Running a publication

Set up your publication#

Publication access is currently approved by the player.gg team rather than created from account settings. Apply to become a curator if you want to start a publication or bring an existing publication and its audience to player.gg.

Once approved, you will receive a setup link. Use it to choose your publication URL and add its title, description, bio, profile image, header image, links, and newsletter footer. You can change these later from Curator Tools in your account menu: switch to the publication and open Settings.

Header image size#

Publication headers display at approximately 1400 × 225 pixels on a wide screen. Uploading a larger 2800 × 500 pixel image is preferred so it remains sharp on high-resolution displays.

The banner becomes less wide on smaller screens and may crop the sides of the image. Use decorative artwork that still works at different widths, and keep logos, text, faces, or other important details near the center of the banner.

When you have access to a publication, its public page also shows author controls beside the header. Open Activity, select Settings to update the publication, or open New to create a post or collection.

Use Curator Tools#

Curator Tools in your account menu opens the editor for your profile and publications. Use the switcher at the start of the tab bar to move between your profile and each publication you write for. You stay on the same tab when the other place has it, and land on Activity when it doesn’t.

A publication has five tabs:

• Activity shows visitors, page views, new followers, and your latest drafts, scheduled posts, and published posts.
• Posts lists every post in the publication, with a preview, its actions, and its performance.
• Collections holds the publication’s Pages and collections. Select one to see it as readers do, change its layout and status, or edit it in place.
• Audience lists your subscribers, followers, and supporters. It appears for publications connected to a FirstLook community.
• Settings covers the publication’s details, branding, links, emails, and supporter options.

Work with contributors#

Publications can bring multiple curators together under one name. Contributors keep their personal profiles, while work written for the publication appears under the publication’s brand.

When a contributor starts a post, they choose between their own profile and any publication they can write for. Publication posts also get the publication’s newsletter and subscriber options.

Adding and removing contributors is not self-serve yet. Contact curators@player.gg when the people with access need to change.

Manage your audience#

Players can subscribe for free to receive your publication’s new posts. Each time you publish, you can send the newsletter immediately, schedule it, or publish without sending and return to it later.

Use Activity in Curator Tools to see visitors, followers, and reactions, and Audience to search your subscribers and supporters. Open a published post’s analytics to see how that individual story performs.

Offer supporter subscriptions#

Partner Publications can enable monthly and one-time support. From Settings in Curator Tools, you can set the minimum contribution, describe the free and Supporter tiers, list the benefits, and customize the thank-you page.

Publications connected to a FirstLook community can also let supporters claim a role and any Discord roles attached to it. Once supporter subscriptions are enabled, you can place a Paywall in a post to choose where supporter-only content begins.

Readers manage their own payments and cancellations from the publication’s Manage subscription page.