How Savenije from Industry Dive fell in love with B2B journalism

How did you get into B2B publishing?

By chance. A big part of it was that I was rejected from every job I applied for right out of college. I had to get my footing somewhere, so I started applying for internships, and in 2012 I joined Industry Dive as an editorial intern. It was only six or seven people in a small room with barely working air conditioning, but the atmosphere was just right for me. It wasn’t fancy, it was just about the work.

I’ve always had a passion for writing and telling stories, and I also enjoyed collaborating with others to create larger projects. Like many people, I never really thought about B2B journalism until I happened to get a job in it – but I was immediately fascinated by what was going on in the markets I was covering. Once I started scratching the surface, I realized there were exciting stories to tell.

When I learned a little about what Industry Dive wanted to be, I said to myself: If you want to add value to your audience, you can’t just scratch the surface. You have to give them something meaningful and deep that will help them understand their industries better than they already do. I didn’t know nearly as much as the people I was writing for, but I knew I was a good storyteller and could get access to experts and executives. I didn’t have to be the smartest person in the industry, but I had to talk to the smartest people, ask them the right questions, and then present the information in a way that only journalists and storytellers can. To me, that was the job of a B2B journalist.