| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
Your Readers are Publishers Too
Too often we charge ahead and treat the web as if it were just like any other medium. We know it isn't, but somehow we just can't resist retaining complete control of the creation and publication of our website and newsletter content. Meanwhile, our readers are writing blogs, participating in discussion lists, writing book and video reviews, adding their opinions on shopping comparison sites, completing online surveys and so on. Our readers are also online publishers. They are creating valuable, interesting content every day. There are two opportunities here. First, you can have your readers contribute content for your site and your newsletters. Take a look at Amazon.com. They have thousands of pages of content written by their customers. Imagine the cost saving of having their customers write all those reviews. And it's not just about saving money. It's also about recognizing that the aggregate knowledge of all your customers is a great deal larger than that of any individual writer. When you invite your readers to participate in the creation of content, you are tapping into an extraordinarily broad base of knowledge and experience. Also, when you get your customers and subscribers involved in writing, you are building content that is directly relevant to the interests of your readers. As editors and marketers it is sometimes tempting to create the content that *we* think is best. Invite your readers to contribute, and all of a sudden you'll start building content that is much better attuned to the interests of the people who come to your site. In addition, you increase the credibility of all your content. You are no longer perceived as just another publisher who pushes their views and marketing messages. Slowly, that perception will shift. You will be seen as a company or organization that has the courage to open the doors and publish outside views and opinions. Even contrary views and opinions. And there's more. This is where the second opportunity lies. When you include reader-created content to your site and newsletters, you are transforming the nature of the relationship between yourself and your customers or subscribers. Your site and newsletters cease to be *your* places, they become a shared space. When your readers become participants in the creation of content, they take on a small element of ownership. And when your site or newsletter becomes a shared place, the perceptions of all your readers will begin to shift. Those who have made contributions will want to come back more often, will want to contribute more often. And word of mouth will spread faster too. If someone has found their review, question, interview or opinions posted on your site or in your newsletters, you can be sure that they will be more likely to tell their friends and colleagues. Word of mouth is a primary driver in the growth of community and network sites and lists. Include your readers in the creation of your content. Share the burden of writing. Invite your readers to become participants in the growth of your business. Increase the credibility of all of your content. And watch the power of word of mouth increase your site traffic and newsletter subscriber base. Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Top Ten Qualities to Look for in an Online Pharmacy As you may have noted, there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands of websites selling pharmaceutical products or drugs. These are called ONLINE PHARMACIES or PHARMACIES ONLINE. 12 Easy and Effective Ways To Create Reports 1. Combine a few of your articles into a free report. How E-commerce Web Site Design Differs From Normal Web Design When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit different, even the web site design for an e-commerce site as compared to a normal web design. If you are interested in developing an e-commerce site, then it is important to learn about the differences between the two types of website designs and how you can design the best e-commerce website with your resources. The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days worth of sales from one of my sites and there were none. Why This Is The Perfect Time To Start Charging For Website Subscriptions If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist, or an authority on almost any topic, there has never been a better time to start your own subscription website or online newsletter.And if you're already publishing a hobby website, now is the ideal time to convert at least a portion of the content to fee-paid access. Selling From Your Website Greetings!Friends and relitives ask us all the time " How do sell from your website?" and no doubt you want to know as well. Over the next two issues we will be covering this very thing! We decided to divide it into two camps - tangibles and non-tangibles. Government Buying and Selling on the Internet Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly DRI-WEFA), states that all levels of government (federal, state, and local) should see steady increases in the purchases of goods and services through the year 2009.Vendors willing to make the commitment to sell to government can reap the benefits of this projected government spending. 7 Must Have Scripts to Look for When Shopping for E-commerce Hosting When shopping for e-commerce hosting there are a lot of things you need to keep and mind. When you know what to look for it is a lot easier to ensure you get exactly what you need and not leave any important information out. 3 Powerful Concepts That Climb Marketing Mountains You have probably heard many times how you should offer free reports. Like many of us, the idea of putting in work to give something away may have gone through you transparent. Shopping Cart Usability Usable Shopping Carts Increase SalesE-commerce has been around since 1993 under many different names, but one thing remains constant; shoppers want usable web sites. Without a usable shopping cart the sites typically fail from poor performance. The Five Most Commonly Encountered, Off-putting E-commerce Errors While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the "abandoned shopping cart problem" continues to wreak havoc on online sales. Recently I judged a raftload of sites for the Webby Awards (my second time) and for the Inc. Increasing E-Commerce Website Sales: A Guide for the Online Newbie Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are now interested in becoming e-commerce merchants. To profit from your online business, you must first produce a unique website that will intrigue visitors and interest them in your items. Website Marketing: 10 Resourceful Things You Can Do With A Product That Doesnt Sell Do you have any product that has not been moving well?Would you like to learn what to do with it?Here are website marketing secrets to help you:1. Sell the reprint/reproduction rights to the product. Grow Your Business Using B2B Emarketplace - Part I If you are a small to medium size company and selling or planning to sell products and services over the Net and still did not try out emarketplaces, you are simply loosing a great opportunity!Research firm eMarketer predicts that worldwide B2B ecommerce revenues will surpass US$ 1.4 trillion by the end of 2003. Online Shopping: Legal Challenges for Taxing Authorities E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in the sales/distribution chain. The mark-ups that occur between manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and consumers can add the cost of goods purchased by consumers. Tell Site Visitors What To Do Your site visitors make all the choices when it comes to browsing the Web.No other medium gives users, readers or customers such control over their own experience. The Five Steps of E-Commerce You set up a retail business, you advertise in your local newspaper, you get customers coming into your store, and you receive payment at the cash register. Create an online store, and. Gooooooooooogle It! .. Do You Need A Merchant Account? Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet sales can be a confusing and expensive venture. If you have a small to medium sized business and only sell a small amount of products then having your own merchant account may not be the answer for you. The Top 10 E-Commerce Ways to Follow up with Clients - Part 1 Did you know that 80% of all sales are made after the 5th contact? The biggest mistake we make is not following up with our clients regularly. We not only lose the chance to offer other services and products, we lose the chance for satisfied clients' referrals.
|
