Decisions you make during the reporting process will significantly affect your ability to sustain public interest long term. Some key points:
- Start the campaign early, and make your audience part of it.
- Take advantage of new technologies, social networks, RSS and Twitter feeds while you are in the field. Blog dispatches from the field serve as teasers to your larger project. It’s a great way to start building your audience’s interest – and it may provoke your readers to post comments with valuable insights.
- Use your blog, social network sites and/or Twitter feeds to invite your audience to post questions and comments. Make them part of the conversation: They’ll be more likely to follow you if they know you want to hear from them.