The Zone Leader Program

► THE DZONE EXCLUSIVE

Zone Leader (ZL) Program

Are You Ready to be a Leader?

Zone Leaders are the cream of the crop of DZone's contributors. These dedicated individuals work closely with the DZone team to shape the editorial character of our Zones. In return for facilitating content creation and syndication, Zone Leaders receive many benefits, including monthly compensation and increased visibility on DZone and elsewhere.

A Zone Leader is:

An enthusiastic tech industry practitioner who has been in the trenches of software development

An excellent communicator with highly developed writing skills

An active community member passionate about sharing their knowledge with the DZone audience

An intuitive editor and recruiter with an eye for quality content and talented bloggers

A life-long learner

The Zone Leader Program

Each Zone Leader is responsible for growing and improving two to four Zones. This involves certain core duties all Zone Leaders must fulfill, including writing original content, syndicating content, curating newsletters, and commenting on articles. Below is a list of Zone Leader requirements, along with some exciting bonus opportunities!

Zone Leader Core Duties

Site and Zone Growth

Syndicate 10 articles per week (40 per month)

Write 2 original articles for DZone.com per week (8 per month)

Ensure consistent growth in the amount of Zone pageviews

SYNDICATION BONUS

Curate 25 or more articles per week (100 per month)

ORIGINALS BONUS

Write 15 or more articles per month

Community Engagement and Growth

Comment on 2 posts per week (8 per month)

Refer 10 contributors (MVBs, Guide and Refcard authors, fellow ZLs, etc) per month

Select and summarize content for 2 newsletters each month

Promote DZone content externally via social media

REFERRAL BONUS

Refer 25 bloggers who join the MVB program within a six-month period

We designed the new and improved Zone Leader program to be as flexible and customizable as possible. Want to focus on article syndication and spend less time on original articles? That's totally cool. Love recruiting new MVBs but don't enjoy editing Guide articles? No problem! As a Zone Leader, you have multiple bonus opportunities so that you can focus on the parts of the job you enjoy most. For example, you might write only two articles per week but syndicate more than 25. In that case, you'd receive the Syndication Bonus.

Additional Zone Leader Duties

Zone Leaders also receive "first crack" at paid writing and technical review/editing opportunities. These activities are not mandatory, but are great for building thought leadership within the DZone audience.

Publication Authorship

Assist in the creation of audience surveys for our Guides

Write an article or checklist for a Guide

Write a new Refcard

Update an existing Refcard

Technical Review

Technical review/edit of publications (Guide articles and Refcardz)

Review articles (DZone community submissions) in moderation as needed

Review community Guide surveys before they are sent to our audience

In addition, we sometimes assign "as needed" tasks to our Zone Leaders. For example, we might give them press passes for an event in exchange for coverage on our site. Occasionally, we may provide them with something to review, such as software, books, or gadgets.

Why Become a Zone Leader?

Zone Leaders get more than just financial compensation for their efforts! They also receive the following perks and benefits:

Exposure to a global audience of software developers

Daily interaction with and support from the DZone editorial team

Press passes to cover content at events and meetups

Recognition as a thought leader in the tech community

Promotion in DZone's newsletters, portals, and social feeds

How Do I Get Started?

Think you have what it takes to be a Zone Leader? Email us at editors@dzone.com and let us know why you'd be a good fit for this program. Please provide links to a few writing samples.

Want to learn more about the Zone Leader program? Download our info sheet.