Money is good, but not a guarantee of success<\/h2>\n\n\n
It is a very common opinion – and I myself share it – that to launch media you need money. Content is expensive: publishing one expert article can cost 15 to 50 thousand rubles<\/strong>, if we take into account the entire production. Therefore, yes – need money<\/strong>. But how much? It would be nice to have a lot, but… actually money is not the main factor of success<\/strong>. It\u2019s difficult to start without minimal resources, but money itself doesn\u2019t guarantee anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n When I launched GeoConversation, I immediately allocated a budget for myself. To launch – about 150 thousand rubles<\/strong>: this included website development and launch<\/a><\/strong>, as well as preparation of the first materials. In the following months I spent 20\u201330 thousand rubles each<\/strong> – mostly on royalties to authors<\/strong>. I did most of the work myself, for free – I wrote and edited articles, was involved in promotion and strategy. Now that the media works on a regular basis, monthly expenses are already about 100 thousand rubles<\/strong> \u2014 taking into account publications, news, SEO and payment for services.<\/p>\n\n\n One might think: \u201cIf only there were several million at once, then everything would fly much faster.\u201d<\/em> But this is where the common mistake lies. A lot of money is not a guarantee of success.<\/strong> And not even in the sense that money can harm. Rather, you will simply merge them. You will start spending left and right, trying everything, without focus. Sometimes limited conditions<\/strong> This is precisely what helps – they keep you within limits, force you to choose, to be precise in your decisions. And when resources are limited, the main thing becomes especially clear: what really moves you forward<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n At the heart of any project, especially media, should be people who are passionate about ideas<\/strong>. People who really interesting<\/strong> do what they do. Who have target<\/strong>. \u201cAttract customers\u201d is not a goal for media. Target – help people<\/strong>, promote knowledge<\/strong>, create a platform for dialogue<\/strong>. My idea is exactly this: I wanted to create a place where industry professionals can speak<\/a> – and be heard. Where geologists, engineers, scientists not only read articles, but participate in a conversation about the future of the profession<\/strong>. You may have your own big goal. The main thing is that it exists.\u00a0 And money… it will help. But they don\u2019t determine whether your project will live<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n It often seems that launching media is very simple: register a domain, gather a couple of authors, publish articles – and you\u2019re done. But this is an illusion. Open media without experience, just by looking at others – won’t work<\/strong>. Someone must be able to do this manage<\/strong>. What was in my mind when we launched GeoConversation a year ago on June 18th?<\/p>\n\n\n Firstly, I had experience in content: I ran an agency and wrote custom articles – specifically in our industry, at the intersection of geology, IT and mining. I understood what I was writing about and knew how to package the knowledge and experience of an expert into a readable text. Secondly, I had a well-functioning editorial process: I knew how to work with experts, write and edit complex materials, and select authors. All this was not theory, but practice.<\/p>\n\n\n Separately, experience working with clients. I\u2019m used to taking into account requests, adapting materials to business objectives, and building communication. This helped me set up processes, but later played with me cruel joke<\/strong>. The habit of creating custom content became the cause of conflict\u2014and deep internal transformation. Because media requires a different approach<\/strong>: not serving, but journalistic. But more on that later.<\/p>\n\n\n In addition to practice, I also had specialized training<\/strong>. I took courses in copywriting and content marketing – with a focus on how texts convey an idea, build trust, and influence the reader. And in parallel with the launch of the media, I took a course on editorial management<\/strong>, where there was a whole module about creating media projects. That is, I literally studied – and immediately applied the knowledge in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n \ud83d\udccc If you are a company and are seriously thinking about launching brand media, it is important to understand: Just hiring a trade journalist is not enough.<\/strong> Now texts are structured differently, content works differently. Why exactly the approach of content marketing, and not journalism, is a separate big conversation. If you want to dig deeper into this or are planning a media launch, write to me – I\u2019m ready to advise.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n In the meantime, let’s return to the chronology.<\/p>\n\n\n The start was inspiring. We launched the website, published the first article – about a community of geologists united by spoken English<\/a>, and in the first month four materials were issued at once. It seemed that it would continue to be like this: cheerfully and rhythmically. But pretty quickly we were faced with reality.<\/p>\n\n\n I worked in the fields<\/a> and could not fully participate in the process. The supply of prepared texts ran out, and it became clear: the regularity of releases depends solely on internal resources<\/strong> – mine and the editors. And there weren’t enough of them. Neither time, nor people, nor, perhaps, my experience as a media executive. When there is no external deadline and no client to whom you are obliged to deliver the text, it is easy to relax. And I relaxed.