Maureen Chigbo, the President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), has called on the more than 100 members of the Guild to make decisions that would distinguish them as entrepreneurs in the online media community.

The President made the remark in welcoming corporate online publishers to Reverton Hotel in Lokoja, Kogi State, where the 8th annual general meeting (AGM) and Conference kicked off Wednesday, October 2, 2024.

The President said members must realise that online is the future of journalism, saying even traditional news organs have realized it and are rushing in. “We must know we are mediapreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the online media community.”

Maureen Chigbo: Visionary leader taking GOCOP to a higher level

She noted that the AGM is usually to reinvigorate members’ businesses while adhering to ethical rules.

On capacity building session that started the Day One, the President said the choice of experienced members to serve as resource persons was deliberate, saying; “We have brought our members that have succeeded in various aspects to talk to members so more people can succeed. That is what peer review does to us. Today is capacity-building, peer review, and talking to GOCOP partners. We also have our annual general meeting (AGM) today where we give account of stewardship.”

Chigbo, publisher of Relnews, said GOCOP has its own corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. “We will visit an orphanage to give back to society. We recommend this to all our corporate members because we must put something aside each year in our different publishing outfits to give back to society.”

She appreciated members for solidarity and support while commending the people and government of Kogi State for playing host to GOCOP members. She equally commended the organizing committee for painstaking efforts to make Lokoja-24 a bright event. She gave kudos to the membership committee for strict screening processes to make the Guild a credible group of corporate publishers.

In the first presentation, Dr Maxwell Amuchie, Founder/CEO, Sundiata Post Media Ltd, drilled members on ‘Low Hanging Fruits; A Revenue Strategy for Online Publishers’. He said it is to help online publishers answer a crucial worry in the online publishing business, which is how to earn sustainable revenue from the practice.

He identified the obvious revenue areas which he called low hanging fruits. He named some of them as: sponsored posts, link insertions, text link adverts, and press releases.

On major revenue schemes available to online publishers, he mentioned banner adverts, special projects writing especially with state governments and agencies, digital advertising, social media revenue, events management, as well as licensing and syndication.

Dr Amuchie who gave a deep insight into his experience in the beginning and how he stumbled on opportunities, gave hints on how to maximise the revenue areas. He said: “Despite advices and counsel by GOCOP, members have the responsibility to define their business strategies and make their websites offer value that can attract patronage.”

Members brainstormed on how to create revenue streams without breaching ethics of the profession.