What is Deseret Connect?
Welcome to the Deseret Connect! Most contributors join because they are deeply motivated by our mission and want to blend their topical and writing expertise with our distribution capacity to elevate their influence. We believe there are audiences across the world hungry for a more positive, genuine, and values-driven voice to emerge. We are keenly aware many people possess talent and a voice, and only need the megaphone and stage we can provide. In terms of influence, between our online brands alone, we receive nearly 300 million online page views per month and growing. By adding your voice with ours, you will reach many, many more people than on your own.
Deseret Connect was developed to provide unique stories and perspectives for publishing and distribution through Deseret Media Companies' leading brands. As a Deseret Connect contributor, you share your voice and expertise with our audiences through these media outlets. Once you register as a contributor, you can start submitting articles, photos, videos and graphic artwork – on topics of your choosing or in response to one of our assignments – for publishing through our partners. Within Deseret Connect you will have access to an array of tools, tutorials, editors and groups of colleagues that, combined, will guide you toward success.
What topics are we looking for?
Our contributors provide exceptional content across an array of topics – from Utah State basketball to humanitarian work in Nepal, from book reviews to high school fundraisers. Deseret Media Companies seek your best work on topics where you bring unique perspective, expertise or experience. In addition to providing our readers with consistent stories across the news and information spectrum, we do have six areas of focus that help guide our investigative and editorial reporting:
- The Family
- Financial Responsibility
- Faith in the Communities
- Excellence in Education
- Care for the Poor
- Values in the Media
We welcome you to consider these themes as well as our mission as you consider the content you may create. In addition to these themes, we currently seek individuals who can provide timely articles on Utah high school sports and activities.
I love prep sports, how can I help cover my local high school?
The Deseret Media Companies are well-known for their commitment to local communities and their families. At the heart of communities are schools and families. In support of schools and families, we believe in "catching kids doing great things." By expanding our coverage of prep sports and activities through Deseret Connect we'll showcase young people who are working toward success. We invite prep sports and activities enthusiasts from all over the state to join Deseret Connect and begin submitting content about your local high school basketball games, debate tournaments and plays.
Where will my work be published?
All content you submit through Deseret Connect may be published through one or more of our leading media brands:
You may also be featured in one of our newer media brands, which we have developed (with more in planning) to target specific audiences and messages:
As a new contributor most of your work will be reviewed carefully and published judiciously. As you continue to provide content of high quality that matches your interests and expertise, our media partners will increasingly publish your work throughout our media brands.
How will Deseret Connect help me improve my work?
You will have the opportunity to review several tutorials about how to succeed in a media organization. Your content will also be reviewed by peers and editors who will give helpful feedback. Contributors join Deseret Connect groups organized around topics of interest where you can interact with others to improve your work. We will also provide seminars and events from time to time to help you grow your influence.
Will I know how my work is doing?
Through Deseret Connect, you will be able to see both where your content is published and how many people are viewing your work. Our editors and readers will also give your content feedback via ratings and comments.
How am I rewarded for my work in Deseret Connect?
From time to time, our contributors can also earn money for what they create and publish in two ways:
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Assignments.
As you'll see in our system, our brand managers will post requests for the delivery of specific content from time to time. Some such requests carry a bounty for the writer whose capability and background match their needs, and who fulfills the assignment expeditiously. Paid assignments may involve either an upfront, declared amount plus approved expense reimbursement. Other assignments may be eligible for performance payments — where compensation is associated with readership. -
Bonuses.
In some cases, we will offer bonuses to contributors for exemplary work, consistent high quality, high traffic, peer accolades, or for being published in a specific publication.
As we learn more about the costs and benefits of developing and delivering content in this fashion, we expect the compensation to be more dynamic – with some articles being worth more because of traffic, and others less.
How do I work in Deseret Connect?
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Build your profile and portfolio
The starting point for each member of DC is your profile, where you'll provide a photo, a bio and other background information that will be helpful to readers and other DC members wanting to learn more about you. Your profile will also display the content you've published and new content you may be working on. We anticipate that your profile and content history will develop into a vibrant portfolio of your work. It will also develop into a place where you can manage your connections to other DC members and groups.
As a DC contributor, you can:
- Manage your profile
- Develop your skills by reviewing tools and tutorials
- Propose and accept story assignments via your workdesk
- View your published work throughout the DMC network
- Join a group to accept assignments and collaborate with peers
- Observe your influence tracking for each story
- Manage your rewards for the work you produce (coming soon)
- Make and manage connections with other DC contributors and leaders (coming soon)
DC members may choose to make portions of their portfolio public or private. The goal is simply to increase your influence by publishing trusted, high quality content and this is your dashboard and becomes your influence portfolio. Welcome aboard.
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Join a group
Deseret Connect groups provide opportunities for contributors interested in a particular topic to collaborate and publish. Groups also help us get to know our contributors' backgrounds and interests, and allow us to foster better interaction between our publishers and contributors. Our publishers regularly submit assignments to groups, where individual contributors claim them.
Interested DC contributors must request access in order to join a Public Group, or be invited by group leaders. Eventually we'll expand the role of groups in our organization and your work. You'll note that many groups have already formed and are working today. If you have an idea for a group or some suggestions for new features, please email us at help@deseretconnect.com.
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Start contributing
The core of Deseret Connect is the interaction between you, a copy editor, and our publishers. To get started, you can do the following:
Propose a Story.
If you have an idea for a story, you may pitch the story to our publishers for their review and approval for copy editing and then publishing.Choose a Story.
You may claim an assignment from one of our publishers, and submit it by deadline for copy editing. You will receive notice when it is published and will be able to track page views via Deseret Connect.Learn.
To help you improve the quality of your work, we've provided a number of exercises and tutorials.
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Review your progress
Return to Deseret Connect often to review feedback from editors and peers, to see where your story's been published, or track your page views.
