It sounds like a terrible idea. You spend ages thinking up an idea for an article, doing the research and writing it out... then you give it to someone else to put on their website.
They get all the ad revenue and you get... what, exactly?
Well, you get a link and if the site is good that could be worth more in steady streams of traffic than
It sounds like a terrible idea. You spend ages thinking up an idea for an article, doing the research and writing it out... then you give it to someone else to put on their website.
They get all the ad revenue and you get... what, exactly?
Well, you get a link and if the site is good that could be worth more in steady streams of traffic than the money you might have picked up from the ads.
You also get your name known and you get to be seen as an expert by people who otherwise might never have heard of you.
Giving away your content then can be worthwhile... if you do it right.
That starts with choosing your sites carefully.
Although places like eZineArticles.com have been around for a while, letting publishers pick up free content and collect links, these aren't the best places to share what you write. You just don't know where the article will end up or whether it will be found.
A better bet is to target your articles to sites that you know have plenty of traffic and a large need for content. A big site that updates regularly is usually a rich picking.
The article you provide is obviously going to be crucial too. It should be one that can stand the test of time. Tell people what you think about Apple's latest gizmo, for example, and people will read it... until the next gizmo comes out. Tell them how to change a broken lightbulb and people will read it as long as lightbulbs can break.
And the article should be good too.
Just because you're giving it away doesn't mean it's worthless. On the contrary, that article should be worth a lot of money when you've turned the traffic it brings into ad clicks. When you write to a publisher telling them that you've got an article that they might like to run on their site, they'll understand that you're hoping to take up some of their valuable space.
They'll expect some valuable content in return.
It is a good idea to spread some of your content beyond your website but make sure you're putting good words in the best places.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
September 9, 2008 12:42 PM
I guess it helps if you have the mindset that what you give out comes back to you ten fold.
September 9, 2008 03:31 PM
I was wondering about the value of submitting articles to sites like ezine articles, article city, and isnare. I paid for distribution on isnare, but have no way of finding out where or if they are distributed. My feeling is that success on line is doing stuff everyday..from writing articles, blogs, comments and of course networking. You meed very interesting people while surfing the sites. carol stanley author of For Kids 59.99& Over.
September 9, 2008 03:34 PM
Overall, sharing your content seems worthwhile when you consider the possibility of getting fresh eyes looking at your content. This could lead to new traffic sources which is always a good thing.
September 9, 2008 04:01 PM
As long as the article is printed and circulated it is a good idea to keep it up. But who knows where it will end up? Paid or unpaid doesn't matter.
September 9, 2008 05:14 PM
Well, you try doing that and see if you can REALLY make a living, instead of imaging that you will "increase traffic" -- and after you've experimented, come back and report honestly instead of theorizing, mkay?
September 9, 2008 05:21 PM
Hi Joel
Also, I think mentioning your WorldVillage.com website might be highly relevant because it has some pretty good articles there.
I have written some 60+ articles and over time they have brought in quite a bit of extra Adsense. Not much, but rather than waste words by letting it disappear it might be worthwhile to release it so others can make good use of it as is the case for the readers on WorldVillage.
Original content might as well benefit both of us, and I got backlinks etc, so I can't complain. However, I do prefer the WorldVillage-model rather than other ezine-articles sites. But maybe I'm just a sucker for quality which I think is in the WorldVillage community. :-)
September 9, 2008 05:24 PM
Joel, good article. This is exactly what I'm going through now. I'm a photojournalist averaging 6 million readers/article in traditional newspapers. It's a no-brainer for me to exchange my articles and photos for followed backlinks from these papers in lieu of payment, especially with print media's dwindling budgets. Surprisingly it's a new concept for them, it seems like the smaller papers are getting it first. We already have one paper giving us followed links; one for the article and one for each photo used. We'll monetize through merchants on our sight. I'll submit articles on a tiered basis because newspapers will still want some sort of exclusivity for their print editions. Instead of money and article exchange, contracts will now deal with things such as 'followed' or 'no-follow' backlinks, type of backlink (URL or keyword based text baclinks), position of link within article, link staying active when article is archived or behind password protection, etc. Well, this is my plan. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.
September 9, 2008 05:38 PM
It depends on how you look at it. And it depends on the content. I think your description of the "benefits" is a bit short term, however.
If you're providing valuable content that positions you as an expert and brings traffic to your site via links and Google gets your name out there (as in writing and distributing articles), helps you build a list and build relationships and potential clients (as in publishing a "free" report, case study or whitepaper), not to mention building trust - then I see it as a valuable even necessary exercise. If it wasn't, I doubt that people (including top copywriters and Internet Marketers) would do it.
September 9, 2008 05:52 PM
"They get all the ad revenue and you get... what, exactly?"
By the way I was referring to this part of the post... I agree in the main with your points in the rest of your post. But I was thinking further than adsense.
September 10, 2008 08:48 AM
Supplying articles is basically the same as a co-op advertising buy. More than one website benefits, but the article writer is supplying content rather than money for the ad buy. They payoff being much-needed backlinks and traffic from your reference box link.
September 10, 2008 10:04 AM
I have done this exact same thing as I have shared my articles with large sites in my niche, which has lead to some traffic my way.
September 11, 2008 05:33 AM
Hi Joel
You have hit the nail about giving out your content for people to put on their sites and blogs. However you need a persuasive resource box that will entice the readers to come back to your main site to get more information from you.
There is a hidden benefit of branding - when I have read your name at hundreds of places, I am more comfortable buying anything you are selling. If I saw your name for the first nam, I need to convinced hard.
Arun Agrawal
Rent a Blogger
www.RentABlogger.com
September 11, 2008 07:02 AM
Giving content away is a good idea if you can get free publicity at the same time, well at least it is cheaper than hiring a blogger, to do the work for you.
September 13, 2008 04:37 PM
Oh yeah, It's all about Content :)
September 17, 2008 05:00 AM
Thanks Joel, for...
sharing these thoughts and here's my 2 cents. No individual truly owns anything in Reality and untold Human suffering arises out of Humanity's rejection of this truth. From my own personal perspective, the best "things" in Life are indeed Free, owned by no one, and accordingly, available to all, such things as air, water, etc. (what content does anyone
"own" that is more valuable than these life-sustaining compounds and yet the Universe gives these most valuable substances freely, no charge!). I notice the Universe has enough of everything so I deem it a worthy model and attempt to follow its generous non-competitive Nature in letting that which I consider to be most valuable to flow through me and I am very grateful I have a choice to do that. Thanks for listening.
Namaste'
Ron