Interview: Perry Richardson

The basics

What made you become a content creator?

Perry Richardson of TaxiPoint: There was a gap in the market for neutral and trusted reporting on a niche topic.

The taxi industry works in a very fragmented way and has differing regional rules, regulations, challenges, and opportunities. Historically, information was shared via driver groups and representatives, which often provided an agenda-driven opinion to those working in the trade.

My goal with TaxiPoint was to offer impartiality, reporting in a trustworthy manner to reach an entire UK sector using digital news aggregators, social media and subscriptions. I wanted to create an online space for everyone associated with the trade to come to for news and information which is relevant at all levels, both regionally and nationally.

What are some of the challenges you face as a content creator?

Perry Richardson: Time, algorithms, and AI. Those challenges evolve throughout the timeline of a digital publication. At the beginning, you are investing a lot of time in content writing and networking for quotes and stories for little financial or readership reward. Further down the line, the publication is in a position to invest and grows to a stage whereby new opportunities are presenting themselves for more heavily researched pieces of content. There’s also a huge network of people to keep in touch with to make sure you’re fully versed. There is never enough time and it’s a balance to ensure we juggle the right things!

As for algorithms, these are constantly changing whether it be social media organic reach or Google SEO. There’s little point creating top-quality content if you don’t maximize the reach available to you. Keeping ahead of the changes and learning from the experiences of other publishers is vital.

AI is a huge talking point and changes by the day as content creators learn how to harness it. Can AI generate perfect content solely from prompts? Not yet. What it can do is help generate the skeleton of content that you can then add your expertise, research, and quotes to. The genie is out of the bottle when it comes to AI, so it’s important to get ahead at this early stage.

What are some digital publications that you follow?

Perry Richardson: I follow a lot of transport, electric vehicle, air quality, and road surface mobility platforms to help spark ideas for my own content.

The one publication I’d recommend all digital publishers subscribe to (if you haven’t already) is What’s New in Publishing. Their coverage on digital publishing is the best out there in my opinion.

Choosing syndication

Why did you decide to syndicate your content with Newstex?

Perry Richardson: Appearing on professional content databases like Moody’s and LexisNexis backs up our claim to be an authoritative voice. It also increases our reach and brand awareness.

What do you think are the benefits of syndicating your content through Newstex?

Perry Richardson: Outside of exposure on professional databases, it also opens up a new audience we might not have had before. We’re also hoping backlinks to our content in research papers and other content produced can help with organic SEO rankings.

What do you like most about creating digital content?

Perry Richardson: I like the immediacy and opportunity it offers to digital readers. From a personal perspective, I enjoy the challenge of engaging new and returning readers.

Pros and cons

What do you dislike most about creating digital content?

Perry Richardson: I’m not a fan of some aspects of social media and sometimes the relentless nature of news. Despite being a neutral voice within the taxi industry, social media can offer up some strange comments from a handful of people. Social media is obviously vital for distribution and engagement, but more could be done to stop the toxic element that is harbored on some platforms.

News can also drop at any moment and sometimes requires content to be generated fast. Unless you’ve got a team of writers, the pressure to produce engaging content on demand can weigh heavily. 

What inspires you to keep writing?

Perry Richardson: My content helps those working in an industry I care about passionately. It also provides a voice on mainstream news aggregators and highlights issues within the industry not otherwise reported.

Final thoughts

What are the top 3 tips you can give to others wanting to develop successful digital publications?

Perry Richardson:

• Find an area of expertise. Continue to learn and research it.
• Grow your network in the market you write on.
• Focus on uniqueness, quality of writing, and freshness.

Where do you see your publication in 5 years?

Perry Richardson: TaxiPoint has been running since 2017 and has achieved massive success in that time period. Growing subscription remains our long-term aim to take away some of the reliance put on social media reach. We also want to introduce some consumer-based awards to the industry and build official partnerships with industry stakeholders.

What has been your proudest achievement as a content creator?

Perry Richardson: There’s a couple. Producing content newsworthy enough for a channel on Apple News remains a big source of pride. We’re the only taxi industry news source to appear there throughout the world. The other was our media partnership at the world’s most renowned public transport conference. Both showcase the level of authority and trust we have gained in the content creation arena.

Perry Richardson is Founder and Editor of TaxiPoint, which is the taxi industry’s leading and most-read news source. He is also a licensed London black cab driver, and sports writer and editor for firstlookgolf.com publication.