The founder of Talk to the Press, an agency which allows members of the public to sell their stories to newspapers and magazines, has set up a service connecting freelancers and commissioning editors, particularly those looking for women's magazine-type content. Case Study Link allows magazines and newspapers to post case study and feature requests and then sends alerts to the freelancer journalists who have paid to become members.Case Study Link has been going for a couple of years, running as a free-to-access platform for freelancers. It has recently taken the bold step of charging freelance journalists £12-a-month to use the service to access potential story leads.
Founder of both agencies Natasha Courtenay-Smith told Journalism.co.uk about how she feels her business can help freelancers.
Q. What is Case Study Link?
A. Case Study Link enables freelance journalists and press agencies to get more work and stay in the loop with what commissioning editors are looking for.
We market the website to commissioning editors and we've had a lot of success. For example, the Sun has just put something out saying they're looking for a case study for a story. Every day requests come in from the papers based on what is in the news.
Q. Give me an example.
A. There was a story on egg donors being paid £750 so everyone was suddenly looking for someone to talk about egg donation who has had experience of it. So what we are trying to teach the commissioning editors to do is go to Case Study Link, fill out a form with what they are looking for, press send and then it gets sent to the freelancers. If you imagine you are a freelance journalist and three years ago you interviewed a woman about egg donation, now you have that lead and can go back to ask if she can be re-interviewed. It's a really good way of keeping in the loop to find out what commissioning editors are looking for and recycling old stories.
Q. What does it cost freelancers?
A. It costs £10 per month + £2 VAT.
The website has been going for about two years and it was always intended that at some point a subscription would be introduced, but obviously first it needed to be established. So we got all the other agencies signed up, plus a few friends who are freelancers and now we are rolling out the subscription charges to everybody.
Some of the freelancers who have been receiving the alerts for free have made quite a lot of money recycling old stuff. It's also good for times when you don't have any work. If you are a freelancer there are times when you are sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring and you might not know anyone on the Sun, because they don't know you, and suddenly you get an alert through that the Sun is looking for a particular case study. You can make it your job for the day to find what they are looking for and then send it in. At least you know you are approaching the right commissioning editor with the right idea at the very moment they want that idea.
Q. What kind of stories are the commissioning editors looking for? It sounds like they are after features and women's magazine content.
A. That is how it started in the beginning. And I hope, in the long-term, it will grow. ITN News posts a lot of requests, looking for a family that has seen their savings dwindle, for example. So it is growing into a more varied pool of requests.
Q. Is there a charge for news organisations to post requests?
A. No.
Q. After the introduction are the fees then agreed between the commissioning editor and the freelance journalist?
A. Yes. So in the same way that when you are a freelancer selling a story, you try and negotiate the best fee. And it depends, some people might just be selling a number. So if the Sun is looking for this egg donation study for tomorrow's paper, you can either sell them the number and let them do it in house or you can say to them that you will write the piece. If a newspaper wants something they will be happy for a freelancer to write up the copy and pay for it.
When freelancers sign up to Case Study Link they automatically get a download of a Q&A which lists what fees you can expect if you are selling number or if you are selling copy. Most publications have pretty set rates and they are normally quite straight up about what they are. They might say "if you write this piece and it is 1,500 words we'll pay you £500 or £600". It obviously depends on the publication. The download explains the basics of it: what to do, what sort of fee to ask for, to know the difference between offering a number for a tip and offering copy.
Q. What type of freelancers are using Case Study Link?
A. Many are freelancers who are sitting at home in their loft office in Scotland thinking "how am I going to get some work as it all seems so far away". There are testimonials on the site.
Have you used Case Study Link? Has it helped you as a freelancer? Share you thoughts on the service in the comments below.
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Senior Desk Editor - International News Desk