<\/p>\n\n\n At that time, I didn\u2019t even have the feeling that media was already business that requires management<\/strong>. We had no clear goals or strategy. We published one or two articles a month, and that was fine with me. It was hobby<\/strong>. Fascinating, useful – but still a hobby. Not a business. For now.<\/p>\n\n\n By the end of last year there was a clear understanding: as a hobby it can no longer continue<\/strong>. I invest money in a project every month, and, like any entrepreneur, I have a logical question: will there be a return?<\/strong> This is not a volunteer project. I do cool things that I truly believe in. But if it doesn\u2019t start generating income, then why do all this?<\/p>\n\n\n At this moment I enter Editors’ Club<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 a professional community of editors and media managers. I understand that despite my experience in geophysics, copywriting and agency content, I I can’t know everything<\/strong>, and help and feedback from outside are necessary. I start going to meetings, listening to lectures, participating in masterminds and coming there with a specific request: how to find sponsors, advertisers, how to monetize your media?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n The answer was very honest:<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t attract advertisers yet. You only have 500 visitors per month. This is very little. It\u2019s impossible to sell such numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n And then inside me clicked<\/strong>. We cannot work as before. I can\u2019t afford to publish articles \u201caccording to my mood.\u201d From that moment on, I focused on the first priority: traffic<\/strong>. If I want to invite partners, if I want to offer them visibility, an audience, influence, I must first do this create<\/strong>. Since January, I began to work systematically – to increase attendance, to ensure that Every month more and more unique readers came to the site<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n The first step was the proposal of my partner Alexey: need more content<\/strong>. Not one or two articles a month, but regular updates – so that the site \u201clives\u201d and there is a reason to return to it. I began to publish short notes more often in the editorial column and share links on social networks. Traffic has increased slightly. But it quickly became clear: our resource is only enough for two longreads per month<\/strong>. So a solution emerged: start publishing news.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n We have launched a news section, where three short articles are published every day. Now you can visit the site every day and always find something new. This solved several problems at once: it increased the frequency of updates, retained attention, and helped expand coverage. But here a new question arose: and what news to publish?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Initially, we thought that we were talking about a classic news flow: something happened right now – an accident, an incident, an event. But our first SEO consultant said something important:<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cWith your traffic volume, no one comes to you for breaking news. You need to do what is called green news<\/em>.\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n Green news<\/strong> – these are those that do not lose relevance for several months. Ideally, if you can Google them and find them six months later. This is primarily news about technology, changes in the industry, new solutions and trends. Such topics \u201clive\u201d longer, are searched for longer and work to increase traffic even after a while. We have rebuilt. And they began to publish long-lasting content<\/strong>: about technology, laws, industrial trends<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n The result was not long in coming. Traffic increased already in January-February twice<\/strong> \u2014 from 500 to 1000 unique visitors per month. This was a noticeable shift. But… it still wasn’t enough.<\/p>\n\n\n At the end of January, I took a consultation with Ira Belova, the founder of the media MyGadget<\/a>. I told her what stage the media is at now, and heard the main thing from her: Without SEO promotion we will not grow. <\/strong>And we don\u2019t need someone who promotes online stores or landing pages, but content SEO specialist<\/strong> – a person who knows how to promote blogs and media<\/strong>, not product cards.<\/p>\n\n\n Until this moment, Alexey and I thought that we could handle it ourselves. We read something, watched guides, tried to figure it out. But in fact, we had neither system experience nor time to actually do SEO. Finding the right specialist was also not an easy task. It was necessary formulate a request<\/strong>, weed out candidates with commercial experience and find someone who understands how content projects work<\/strong>. And we succeeded – at the end of March and on April 1, we began full-fledged promotion work.<\/p>\n\n\n The results, of course, will not appear immediately. Typically, SEO begins to pay off within 3-4 months. But now we see steady growth<\/strong> – not sharp, but progressive. An SEO specialist warned that the jump usually occurs avalanche-like<\/strong>: at first everything goes slowly, and then there is a sharp rise. This is what we are waiting for by the end of summer.