Yahoo Contributor Network
Posted 10th July 2014 at 06:07 AM by imarkedy
Recently, Yahoo Inc. announced the end of their Yahoo Contributor Network. Unlike most, I am not sad to see it go. Before ‘going there’, I’d like to encourage power bloggers to be aware of this great ‘content dumpster diving’ opportunity. As with physical diving of this sort, Yahoo is throwing away perhaps tens of thousands of articles. Although for writers in the network, this is a loss, for savvy marketers, there are free articles available to repost but make sure the writer knows you’ll be using it and wait for several weeks after the network has shut down to do so. However, this content isn’t of the quality to be reposted on your business website and should be used on third party platforms only. I’ll explain in a bit.
Nevertheless and knowing we teach a course on article marketing here, Yahoo Voices deserves to be shut-down and I applaud the organization’s decision. Key to any successful content strategy is capable writers and judging by content quality, Voices (part of the network) lacks this. This statement isn’t meant to slam anyone but only to warn business article creators on this wise; your credibility will begin (and end) with quality of written content. It isn’t necessary to take an expensive writing and editing course to produce decent articles - only commitment towards continual improvement. As entrepreneurs and small business owners awaken to just how crucial content marketing has become, so have standards to get published on third party article sites like Article Base, About.com as well as others.
Why would Yahoo close down a content network which requires very little effort (on the back-end) to maintain and is staffed with unpaid writers? PROFITS! For those who’ve paid attention to Yahoo since its new CEO took over (Marrisa Mayer), you’ll have noticed she not only closes non-performing products but also buys competitors and shutters their doors. Her leadership style is long overdue and to her I say; BRAVO – you go girl!
Here is a list of recently announced closures by Yahoo;
1. Xobni
2. Newlook
3. Yahoo Finance Research Reports feature
4. Yahoo Toolbar on Chrome
5. Yahoo Shine
6. Yahoo Voices
7. Yahoo Contributor Network
What all have in common is they are under-performing and add little value to Yahoo’s future strategy as outlined by Mayer at a recent TechCrunch Disrupt Conference. It is worth mentioning that a few of these are not closing, forever, but are being migrated to new product offerings. What has all of this to do with entrepreneurs and small businesses? I’m glad you asked! Although smaller organizations may not have BILLIONS to invest in company acquisitions and/or closures, it’s important to examine failure(s) and learn lessons applicable to your brand.
For instance, this is what we, corporate bloggers, can learn from the failure of Yahoo’s Contributor Network;
1. If considering allowing ‘guest bloggers’, be selective about whom you allow to represent your company’s image.
I am hardly (or any of our bloggers) a world class writer, for sure, so don’t take this next statement as ‘writer’s arrogance’; quality content should be the goal and not volume. Sure, the Yahoo network has tens of thousands of writers but based on my examination of the content they’ve written, most use it as a platform to develop individual writing styles. It is never effective to try and establish topic authority IN PUBLIC with thousands of readers. I say this with the utmost pity; I have never, in 14 years online, read such horribly written content.
2. Open writing forums can either hurt or help brand building.
Yahoo has BILLIONS to spend on company image but most are hardly as fortunate. When your business is seeking to create (or purchase from freelance writers) content, thousands will read your article it and make an immediate determination on whether to come back to your website for further information or premium services. This trust building opportunity shouldn’t be taken lightly. Just as visitors give great company reviews to others in social networks, they can likewise provide scathing ones as well.
3. Despite your best efforts, if a product or service is failing; scuttle it before it becomes a barrier to company growth.
No one holds onto failing ideas as effectively as do entrepreneurs. Speaking from personal experience; if I think something here at SBDC TV is a great idea - I automatically assume everyone else will as well. Nothing is further from true and key to organizational growth is letting go of product lines which aren’t profitable. If Yahoo Contributor Network was making money, it is a sure bet Marissa Mayer would continue to grow it irrespective of Yahoo’s recent $1 Billion acquisition of another content platform; Tumblr.
4. Reimagining failing products and services may be an alternative to removing them, completely, from company offerings.
Although Yahoo Voices is being shuttered, other products in the network will continue such as Yahoo Shine. For us ‘normal Janes and Joes’, this example teaches us that perhaps, in lieu of totally abandoning a service, there may be other options. However, don’t let a losing service drag down the more successful.
5. It is OK to fail!
As regular readers and students know, I sometimes dispute clichés while at other times, agree with their assessments. One I totally reject is “the only time failure occurs is when one never tries”. That’s HOGWASH! This attempts to spin incompetence into something positive and is nothing more than a ‘Jedi mind trick’ to avoid asking hard questions. There are no better lessons than those which result not from a text or eBook rather hard won experience. Failure allows that which is most critical to growth; reflection. To shy away from admitting failure while spinning it into something positive will literally, no hyperbole intended, cost future earnings.
