For independent journalists, the federated web is a great tool to be personal and share your brand. Each of these platforms operate uniquely. Mastodon may be better suited to host community conversation, Bluesky is a hub for professional connection and networking, and Ghost is a home base to host your portfolio and brand. As independent journalists carve out a beat, quality over quantity in the community engagement goes a long way.
When making a Mastodon account, pick a server where your audience already is. When making a Mastodon account, it can help to begin on a server where your audience, sources, or peers already seem to be. But, this is not always identifiable immediately. Finding the “right” server often requires an onboarding period, starting somewhere more general, observing how different communities interact, scrolling across the fediverse through tools like Surf, and paying attention to where relevant conversations, sources, and journalists actually gather.
Discovery is ultimately shaped by interactions with the right community. For independent journalist, this can be where your sources are, what type of stories and beats you cover, or where other journalists who publish similar content exist. Introduce yourself in the #introduction hashtag. Without organizational backing, community can be found and carved within the fediverse.
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For example: A journalist covering Chicago sports could join or interact heavily with an instance where…
This does not necessarily require that the journalist join the perfect server immediately. They can begin by following relevant accounts across servers, replying to posts, using beat-specific hashtags, and observing where useful conversations are happening. Over time, this can help them decide whether their current server is sufficient or whether another community would be a better home.
This process can be tedious, especially for independent journalists who already have limited time and institutional support. However, it can be worth it because the fediverse can function like a reporting network. Taking time to find the right communities can help journalists identify sources, follow niche conversations early, build trust with readers, and reach people who are already invested in their beat. For an independent journalist, this kind of community-building can substitute for some of the visibility, credibility, and audience infrastructure that a newsroom might otherwise provide.
If you’re looking for something that closely resembles Twitter without a traditional algorithm or centralized ownership, Bluesky is where many journalists have gathered. Bluesky can function as both a publishing channel and a credibility layer.
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Tip: A custom domain handle can help verify identity and make a solo journalist look more professional, while pinned posts can serve as a mini-portfolio for new readers, editors, sources, and potential subscribers.
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Starter packs are especially valuable for discovery. Freelancers can ask curators to include them in packs related to their beat, location, or expertise, or they can create their own starter packs to position themselves within a reporting community.
Custom feeds can serve a similar purpose. Journalists can follow existing feeds to monitor niche conversations, or create their own feeds around beats such as city hall, climate, courts, labor, immigration, or culture. By curating a feed, a journalist can gather useful sources and readers in one place, make their expertise more visible, and build an audience around a specific topic without relying on a newsroom’s existing reach.
Because independent journalists often have to earn trust directly, Bluesky is also a useful place to be transparent: share reporting notes, source calls, documents, behind-the-scenes context, and follow-ups.
We spoke with Theo Lloyd-Hughes, who is a freelance sports journalist. Hughes posts snippets of his reporting behind the scenes and recommends reporters to post consistently and of quality.
As you find your community and are engaging/posting on your profile, you can link your content and stories back to a Ghost page. Take advantage of Ghost’s simplified website and newsletter features, alongside integration into other federated platforms. Journalists we interviewed who do not have a technical background said Ghost’s easy setup and day-to-day management made it attractive. Its analytics provide a useful baseline for understanding audience behavior, though they are not as comprehensive as the analytics offered by some larger or more specialized publishing platforms.
In designing the page, standard website building follows. Maintain a clear and consistent identity with an “About” page — building trust, reputation, and community is especially important without institutional backing.
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Adam Schrader’s independent arts and culture publication, Urgent Matter, offers a strong example of an effective landing page.
Schrader has been able to completely personalize his own news site through Ghost.
Schrader has carved his niche with art’s presence in law, culture, and society.
Schrader said he appreciates the simplicity of Ghost in customizing the look of Urgent Matter and the data and analytics the site offers. Unlike with popular publishing platforms like Substack or WordPress, Ghost offered Schrader a cost-effective way to create a real website as opposed to a newsletter or blog.
Schrader designed the site intentionally, giving it a professional look for his audience of artists, lawyers, and other journalists. Rather than relying on an algorithm to send readers to his Ghost site, he focuses on publishing work that his audience will circulate themselves. “The biggest thing,” Schrader says, “is writing the right kinds of stories that people will want to share.”
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For further community building, think about soliciting feedback from readers or adding a comment feature. Subscriber tiers with “premium” community content and engagement opportunities allows for you to carve your niche and audience as a voice to trust.
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*News Alchemists* is the Ghost-powered landing page for Mattia Peretti, a project manager and designer in the journalism industry. Peretti uses the site to showcase his various projects, including a weekly newsletter about journalism and its role in society.
Though the newsletter is free for subscribers, paid sponsors offer him another stream of revenue.
When new subscribers join, they have the option to interact with the community through commenting.
Peretti comments directly to his subscribers in an open comment section.
Ghost allows him to keep his website, projects, services, and newsletter on one platform. A growing platform itself, Ghost launches new features often and lets its users know, which Peretti said was helpful in adding new tools.
Peretti took advantage of Ghost’s new share button option.
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Promoting a newsletter on Ghost can be challenging for an independent journalist, particularly for those just starting out. Some tips: