant on writing stories for someone else, she covers the gamut - unemployment, roller derby, finance, and race - writing stories that are meaningful to women on different levels. Her work serves as contributing content in other local news sites, and even though her focus is on Dallas women, her content has readers from other parts of the country as well.
One of the great things about Joanna's blog, written by a woman who not only is a journalist but who teaches it too, is that it's more professional than many of the women's sites out there. She really covers her stories, she doesn't just write about them and cite references. After covering Assassination City Roller Derby, she will participate in team tryouts - a rigorous ninety day process. She goes to exotic dancer auditions when researching the sex industry, uses her husband as a guinea pig when reviewing a book about how to deal with a man when you're pissed at him, vows to dress Medieval-style for the upcoming Renaissance Fair, and she, raised a Christian, blogged about fasting during Ramadan. Now, she is planning a trip to the middle east to write about the women of Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria and Lebanon. And she does all this with a sense of humor, quality work, and passion for writing about what's important to women.
Although she has writers that contribute to ChickTalkDallas occasionally, the majority of the stories, opinion pieces, and blog entries are written by Joanna, herself. I asked her how she did it, keeping a dynamic site updated with interesting and well-written material, and she said that it's important to keep her own voice as the primary for the site. It ensures that visitors will know who they are reading, and keeps the style from going in too many directions - a vital key to the success of any site. That's a lot of hard work, even without teaching and contributing to other publications.
The hard work is paying off though, and after the success of ChickTalkDallas, she is hoping to start sister sites in other cities as well. Check her out, even if you're not a Dallas girl, and keep your eyes peeled for some Chick Talk in your area!
This was my first in-person interview, and as a non-journalist-who-needs-a-recorder and a better set of questions, I thought of a couple that I shot off to Joanna this morning that I know readers will want to know - thanks to her for the fast answers!
K: What keeps you going every day as you work on ChickTalkDallas?
Joanna: That's easy. Readers. On days when I don't want to blog or I don't feel like anyone is reading, I just look at my Facebook fan page or Twitter page or comments or web stats and see what others are saying, check the numbers, the new fans and remind myself that what I do does matter to them and to me!
K: What advice would you offer the woman bloggers out there who really want to see their blog succeed?
Joanna: Be patient: Not everyone will visit your wonderful blog at first. Don't get discouraged. You have to establish your online presence.
Be opinionated: A blog is a selfish online diary. Be honest. Have a point of view and make sure you back up your opinion with smart reasoning and links if at all possible.
Have a purpose: Who are you writing to and for? Know your online purpose and your job as a blogger will be easier. Your blogs will be more concise and targeted too.
Be fruitful and multiply: Be prepared to write a lot. If you want a blog to be successful, something more than a hobby, you have to invest a lot of time. If you have a good resource like Word Press, you can blog days in advance if necessary. I blog at least twice a day five days a week.
Be timely and relevant: Search engines routinely comb the web for information. If there's a timely story you're interested in, blog about it to get increased traffic.
Self advertise: Get your blog Twittering, a Facebook fan page and Networked Blogs as well as Digg and other free, online sources to get your blog out there and people following
Share: I share blog content all the time. Don't let people steal from you but if you have something that would appeal to a wide audience you don't normally reach, by all means give it away. I share with sources like Pegasus News and Dallas South News.
I like her website a lot!