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Developing Free Content... It's not really as bad as it sounds!
I hear many writers refute the idea of writing free content.
While I agree, in the simplest terms, it is "something for nothing",
the benefits of free content actually outweigh the down-side of writing
for free. Is it really for nothing?
--- The Battle for Content ---
The competition for content is fierce. Every Web site owner wants content
and hundreds of writers want their content visible on the Web. There
are so many free Web sites that you can literally advertise your goods,
services, and knowledge globally for years without spending a penny.
Of course, there is a cost involved in writing free content---time.
However, the cost in time units is only a fraction of the money that
would otherwise be spent in getting the kind of coverage available
by supporting content sites with free articles.
--- What about my income producing articles? ---
The idea is not to spend all day writing free content. Generally, once
you've completed your articles for paying markets, take an idea and
generate one free content article. I usually select a topic about which
I can generate an article in a few hours. Don't spend more than two
hours on the article over an entire day---use it as a gap-filler.
The point is to be able to generate a short article that provides a
general overview of your knowledge or work---don't dive too deep. If
someone likes your work or idea, let them come to you and pay you for
a more, in-depth version. Call it "testing the waters."
--- Exercise Your Brain ---
One of the benefits I've found to writing free content is in exercising
my brain. I get a chance to generate a short article about something
I know without the added pressure of acceptance and deadlines. This
is where you get to write for the fun of it and be able to produce
industry contacts and resume fodder.
--- Resume Fodder ---
Yes, resume fodder. If some popular site picks up your article, you
can use it on your resume. Make sure that you write something that
pertains to your areas of expertise. If you post something like "101
Fun Things You Can Do With Toilet Paper" and it's picked up by an unknown
MLM site, I'd think twice about adding it to your resume.
Many major sites are monitored and rated by some of the larger corporations
and industry experts. If you article catches their eye, you could end
up with a client that you would have otherwise never had the chance
to work for. The wider the audience, the more additional work you can
acquire!
--- Writing a Free Content Article ---
Writing a free content article is simple and follows
a similar professional approach as an article for a standard, paying
market. A few pointers are:
* Be Concise Keep it under 1,500 words. Some professional organizations
might pickup your article for a paying market and they usually only
accept between 500 and 2,000 words. Also, if you can write an in-depth
topic in fewer than 1,500 words, that usually demonstrates that you
have a handle on the topic.
* Be Real Take free content articles seriously. Be professional and
write about something you know professionally. Stay away from the MLM
articles and avoid meaningless writing.
* Be Honest I've seen some authors use the same free content from other
writers and just modify it a little to suit their needs. Do you own
work!
* Your Byline Make sure that you byline provides enough information
to identify yourself and provide contact information. This byline is
your business card!
--- Here, steal my work! ---
As I've said, I sometimes see that same article used by numerous writers.
Sometimes, unethical people steal other's work so that they can look
good in the public eye. Take it as a compliment, but protect yourself.
Protecting free content is no different than protecting paying market
content. One place to go is MediaRegister (http://www.mediaregister.com).
They will register your work online for a minimal fee. This way you
can distribute your work and protected it from the little thieves of
the Internet.
--- What next? ---
Free content articles can provide you with enormous amount of exposure
on the Web. In some cases, you can obtain exposure that you would have
otherwise missed!
About
the Writer of this Article
Edward B. Toupin is a freelance consultant, writer, and published
author living in Las Vegas with his singer/actress wife. He currently
handles technical writing tasks for various companies in New York,
Chicago, and Denver as well as imagineers and markets feature-length
screenplays.
PLANNING AND CREATING YOUR E-ZINE'S CONTENT
The Most Important Thing About Your E-Zine Is Its CONTENT
In e-zine publishing CONTENT IS KING. If you provide content of a consistently
superior quality, your e-zine will be a success.
>>> What forms of content should you use ? <<<
It's your e-zine. You know best - or should - what your audience wants.
Here are some suggestions:
=> Editorials
As an e-zine publisher, you are perceived as an 'expert' in your field.
Over time, your readers will begin to trust your opinions and views
on issues.
You can leverage that into e-zine content by writing editorials. Use
an editorial to share your viewpoint on a topical - maybe controversial
- issue.
There is an added benefit to this strategy. Readers will respond to
your message, either endorse it or oppose it. Their feedback can be
incorporated into a follow up article in a future issue!
