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.

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Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:50:53 GMT Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young - International Herald Tribune Times Online Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young International Herald Tribune - 10 hours ago AP HELSINKI, Finland: Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari said Saturday that finding jobs for more than 1 billion young people in the Middle East and Asia will be a major challenge to peacebuilding in the next decade. Video: Ex-Finland President Wins Nobel Peace Prize AssociatedPress Nobel Finn Wall Street Journal Voice of America - Times Online - Burlington Hawk Eye all 1,453 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:12:07 GMT World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says - MarketWatch BBC News World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says MarketWatch - 2 hours ago By Rex Nutting WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Financial policymakers from 180 nations around the world are united in their resolve to tackle the financial crisis, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, head of the International Monetary Fund's policy committee, ... G7 nations face going cap in hand to China guardian.co.uk Finance officials comments at IMF meetings Reuters AFP - BBC News - Bloomberg - New York Times all 579 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:23:46 GMT US space tourist set for blast-off - Reuters Canada.com US space tourist set for blast-off Reuters - 40 minutes ago By Maria Golovnina BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War. US space tourist set for launch BBC News Russian space chief reassures US partners The Associated Press Times Online - USA Today - Spaceflight Now - RedOrbit all 287 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:10:50 GMT Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details - New York Times Telegraph.co.uk Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details New York Times - 3 hours ago The bailout plan gives Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary, three broad choices in buying assets. By ALAN S. BLINDER THE House of Representatives was against the bailout bill before it was for it. US firms up plan to buy into banks to stem crisis Reuters Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' Bloomberg Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - The Miami Herald - International Herald Tribune all 2,358 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:39:07 GMT Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut - New York Times Boston Globe Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut New York Times - 5 hours ago In Hartford, Crystal Pretzman of Willimantic, Conn., celebrated the State Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Video: Connecticut Court Allows Gay Marriage AssociatedPress Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. The Associated Press Newsday - Washington Post - Reuters - NECN all 1,711 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:13:08 GMT YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads - Afterdawn.com Vancouver Sun YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads Afterdawn.com - 2 hours ago Google has announced that it will begin offering full-length TV episodes through its YouTube platform beginning this week, thanks to a content deal with CBS. YouTube to Offer TV Shows With Ads Strewn Through New York Times YouTube beams up Star Trek for long-form video, prominent new ads CNET News Wall Street Journal - eFluxMedia - Silicon Alley Insider - Bizjournals.com all 109 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:13:12 GMT GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain - New York Times Voice of America GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain New York Times - 1 hour ago By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ELISABETH BUMILLER Republican leaders across the country said Saturday that they were worried that Senator John McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message ... Antiwar Protestor Disrupts McCain Iowa Rally Washington Post Obama needs 75 percent turnout in Philadelphia, says Rendell CNN Political Ticker The Weekly Standard - Summit Daily News - USA Today - WNCT all 1,087 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:23:47 GMT RSS Feed Reader Increase Traffic

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