nick usborne's blog

Over 200 web content ideas and, finally, an affiliate program.

Two piece of news this week for Web Content Cafe.

First, there are now 202 web content ideas on the site. That would make for a nice, thick book...packed with quality content ideas that attract new search engine traffic, engage readers and lead to increased revenues.

Even if you subscribe for just one month, you’ll get immediate access to all these ideas.

In addition, I have now added an affiliate program.

So if you have friends, colleagues or a larger audience of people who are involved in web content creation, you can make some extra income by referring them to Web Content Cafe.

For each new member you refer, you’ll receive a one-time payment of $8.50.

Refer just two members a month, and you’ll have more than paid for your own membership.

Sign up now and add your affiliate link to your website, e-newsletters and social media pages.

Here is the Web Content Cafe Affiliate sign-up page...

 

 

What? Another program on social media marketing?

There seem to be a zillion self-appointed social media gurus out there, half of whom have written a book, ebook, guide or special report of some kind or another.

I thought about this a lot before making the decision to sit down and write a social media program of my own.

The last thing I wanted to do was invest months of writing time, only to serve up something that might repeat what is already out there.

As I was researching the project, here is what I did find:

- Books, courses and programs on how to use Facebook and/or Twitter and/or YouTube.

- Books, courses and programs on marketing with Facebook and/or Twitter and/or YouTube.

- Business books providing a 30,000 feet view of social media marketing.

- And books packed with case studies of successful social media campaigns.

As I worked my way through what had already been published, I began to create a clearer picture of what I could do with my own program, and how to fill the gaps I found in what has already been published.

Here is what I decided.

1. Write a program on social media specifically for freelancers.

I have been a freelancer myself for over 30 years, and have worked with other freelancers for almost as long. This is the audience I know best, and can help the most.

2. Write a program that isn’t focused just on the tools (individual social media sites), but on the practice of social media marketing itself.

Knowing how to use Facebook, for example, is like knowing how to use a hammer. It’s a tool – albeit an amazing one. But whether you are creating a social media strategy, or building a house, choosing the right tools for the job comes last, not first.

This is why my program first looks at how to apply social media strategies and campaigns to achieve specific marketing needs. Only then do I look at which tools are best for each task.

3. Write a program that teaches freelancers how to use social media to help client companies achieve their most pressing goals.

Good luck to you if you approach a prospective client and say, “Social media is the big thing. I can help your company do social media.”

You would be better off saying, “If you have pressing marketing goals you need to achieve, I can show you how to use social media to help achieve those goals.”

Clients say yes when you give them a solution to their most urgent marketing needs.

This is why a whole section of my program focuses on 8 separate business goals that are well suited to social media solutions.

4. Write a program that clearly describes a number of different ways in which freelancers can generate new streams of income with their social media expertise.

It’s all very well reading a book, course or program that tells you all about social media, but it won’t do you much good if it doesn’t also show you how to apply that expertise in ways that will make you money.

That’s why 4 whole sections in my program cover separate ways in which your media expertise can put money in your pocket.

Summing up.

It took about four months to write the program, working five days a week. But I’m pleased with the result.

This program fills the gaps left by all the other books, courses and programs I have come across.

It gives freelancers the social media skills they need to generate multiple streams of income for themselves and their clients.

The course is called How to Make Money as a Social Media Expert.

You can learn more about it here...

 

 

Content, frequency - and my big, fat long tail.

Content is the foundation, and the heart of just about every monetization model online.

Without a growing body of web content, you’ll fail to compete.

Yes, quality matters. But frequency matters too.

Here are the two reasons why frequency matters.

First, frequency drives volume.

The more often you add new content to your website, the faster you’ll build a significant volume of pages. And the more pages you create, the more entry pages you’ll have for the search engines to find.

As an example, on one of my sites I have recently lost page one positions for two of my most important keywords. But the overall volume of visitors to my site is growing, and those visitor numbers are way higher than those achieved by the sites which now hold top positions for those “top keywords”.

I beat them because of volume. I have a big, fat long tail.

My numbers are down for those pages which I optimized for those top keywords, but I more than make up for the loss with traffic to over a thousand long-tail pages.

Frequency also drives attention and engagement.

You can have thousands of pages on your site, but if you haven’t added new content recently, you are giving both the search engines and potential visitors little reason to visit you.

Google likes fresh content. Social media likes fresh content. People like fresh content.

One way or another, the success of your site or sites in 2011 will be driven by the frequency with which you publish new content.

Frequency gives you the volume of content your need to compete. Frequency gives you the freshness you need to attract attention.

And if you ever find yourself falling short of enough new ideas to keep your content hopper full, sign up for Web Content Cafe.

Web Content Cafe is fast becoming the primary source online for new web content ideas.

Some days I write about a topic idea that is seasonal, another day I might write about a new tool I'm using to identify hot or trending topics.

I write about how to write great content, how to mix up different types of content, content that works best with the search engines, content that works well with social media...and a whole lot more.

Whatever the daily topics, subscribers get access to five new web content ideas each week.

And if they act on just one of those five ideas, they will more than pay for the modest monthly subscription fee of $14.95.

In short, Web Content Cafe membership helps deliver frequency.

Learn more about Web Content Cafe membership...