You could also use the editorial space to establish personal contact
with your readers. Write a short chatty piece, maybe about what's been
happening in your life lately, or introduce a new author or resource.
=> Feature Articles
A feature article is the most common - and one of the best - forms
of content in most e- zines.
Here are some tips for writing good feature articles for your e-zine:
· Articles shouldn't be too lengthy. While there aren't any
rules, it is perhaps safe to keep feature articles below 1200 words
long.
· Articles should be relevant to the topic of your e-zine.
· Articles should educate or inform. Try and limit the message
of a piece to one or two new ideas.
· Articles should be original. The originality should preferably
extend to the idea, the concept behind the write-up as well. Don't
simply rehash an article you've read elsewhere. By publishing an article
that hasn't been already featured in many other newsletters, you enhance
the value of your own e-zine. This however means that you must
- Write your own features: It's hard work, but rewarding. And it assumes
you can write reasonably well.
- Get someone to write articles specifically for you: It's difficult
to arrange, but the long-term benefits are enormous. You could offer
to
a. pay guest authors for their article or
b. contribute an article of your own to their publication in return.
This way, you are adding value to readers of your e-zine by providing
them with another (your guest author's) point of view, without doing
any 'extra' work yourself. A fringe benefit is that you might hook
some new subscribers from your guest's list!
- Articles should be exclusive. If someone else writes for you, make
sure the same article won't be submitted to dozens of other e-zines.
Benefits from publishing exclusive content include
a. syndication opportunities in other publications, online and off
b. no risk of readers leaving you to find your content elsewhere
Reprint articles only if you have to. Even then, add value by putting
your own 'spin' on the content - maybe introduce the subject, or comment
on the author's opinions or conclusions.
Caution - do NOT 'edit' the original article without the author's permission.
Avoid articles that have been reprinted many times before in other
publications.
=> News Clips and Stories
Staying informed of the latest developments and happenings in areas
of interest is becoming increasingly difficult and time consuming.
Your e-zine can offer a solution to this dilemma by providing timely
news on topics that might be of interest to your readers.
You may create a separate section to deal with industry news. Or you
might devote an entire issue to news updates. By this you are adding
value to your subscriber, and ensuring that your e-zine is read every
time.
There are many ways of presenting news:
· as a feature article · a short news clips, with a
link to the full story on a web site · as news stories, where
each item is explained at length
Whichever way you choose to present the news, make sure to stamp it
with your own personality. Make it interesting, personal, chatty, fun,
unique, or all of these - with your style of writing, or by adding
your point of view.
As with feature articles, news clips should be
· relevant · useful to your reader · timely.
Remember, old news is no news!
=> Aggregating the best content
Finding, tracking and regularly visiting informative web sites on a
specific topic is difficult and time-intensive. Many readers will appreciate
a listing of the best resources on a subject. Website picks are therefore
a valuable content idea for your e-zine.
As an expert on your topic, you can evaluate sites and other resources
(e-zines, directories, books, offline publications) for the best. And
then list them, along with your rating and opinion of the site, with
a link to the site itself.
Many excellent and very large e-zines follow this success model - you
can too.
=> Reviews
Here's your chance to help your readers by guiding them to the very
best - books, web sites, music or other products and services. You,
the expert, tell them what is good and what isn't.
Why should you present reviews?
A guiding principle in writing reviews is that the reader's need comes
first. In a review, you share something that will be of interest and
benefit to them.
If you read a great book, or surf into a wonderful web site, then tell
your e-zine subscribers about it in a review.
How to write a review?
Some tips:
· Be brief. Provide contact / ordering information for those
who want to know more.
· Be relevant. Limit your reviews to the topic and subject of
your e-zine.
· Be selective. Set high standards for the products you review.
A review in your e- zine should become an honour people will vie for!
· Be analytical. Tell your reader specifically what is good
or bad about the thing you review.
· Don't go overboard. Restrain your impulse to offer extremes
of praise and criticism.
· Be balanced. Point out the good and bad aspects with equal
emphasis.
· Offer Recommendations. At the end, say what you think about
it. Is it good ? Or bad ? Should your reader buy the product, visit
the web site, order the service ? Tell them.
What should you review?
