Is buying content for a general news site a worthwhile idea?

by CA2011
5 replies
First off I want to thank all the regular contributors here who are educating newbies like myself everyday. This is definitely one of the most useful forums I have found online.

I had a question regarding buying content for an online site. I have found some sites where you can buy content, like textbroker. I would be buying the content be for a general news site. Breaking it down per word, it looks like I can get a decent amount of articles for a fair price.

After that I would focus on promoting the site and hope to generate revenue through CPM ad rates. I have some experience with CPM ads, as opposed to to CPA, so this would be my focus. Basically reaching out to ad networks and spreading the word about the site through facebook, twitter, etc.

However, the other option is to keep writing away and slowly build up content, and of course not pay for it.

So is buying the content and then focusing on the marketing of the site a good idea? Or would it be wiser to build up the site one article at a time on my own?
#buying #content #general #idea #news #site #worthwhile
  • Profile picture of the author GailTrahd
    I am a bit unclear about what mean by a 'general news site' - I suppose I think of what is happening in the 'news' as opposed to content about a particular niche. But assuming you are talking about a niche (which is what I got from the rest of the post ) I would buy the content and focus on marketing. Writing articles will not make you money - marketing will.

    [edit] What I meant to say was that you are probably doing all of this to make money and that's what marketing will do. If you have unlimited hours in the day then do it all but if you stretched for time I would focus on the money making aspect and work hard to make enough to pay for the outsourcing.
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    • Profile picture of the author CA2011
      Originally Posted by GailTrahd View Post

      I am a bit unclear about what mean by a 'general news site' - I suppose I think of what is happening in the 'news' as opposed to content about a particular niche. But assuming you are talking about a niche (which is what I got from the rest of the post ) I would buy the content and focus on marketing. Writing articles will not make you money - marketing will.

      [edit] What I meant to say was that you are probably doing all of this to make money and that's what marketing will do. If you have unlimited hours in the day then do it all but if you stretched for time I would focus on the money making aspect and work hard to make enough to pay for the outsourcing.
      It would be a niche news site, nothing too general like CNN, but focused on the younger men's demographic. Like a Rolling Stone magazine kind of site. I am familiar with the demographic which is why I am focusing on it.
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  • Profile picture of the author GailTrahd
    So, like a niched magazine site where you cover topics that are interesting to the demographic and have links to offers. I would still try to outsource what you can and think about using social sites to get the word out. Lots of young men on Facebook I know - I have two who spend more time there than youtube.com - one is 16 and the other 21.
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    • Profile picture of the author CA2011
      Originally Posted by GailTrahd View Post

      So, like a niched magazine site where you cover topics that are interesting to the demographic and have links to offers. I would still try to outsource what you can and think about using social sites to get the word out. Lots of young men on Facebook I know - I have two who spend more time there than youtube.com - one is 16 and the other 21.
      Exactly!

      I am just a little hesitant to spend money on content because I don't know if the $/per article make sense. But it seems like you are saying it makes sense to buy the content and then focus on the marketing of the site, which I feel I am better at than writing content.
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  • Profile picture of the author GailTrahd
    That is good to be better at marketing in this business! I, on the other hand, was much better at product and content creation! It's a learning curve.

    Have a budget and stick to it. Do not over extend the money you spend on content and keep track of it. Set an upper limit of what you'll put out of pocket total. So if your upper limit is $50.00 and you've spent $75.00 but made $50.00 you still haven't hit your limit cause out of pocket costs are still $25.00 total.

    When you hit your limit (and hopefully you WON'T) then start writing.
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