Posted on: October 2, 2018

Show Notes

Air date: 10/2/2018

About Peter Van Allen:

Peter Van Allen, Editor, Mainebiz
Peter Van Allen, Editor, Mainebiz

Peter Van Allen has been editor at Mainebiz, Maine’s statewide business publication, since May 2014. He has been a business journalist for three decades. Prior to joining Mainebiz, he was at the Philadelphia Business Journal, which is owned by American City Business Journals. Earlier in his career, he worked as a daily newspaper reporter and editor for Gannett, Knight-Ridder and Thomson publications. He and his wife Jen, an editor at Down East magazine, moved to Maine for the woods (Jen) and water (PVA), but find they’re working as hard as ever! They have a son and two grown daughters and live in Yarmouth.

In this episode:

  • How the recession and savings and loan crisis impacted the start of his career
  • Book and podcast recommendations for entrepreneurs
  • The challenges of the media business
  • Lessons for starting out in the media business
  • Why social media is important to the media
  • Peter’s thoughts on the value of lifelong learning
  • Nancy and Peter’s favorite podcasts
  • Best indicators for a news story
  • Why building a tribe of fans is important to Mainebiz
  • What shocked Peter about Maine business cards
  • Why Peter values relationship and the business community
  • Peter’s advice about starting your professional career and finding mentors
  • Peter’s invite for public relations professional to send him a pitch

“Don’t undervalue yourself and what you might bring to the table.” — Peter Van Allen, Editor, Mainebiz

Highlights from this episode:

5:49 – The value of face to face connections

12:10 – An important tip for young professionals starting out in the media business

20:10 – The value of web traffic and engagement for Mainebiz

26:31 – Nancy and Peter’s favorite podcasts

32:24 – What type of stories generate a lot of interest for Mainebiz

38:42 – How Peter built his network in Maine

39:11 – One thing that shocked Peter about business cards in Maine

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