Anything - as long as it is relevant to the topic of your e-zine, and
of interest to your reader. Here are some ideas:
· Books : Surely there are books on your e-zine's topic. If
you've read any good ones (or even bad ones), or an author/publisher
sent you a copy to review, you could write about it for your e-zine.
· Websites : If you have a favourite web site, or run across
one that is useful, entertaining or informative, review it for your
e-zine. You could analyse it in depth, highlight it's strengths and
weakness, focus on the benefits it offers. Your readers will love you
for this. Indeed there are some great e-zines made up entirely of web site
reviews !
· Products and services can also be grist for your mill. Just
remember to stay within the guidelines - relevant and useful to your
reader. => Website Updates
An e-zine is an excellent way to get readers to visit your web site
again, and thereby create "stickiness" to your site.
Why should you encourage repeat visits?
There are two major benefits from running a "sticky" web site:
· if you sell advertising space on your site, the repeat visitors
would generate more page views, and therefore additional revenue
· if a visitor comes to your site again and again, and becomes
loyal to your service, he or she is more likely than others to respond
to offers on your site, and to buy products from you.
=> Interviews
Publishing an interview with an expert is exciting, valuable content. And it
is easy to conduct one via e-mail.
Here's how it works:
Step 1
Identify your expert
Step 2
Learn more about your expert - special interests, experience, achievements, status
in field, etc. This allows you to modify your interview to suit the individual.
Step 3
Decide upon a topic for the interview. Prepare a set of questions you'd like
to ask.
Step 4
Contact your expert with an interview request. Most experts would be happy to
participate in your interview. For those who seem hesitant, mentioning the exposure
they would get from your publication is enough to get them to agree!
Step 5
E-mail a copy of your questions to the expert and review the reply.
Make editorial changes suitable for your readership. Rearrange the questions
so that there is a smooth flow of thoughts.
By intelligently interspersing additional queries and comments, you can make
it appear as if the interview was carried out in person!
Ask additional questions, or for clarification when necessary.
Step 6
Get approval from your expert for the final version of the interview.
Step 7
PUBLISH !
=> Interactive Features
What sets apart the Internet and e-mail from traditional media (television, radio,
newspaper and magazines) is the potential for "two-way" communication, or reader
interactivity. And this is even easier with an e-zine.
Why should you interact with readers?
Easy. To improve your e-zine's quality.
· You can establish closer, more personal relationships with subscribers · You
can find out about their preferences, likes and dislikes · You can listen
to their complaints and suggestions · You can request their feedback
on your performance · You can collect valuable demographic data on your
audience
AND.... you can get fresh content to use in your e-zine!
All of this allows you to make improvements, additions and enhance the value
and utility of your e-zine to your reader.
Leveraging Interactivity for your E-zine
By employing interactive tools, you can generate content to use in later issues
of your e-zine. There are many different ways to do this. Here are a few ideas:
=> Polls
Survey your readers. Ask a question. Request a vote on an issue or topic.
About what?
· an article in the e-zine - "Did you find this week's feature helpful
?" · current events - "Will you vote for the GOP in the next election
?" · a controversial issue - "Do you believe in religion in schools ?" · user
preferences - "Would you like to receive this e-zine every week ?" · demographic
data - "Do you have young children ?"
Be imaginative and creative.
Some guidelines:
· Be brief. Ask no more than 7 or 8 questions
· Offer choices. Frame the questions to have a YES/NO option
· Provide an incentive to reply. A discount, a freebie, a trial membership
· Compile the results and announce them to the list. Your readers will
enjoy hearing about what their peers think and feel about these issues.
· Show that you are acting on the feedback received
=> Feedback
Reader feedback is extremely valuable - if you listen to it with a mind open
to change, and act on it.
Criticism can stimulate you to improve standards. Questions and requests can
indicate areas where you must provide content that helps your reader.
A good feedback loop between e-zine publisher and subscriber is worth a lot -
probably as much as the trans-continental cables that wire the world together!
How can you get feedback from your reader?
· Make it obvious that you welcome feedback.
· In every issue, ask them to write back with their comments, opinions
and suggestions for improvement.
· Provide an e-mail address to write to, or send them the URL for a web-based
feedback form they can submit.
How do you turn feedback into content?
