Forbes is making changes to its contributor network

Forbes magazine editor Randall Lane writes about how the magazine is upgrading its online contributor network.

Lane writes, “First, effective immediately, every individual contributor will be on a paid contract, and those contracts will be uniform. The standard pay rates will not change from our current scale, which compensates these contributors for the loyal audience they build — incentivizing quality — rather than quick eyeballs. And we’ll now provide a larger, monthly $500 guarantee to those who post more regularly. This guarantee will work like a book advance — the money will be paid against those performance rates, and the numbers come up short, the contributor still gets the guarantee, and we start with a clean slate the next month. We’ll also offer a $250 guarantee to those who post less regularly; give contributors who want to dial-back further in any month the same ongoing guarantees in months they want to more fully engage; and we’ll grandfather in any contributor this year who was working under an old standard contract and prefers to keep it.

“The pay guarantees above are just a start – we hope each contributor does far better. Many already do: In 2017, more than 100 earned well into five-figures, including five that topped the $200,000 threshold. We’re also building a suite of perks for top contributors, from more prominent visibility for their posts to a partnership with top agent David Granger (the legendary Esquire editor-in-chief now at Aevitas Creative Management) that can help them transform posts into book or movie deals.

“In conjunction with these increased expenditures, which will bring in more talent, we’re redoubling our commitment to quality, and doing so systemically. The contributor platform empowers a diverse set of voices — experts and freelance journalists writing in their prescribed areas of mastery. It’s incumbent on Forbes to recruit wisely. We’ve put more authority with our reporters to find the best minds in their beat areas. This will allow us to expand in areas where we’re underrepresented, from real estate to sports business to venture capital.”