avatarChristina Szeman

Summary

Christina Szeman, a copywriter with a focus on radio commercials, is contemplating the creation of a unique Medium publication centered around entertainment that goes beyond typical celebrity gossip, inviting diverse perspectives on the industry, including reviews of various media and personal experiences.

Abstract

Christina Szeman has been active on Medium since September, primarily using the platform to expand her writing experience beyond radio commercials. She is considering launching her own entertainment-focused Medium publication, which would stand out by covering a broad range of topics within the industry, from reviews of movies, TV shows, and music to discussions of podcasts, YouTube, and TikTok content. Szeman aims to incorporate personal stories, such as encounters with celebrities or experiences in the entertainment field, and welcomes contributions from both known and unknown figures in entertainment. She emphasizes a desire for content that reflects on the work of entertainers rather than their personal lives and explicitly rejects celebrity gossip and fashion critiques. While she has some ideas for the publication's name and structure, Szeman is seeking feedback and advice on various aspects, including the target audience, marketing strategies, and potential monetization.

Opinions

  • Szeman values quality content that focuses on the work of entertainers rather than their personal lives or fashion choices.
  • She is open to including a variety of content types, including reviews, personal experiences, and industry insights, as long as they contribute to a constructive dialogue about entertainment.
  • Szeman is against content that could be perceived as bullying or sexist, particularly in the context of fashion critiques.
  • She acknowledges her inexperience in certain areas, such as graphics design and marketing, and is actively seeking assistance and feedback from the Medium community.
  • Szeman is considering the importance of a publication title, logo, and whether or not to monetize the platform, but these decisions are still in the exploratory phase.
  • She is hesitant to proceed without a clear understanding of her target audience and effective marketing strategies to attract readers both on and off Medium.

Thinking About Creating My Own Exciting Medium Publication

Here are my thoughts on it.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash.

I’ve only been on Medium since September of this year. I mentioned in an earlier article my reason for being on this platform is to get more writing experience than just writing radio commercials (Which I have done eight years before this pandemic) Yet; as I was gaining more experience writing my articles, I was thinking of creating my own publication.

I am stalling on this for a few reasons. One is that I have never created something like this. Two, I am not much of a graphics designer. Third, I don’t know my target audience yet, and I don’t have a name for this publication.

I have looked around the web at digital magazines similar to mine. I might do a SWOT analysis later on. But I do need your help on how to get this publication started.

Also, a hint here is that some of what I will mention to you will be on the submission page. What do you think? I would also need some feedback from those who already have a publication on Medium.

Here’s My Ideal Publication:

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay.

The Idea

I did check out some other online publications about this niche. There is one sort of similar one, but it is mainly about the 90s. What is it?

I like to do another Entertainment Publication. How is it going to be different from all the others? Of course, I don’t mind people reviewing the latest Movie, TV, or Music. But what about also checking out a podcast, YouTube, TikTok video to review? And even though I wouldn’t say I like this, I don’t mind you writing some spoiler alerts as long as you mention that, for example, who was the latest celebrity to be unmasked on The Masked Singer.

Another thing that I want in this publication is the writer’s own personal view of the Entertainment business. I mean that in, what is your favorite, TV show, song, album, band, singer, director, actor, Influencer, a concert you went to, movie, podcast, TikTok or YouTube channel and tell me the reason why? What were you doing when you heard a big-time celebrity died?

For those of you whose English is a second language, you can talk about the Entertainment industry in your country. I mean all the entertainment that we in the rest of the world haven’t heard of.

You can write about your experience meeting a celebrity. That is if you did actually meet one. Or you can imagine what it would be like to meet one alive or dead.

You can even write about those crazy fans you encountered on Social Media or in real life. I did write one that I now deleted, about the racist and negative reactions of some online fans of the late Anne Rice when they found out who will play the part of Louis in The Vampire Chronicles TV Show.

If you are an unknown actor, podcaster, YouTuber, or TikTok star, you can about your own experiences with those mediums. For known and unsigned musicians and bands, write about those experiences.

You can do interviews with local or yet-to-be-known celebrities. They do need more of a break than those who are already famous. I think that there are some rules regarding that. I would have to ask those who have already publications about this.

I also don’t mind those of you working behind the scenes as crew members who want to write about your experiences.

Here are three examples of articles that I have written that will also be included:

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.

What I Don’t Want

I know that most of the Entertainment blogs out there are mainly about celebrity gossip. I do not want to do that in my publication because I don’t care about: who is dating who, who got married, or who is in jail. I’d instead focus on their work rather than their personal lives. Besides, that’s what we pay them for in the first place. However, speaking of gossip, I don’t mind you writing about that when you are reviewing a reality show or Drama. There’s plenty of exciting gossip in those.

This next one that I don’t want bothers me a lot. I do not want to include anything to do with fashion. I know that every celebrity has to look good on the red carpet. Plus, everyone has different tastes when it comes to clothes. The main reason why I don’t want any fashion reviews or critiques about what a celebrity wears is if you hate it, then it becomes bullying and sexist. I mean the latter because female celebrities wear most of those clothes being criticized, not so much for the men. Does anybody remember the show Fashion Police that was full of bullies? Otherwise, I don’t care about “Who wears who” because the reason why these celebrities mention these designers is so that people can rush out to buy these million-dollar dresses. And yet, only 5% of the population can afford that. I’ve even been to a store that sells expensive clothing, and they do not look all that great, not even an ugly graffiti-filled $12,000 (In Canadian Dollars) pair of pants by Dolce and Gabbana. That is my two cents on why I don’t want anything to do with fashion in this publication.

Do not include celebrity photos that you copied and pasted from another site. That is copyright infringement right there. The same goes with movie posters and album covers. If you did take an amateur photo with you and a celebrity, that is fine. If you know a band, musician, or an up-and-coming actor, you can ask them if you can take a photo of them or use their album cover for your article.

I know that I might include more dos and don’ts when I publish this publication. But I am still hesitant because of the reasons why I am going to list below.

The Reasons Why I am Stalling.

  1. I am still researching who my target audience is for my Copywriting business. Otherwise, I do not know the target audience for this publication.
  2. I don’t have a title for this publication yet. The official title might come later. For now, here are some that came from a Generator online. Tell me what you think of these, or if you want to help me come up with better ones (Note: Entertainment and Fan might not be in the official title either): Entertainment Fan Symposium, The Entertained Fan, Perceptive Entertainment Fan, or Glitz Without the Glam.
  3. I am still learning about Marketing. I only know about advertising. So, this is a steep learning curve for me. If any writers are better at this than me, you can help or give me some advice on it.
  4. Part of my problem with marketing and target audience is how to attract more readers outside of Medium. I know that one way is through Medium, Email, and Social Media. This is funny because I am a copywriter who cannot sell herself well. But I know that I am not the only one with this problem.
  5. There is a question about the logo. Do I need one? I did try to create one myself for my business, but that didn’t go too well. I think that I know where to go for that one.
  6. Do I need to monetize this publication? If so, how do I do that?
  7. I might do a weekly publication on this. What do you think?

Conclusion

I do need your honest opinion on this. Is this publication a good idea? Is there something that I am missing? Is there something that I didn’t think of that you might help me with? Please leave all your thoughts in the comments. I really do need your feedback.

Publications On Medium
Publication
Entertainment
Entertainment Industry
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