Use your creativity to come up with new ideas. Here are some suggestions:
· Write a feature article that answers the questions your reader asked
· Print out the questions or comments your reader sent in, and answer
them. Take care to request their permission to use their words. Most often, they'll
agree - especially when you promise them a moment in the spotlight by mentioning
their name, e-mail id or web site URL in your post!
· Act upon the suggestions readers make; then write about these changes
=> Discussion Lists
Building a discussion group around your e-zine is another way to promote interactivity
while generating usable content in the process. While feedback is a one-to-one
communication, a discussion group permits many-to-many interaction, since every
e- mail sent to the group is distributed to each member.
Here's what you can do:
- Create a discussion group using one of the free or pay-services.
- Announce it on your e-zine and invite your subscribers to participate.
Readers could debate controversial articles and news stories, discuss other issues
related to your topic and share their views and opinions with other readers.
The material generated in such lively debate could again be used as the seed
to grow content for your e-zine.
=> Forums
One more method of growing an online community around your e-zine and promoting
interactivity is a Forum or Bulletin Board.
An electronic bulletin board is a web site where a visitor can read messages posted
by others, and respond by writing another message on the board. This reply is
also displayed for others to read, producing a growing list of discussions on
related topics.
After a reasonable period of time, the messages under a particular topic could
be encapsulated into a feature article or other form of content on your e-zine.
About
the Writer of this Article
Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian, M.D. Editor, THE HEART BEAT Health-E-Zine http://www.DrMani.com/ezine/heartbeat.shtml E-ZINE
LAUNCH: the e-book to jumpstart your e-publishing career How to Create,
Publish and Market YOUR OWN Profitable E-mail Newsletter on the Internet!
Time and time again content has proven to be the single most important
component of successful web sites. Virtually everywhere you surf the
web, you can locate just about any type of information or content you
are seeking. With this thinking in mind, what would make people utilize
your web site? Furthermore, what would persuade people to return? The
answer to these questions could hold the answer to your web sites long-term
health.
WebSiteEstates.com ( http://www.web siteestates.com),
a free on-line marketing resource, is a perfect example of a web site
that thrives on delivering content. While I am managing editor of the
web site and control the editorial content, I have proactively been involved
in examining how our users interact with our web site and their involvement
with our content over time.
What we've learned is quite simple. If your content is good, you will
over time acquire web site visitors. To retain those visitors often takes
a little bit more. While the number of web sites on the Internet continues
to escalate, the value of solid content will only continue to rise. Here
are some concepts that may help make your site the 'stickiest of them
all.'
Well-Organized Content
You may have the best content on the planet, but if people can't find
what they are looking for, it's useless. One idea is to break your content
into appropriate subcategories and make sure those subcategories are
clearly representative of the content behind them. Also, be consistent
in the placement of content for up-dates on the site. You don't want
to confuse repeat visitors who become accustomed with the navigational
structure you have set forth from the beginning.
Refreshed Content
When possible, up-date the content on your site. If the content is exactly
the same as the last time that user viewed your site, why should they
stay? Furthermore, why should they return again if they believe the sites
content will be exactly the same as when they left. Also, try and be
consistent on your up-date schedule. Whether it is daily, weekly, or
monthly, the user knows when to return for the sites latest content.
Multiple Deliveries of Content
Offering the content to be deliverable to their email account is a definite
luxury that many web site visitors may definitely take advantage of.
If you have multiple topics of content, you can offer the option to select
which topics they are interested in receiving instead of all of the content
at once. The key here is to give the user control of the content they
are seeking.
Feedback to Improve Content
There is no better market research that the insight from your site visitors.
Make sure your web site has open channels of communication to allow visitors
to let their opinion be heard. As with any web site, you should always
respond promptly to suggestions or at least make note that all suggestions
will be reviewed and taken into consideration.
Allow Visitors to 'Spread' the Content
"Recommend a Friend" or "Send this Page" are very good features to have
on a web site. It makes it quick and easy for users to spread the word
to friends and colleagues. You may also consider inserting a link "Print
this Page" to further assist users in displaying your content
Damian Bazadona is President of Situation Marketing (http://www.situationmarketing.com),
an Internet consulting and strategy company. Prior to forming Situation
Marketing, Damian served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Cyber-NY
Interactive and now serves as an advisor to the company
Hey,
please visit the Internet Marketing web sites:
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