October 02, 2000 New Thinking:
Generating content
Subject Classification
Reader Feedback
Subscribing
Unsubscribing
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
Books by
Gerry McGovern
Content Critical
Gaining competitive advantage through high-quality web content
The Web
Content
Style Guide
The essential guide
for online writers, editors and managers
October 02, 2000
Generating content
By Gerry McGovern
Last month, entertainment website pop.com went flop. Pop.com is an interesting story for a number of reasons. Firstly, DreamWorks was behind it. Led by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, DreamWorks is not used to flops. Per movie it grosses more than any other studio. Secondly, after spending more than $7 million, pop.com never even launched.
Thirdly, one of the key reasons pop.com didn’t launch was because it was felt that creating original, compelling web content on an ongoing basis was a cost that didn’t really have a business model.
Quality content is a lot more expensive to create than most people realize. Maintaining a quality website is also more expensive than many think. Reducing content costs, while maintaining quality, is a difficult balancing act. However, the viability of many websites may come down to how well they can manage content costs.
A certain quantity of content will always have to be created. However, there are a number of alternative web content generation strategies that can be explored. These include the following:
Summarize
Readers prefer shorter, snappier content on the web. Summarize the content you already have in other formats and you have new web content for the reader. This is a significantly cheaper approach than creating content from scratch. You may also summarize content from other websites or print media, employing the copyright principle of “fair use.”
Link
The cheapest way of generating web content is by linking. Linking is the foundation upon which the web is built. The power of appropriate linking should not be overestimated within an online environment. (Yahoo is just one example of a successful content business built on the linking model.)
However, you need to recognize that linking sends a reader to another website, so don’t overdo it. It’s also not a good idea to create too many proposed links from the reader’s point of view. Better to show them three great resources to link to, rather than thirty mediocre ones.
Barter
It may be possible to swap content with other websites that are not directly competitive with you.
Partner
If the website publication requires a substantial amount of new content that the organization presently does not create, then there may be a real case for exploring partnerships. The ideal partner is one that already has some of the content that is required but is not directly competitive.
Purchase
There may well be books or reports which can provide valuable content for your website. It is often cheaper to pay copyright fees for these than to write the content from scratch. There may also be specialist news feeds that are appropriate.
Reader-generated content
This is among the most cost-effective content of all. Customer generated content is broadly generated by interactive content tools such as mailing lists, discussion boards, chat, customer reviews, etc. A prime example is the Amazon approach of getting its readers to write reviews of the books they have read.
Gerry McGovern
Next issue: Promoting content
Previous issue: Laying
out Web content
New Thinking homepage
New Thinking Newsletter
Subscribe to this free weekly newsletter covering the role and function of content on the Web.
More info | Privacy policy
Read the current issue
Content management seminar feedback
"Gerry's presentation was very well received by the more than 400 higher education delegates. I've chaired this meeting since 1994 and very few speakers have generated the same level of enthusiasm. Wit and wisdom is always an unbeatable combination."
Bob Johnson, American Marketing Association
“Excellent presenter ... thought-provoking and relevant. I hope we can persuade him to visit us again one day.”
Malcolm Davison
The British Association of Communicators in Business
"Hearing Gerry McGovern speaking, one can feel that he truly masters the subject of content management. He was voted ‘best speaker of the conference’ by delegates."
Toon Lowette
European Association of Directory Publishers
Find out more about Gerry McGovern's seminars
Content generation strategies include: summarizing, linking, bartering, partnering, purchasing, and getting readers to create content.
Home - >What's New - About - Solutions - Clients - >Publications - Contact - Search
Tel: +353 87 238 6136
Email: info@gerrymcgovern.com
Privacy Policy
Copyright © Gerry McGovern. All rights reserved.