Sarah Hartley, local launch editor, The Guardian
The best way to learn about blogging is by doing it: Sign up for a free Wordpress blog this afternoon and get cracking. You'll find there's plenty of us around to give ongoing help and support — myself, Paul [Bradshaw] and Alison [Gow] regularly get involved helping other bloggers online as I'm sure many others do. Looking at our blog rolls and Twitter links should get you started on where to go for advice too. And start pushing your profile - I can't help notice you've signed on this forum under a nickname (why?) and you've told us all you're on Twitter without telling us your Twitter name. How would we know to commission you? If you wish to follow me I'm @foodiesarah on Twitter and my blog is here.
Blogging should teach you everything you need to know. It will teach you how get yourself noticed, writing with an audience in mind, marketing, SEO, linking etc. So take a step into the online world, start a blog and find out whether there is an audience for the type of material you are interested in producing. If you have enough of an audience, someone will pay for your material.
NCTJ can be worthwhile for online journalists too: Yes, the National Council for the Training of Journalists exams are still something of a measure. The qualifications are (still) aimed at newspaper journalists but if your online interests involve a mainstream news organisation then they may still be appropriate. Those who make it online tend to do so through talent rather than background because there's just no dusty corners to hide online.
Make sure you have a presence of all the major online platforms: The top three things for me would be; understand the power of linking and do it — always — be everywhere; make sure you have a presence of all the major online platforms and work on building and maintaining a network. It's hard work but very rewarding.
John Hand, duty editor, UK desk, BBC News website
Keep up with new developments and technology: Early in your career, you may be trying to get a job with an editor who knows a lot less about Facebook, Twitter and blogging than you do. Making sure you keep across new developments and understanding their impact on the media world will always mark you out. Conversely, it is also worth learning about older media because you may also have to serve an older audience. See how debates develop on the letters page of your local paper (interactive media at its most basic), ask and monitor how your local radio station gathers news etc.
Write as much as you can and make sure people see your work: It is important to write as much as you can and show off your writing. If you've blogged on a particular subject, why not regularly send a link to a newspaper, magazine or website and make it clear that you are happy for them to quote you as a blogger or contact you if they want any more.
Look to the BBC for resources and training in online journalism: The BBC does run a work experience placement scheme and has a long-established training scheme. The BBC's College of Journalism — which is responsible for the ongoing training of the BBC's journalists — has now gone public to allow anyone to access the learning resources made available to us, such as modules on production skills, core values and law, for example.
Laura-Jane Filotrani, site editor, Guardian Careers
Develop multimedia skills and demonstrate a love for the internet: This is my first post completely online but all the jobs I have done up to this point have prepared me for this. I have always looked to develop my multimedia skills in every role I have taken as an editor and got involved with websites very early on — from my first job actually. My key steps — although having come essentially from print, writing and commissioning features — have been to develop my multi-media skills and demonstrate a love for the internet.
I naturally like technology and find being round developers inspiring. I think this definitely helps if you want to work online, you need to be able to communicate your ideas with developers so that they can build what you want and part of the joy of the job is developing new ideas, new ways of telling a story, new ways of engaging your audience. Without the developers your idea is just a dream.
Get experience working with community, video and audio: For me, the most important things for improving your chances in online journalism are community, video and audio; the ability to use all media to create a story of substance. Also you need to be able to demonstrate a passion for digital. By this I mean that you are active online, you use the net, you have a profile online, you use and understand community, you are excited by being able to reach people using the internet, you want to find out the latest developments. Multi-media is what I look for and a passion to innovate. I now turn to Twitter as my first port of call if I am looking to pick up a new journo; I regularly commission from updates, comments that catch my eye, events that are going on, stuff happening in people's lives. It is a fantastic resource and so immediate. It is a perfect tool for commissioning editors.
Paul Bradshaw, senior lecturer in online journalism Birmingham City University
There are a few MA courses that allow budding writers to hone digital skills: University of Central Lancashire and Bournemouth are the two that spring to mind. The main difference in the course I run, online journalism Birmingham City University, is that it is not entry level, it's aimed at people with previous media experience — whether journalism, media production, blogging or web production — and focuses on essentially working out a shape for a viable media operation; from news-gathering, production and distribution through to the business model(s) underpinning that.
Learn more about blogging at social media surgeries: I would see if there are some social media surgeries in your area. In Birmingham, for example, a lot of bloggers give their time free to help people start blogging. There's also Talk About Local, which is doing a similar thing with UK Online Centres (try them too). If that doesn't exist in your area, I'd try to create one. Find some local bloggers, ask if you can meet them and ask for their advice and help. You'd be surprised how generous they can be. (It will help if you blog about them first and link to them.) And, of course, read blogs about blogging, The Blog Herald, for example, and the various tutorials and posts about it online. I wouldn't pay for a crash course, at most, I'd pay for a book about Wordpress.
Having lots of followers on Twitter will make editors pay attention: I'd focus on creating value yourself, having conversations, and passing on useful stuff on Twitter. If you can build a few hundred or thousand-plus followers then editors may finally notice you when you follow them. Plus you should read, blog, network online, fail, get better, make a reputation, build an audience (which an employer is buying when they hire you) and use all the above to be prepared when an opportunity comes along. You need to engage with online communities around your specialist area, help them, provide valuable information and contacts, and then when you need help on something, they'll be there for you in return. It will also build a distribution network for your content.