<\/p>\n\n\n What did the SEO specialist do? He transferred work from sensations to facts<\/strong>. Previously, I wrote articles on topics that seemed interesting to me. But they did not always coincide with what people were really looking for. Now we are preparing articles based on real search queries<\/strong>. Not blindly, but based on analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n But here it was fundamentally important for me: Don\u2019t fall into the SEO trade<\/strong>. Each such article must remain full expert material<\/strong>, and not a set of keys and compilation from open sources. We talking to experts<\/a>, we package the interview into a structured, useful text. This isn’t SEO for SEO’s sake, it’s… content that really helps and is easy to find through search engines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n Today we have already published two such articles, some are still in progress:<\/p>\n\n\n And the second one – about salaries<\/a> \u2014 on the first day<\/strong> got into the selection from artificial intelligence and came out to second place in search<\/strong>. This was the first tangible success. And I’m sure: further – only more<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n Initially, I went into the media with the usual model: write custom articles for companies<\/strong>, talk about their cases, publish them – and make money from it in order to support the project. This is how I worked before as a commercial author, and it seemed that everything would be the same here. But in February there was a conflict that completely changed my thinking<\/strong>. That’s when I realized:<\/p>\n\n\n I’m not the author, I’m the publisher<\/strong>. We were preparing material – an interview with the head of the company. I interviewed and wrote the text. As usual, before publication I sent it to the hero – not for approval<\/strong>, and for fact checks<\/strong>. This is standard practice to avoid technical inaccuracies and maintain accuracy of wording. In our case, this is especially important, because all the articles are complex and contain a lot of terms and technical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n In response I received 150 edits<\/strong>, of which 99% is not about facts<\/strong>. This was a complete rewrite of the text – <\/strong>style, presentation. I just didn’t like the way it was written. At first I was scared. It seemed to me that if I did not accept all the edits, publication would be banned. When I carefully studied the corrections<\/strong>, it became clear: the text gets worse<\/strong>. He’s losing liveliness, precision, character<\/strong>. Instead of lively speech there are clich\u00e9s. Instead of the sharp edges that were in the interview, there are smoothed formulations. The article was becoming bland.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n I realized: if you publish it in this form, it will be no one is interested in<\/strong>except, probably, the hero of the article himself.\u00a0 And this contradicts the very essence of media. We write for the reader<\/strong>, rather than publishing a press release. And at that moment for the first time I sided with the editors<\/strong>. I said:<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cWe will correct factual errors. Everything else remains.”<\/p>\n\n\n A conflict began. I was threatened with a publication ban. I was stressed and turned to the Editors-in-Chief Club. They clearly explained to me:<\/p>\n\n\n you are a journalist. At that moment it happened to me internal transformation<\/strong>. After all, even when creating media, thinking about the reader, I continued think like a custom author<\/strong>. It seemed to me that the hero\u2019s opinion was more important than the editorial position. But in reality, I am only responsible in front of the reader<\/strong>. Then I grew up. I said: yes, we will correct the facts<\/strong>. But the material will come out Edited by GeoConversation<\/strong>. Because this is our job, and I am responsible for it. After this incident I formulated key rule for your media<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n We only publish what really of interest to the reader<\/strong>. My client is not a company, but reader<\/strong>. And this is what determines my financial model. Now I I’m not looking for clients<\/strong>. I’m looking for partners<\/strong> \u2014 strategic<\/strong> or rubric partners<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n But the main thing: no partner influences the content<\/strong>. He does not define<\/strong>, what we write about and how we present it. And here is my strict rule: withstand pressure<\/strong>. Because there will always be someone who wants to influence. But my task is defend the interests of the reader<\/strong>. Because, no one is interested in reading PR propaganda<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n The first year is over – and we are still small. Even for Google and Yandex, we are not yet a site that is unconditionally trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"Table](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1-2-1024x424.webp\")
<\/a>What resources do you really need to launch a media outlet?<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2-2.webp\")
<\/a>The first six months: not shaky, not shaky<\/h2>\n\n\n
Everything changed at the end of December<\/h2>\n\n\n
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![\"Banner](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/3-2-1024x757.webp\")
<\/a>How we started working with traffic<\/h2>\n\n\n
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![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/4-2-1024x876.webp\")
<\/a>How we came to SEO and started growing<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Histogram](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/5-2-1024x143.webp\")
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![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6-3.webp\")
<\/a>How the financial model of media has changed<\/h2>\n\n\n
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![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7-3-1024x430.webp\")
<\/a>Stronger together: support GeoConversation<\/h2>\n\n\n