By Julia Scott

As bargainbabe.com has developed, I have fundamentally changed the way I see myself in business. Once an online content creator and filter, I now view myself as a vital connector of brands and people.

Three years ago I quit my reporting gig to blog, and now my value as a writer pales in comparison to my value as a connector.

The realization hit me while planning the third annual Frugal Festival, a one-day gathering of savvy spenders in Los Angeles. The idea for the event was spawned at KDMC’s News Entrepreneur Boot Camp when Robert Niles asked me to dream up a “big hairy” idea that would take my nascent company to the next level.

At the most recent Festival, A-list brands like Albertsons, Yelp, AOL’s Shortcuts, Chicago Cutlery, and Pryex participated. So did some 350 Angelenos looking to save money on the most fundamental expense of all, food. The annual event is popular with media and is one of the most profitable elements of my money-saving brand, BargainBabe.com.

Perhaps more importantly, working with top brands has fundamentally changed the way I see myself in business. Once an online content creator and filter, I now view myself as a vital connector of brands and people.

What changed?

The success of the event was one piece. (Attendees began lining up before volunteers arrived.) Another was that so many brands were willing - no, eager - to work with me. A little ol’ blogger.

Clearly, my view of my brand was outdated. BargainBabe.com has zero paid subscribers and a fraction of the readers of the mid-size newspaper where I last collected a paycheck. But it has something else.

A connection. And Frugal Festival, the offline extension of the brand, was valuable to attendees and sponsors. Guests liked that I offered them ways to save money. Free food and goodie bags didn’t hurt, either. Brands liked access to savvy customers who were likely to share deals that they found.

Both sides wanted access. I found a way to provide it.

Along the way I realized my brand’s value is not reflected in old media’s measure of success, readership.

So how did I go from deadline devotee to marketplace matchmaker?

I built loyalty among my readers by consistently delivering top notch content five days a week. I solicited feedback and posted their tips, always making room for a reader’s idea. I personalized saving money with my own experiences and those of readers.

When brands reached out to me, I tried to find a way to work with them that met BargainBabe.com’s ethical guidelines. (All paid content is marked.) I proposed new ideas. If it didn’t work out, I kept the lines of communication open. Instead of a blunt “I would never cover this completely un-newsworthy scrap,” I opted for “This isn’t a good match for BargainBabe.com right now.”

I tapped my existing relationships with brands, often through PR contacts, to gauge interest in Frugal Festival. Instead of a hard pitch, I told them the truth. I was creating an event to help people save money on food and wanted to know what would make it worthwhile for them to participate.

Taking a step back, I conceptualized the event by asking myself two questions.

What would make people come?

What would make brands get involved?

Answer those questions for yourself and you are on your way to capitalizing on your value as a connector.

Julia Scott is a journalist by training, a cheapskate by nature, an entrepreneur by design, and an alumna of Knight Digital Media Center’s News Entrepreneur Boot Camp. Reach Julia, aka The Bargain Babe, at julia at bargainbabe dot com.

The News Leadership 3.0 blog is made possible by a grant to USC Annenberg from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

By Michele McLellan, 03/22/12 at 4:00 am