I am excited by the ‘New Yahoo’ and thankful the days of its founders, Jerry Yang and David Filo, have ended. There comes a time when even founding partners must step aside and seek new business opportunities which allows their company to grow.
Brian D. Dale
Make Money Article Marketing
Nevertheless and knowing we teach a course on article marketing here, Yahoo Voices deserves to be shut-down and I applaud the organization’s decision. Key to any successful content strategy is capable writers and judging by content quality, Voices (part of the network) lacks this. This statement isn’t meant to slam anyone but only to warn business article creators on this wise; your credibility will begin (and end) with quality of written content. It isn’t necessary to take an expensive writing and editing course to produce decent articles - only commitment towards continual improvement. As entrepreneurs and small business owners awaken to just how crucial content marketing has become, so have standards to get published on third party article sites like Article Base, About.com as well as others.
Why would Yahoo close down a content network which requires very little effort (on the back-end) to maintain and is staffed with unpaid writers? PROFITS! For those who’ve paid attention to Yahoo since its new CEO took over (Marrisa Mayer), you’ll have noticed she not only closes non-performing products but also buys competitors and shutters their doors. Her leadership style is long overdue and to her I say; BRAVO – you go girl!
Here is a list of recently announced closures by Yahoo;
1. Xobni
2. Newlook
3. Yahoo Finance Research Reports feature
4. Yahoo Toolbar on Chrome
5. Yahoo Shine
6. Yahoo Voices
7. Yahoo Contributor Network
What all have in common is they are under-performing and add little value to Yahoo’s future strategy as outlined by Mayer at a recent TechCrunch Disrupt Conference. It is worth mentioning that a few of these are not closing, forever, but are being migrated to new product offerings. What has all of this to do with entrepreneurs and small businesses? I’m glad you asked! Although smaller organizations may not have BILLIONS to invest in company acquisitions and/or closures, it’s important to examine failure(s) and learn lessons applicable to your brand.
For instance, this is what we, corporate bloggers, can learn from the failure of Yahoo’s Contributor Network;
1. If considering allowing ‘guest bloggers’, be selective about whom you allow to represent your company’s image.
I am hardly (or any of our bloggers) a world class writer, for sure, so don’t take this next statement as ‘writer’s arrogance’; quality content should be the goal and not volume. Sure, the Yahoo network has tens of thousands of writers but based on my examination of the content they’ve written, most use it as a platform to develop individual writing styles. It is never effective to try and establish topic authority IN PUBLIC with thousands of readers. I say this with the utmost pity; I have never, in 14 years online, read such horribly written content.
2. Open writing forums can either hurt or help brand building.
Yahoo has BILLIONS to spend on company image but most are hardly as fortunate. When your business is seeking to create (or purchase from freelance writers) content, thousands will read your article it and make an immediate determination on whether to come back to your website for further information or premium services. This trust building opportunity shouldn’t be taken lightly. Just as visitors give great company reviews to others in social networks, they can likewise provide scathing ones as well.
3. Despite your best efforts, if a product or service is failing; scuttle it before it becomes a barrier to company growth.
No one holds onto failing ideas as effectively as do entrepreneurs. Speaking from personal experience; if I think something here at SBDC TV is a great idea - I automatically assume everyone else will as well. Nothing is further from true and key to organizational growth is letting go of product lines which aren’t profitable. If Yahoo Contributor Network was making money, it is a sure bet Marissa Mayer would continue to grow it irrespective of Yahoo’s recent $1 Billion acquisition of another content platform; Tumblr.
4. Reimagining failing products and services may be an alternative to removing them, completely, from company offerings.
Although Yahoo Voices is being shuttered, other products in the network will continue such as Yahoo Shine. For us ‘normal Janes and Joes’, this example teaches us that perhaps, in lieu of totally abandoning a service, there may be other options. However, don’t let a losing service drag down the more successful.
5. It is OK to fail!
As regular readers and students know, I sometimes dispute clichés while at other times, agree with their assessments. One I totally reject is “the only time failure occurs is when one never tries”. That’s HOGWASH! This attempts to spin incompetence into something positive and is nothing more than a ‘Jedi mind trick’ to avoid asking hard questions. There are no better lessons than those which result not from a text or eBook rather hard won experience. Failure allows that which is most critical to growth; reflection. To shy away from admitting failure while spinning it into something positive will literally, no hyperbole intended, cost future earnings.
I am excited by the ‘New Yahoo’ and thankful the days of its founders, Jerry Yang and David Filo, have ended. There comes a time when even founding partners must step aside and seek new business opportunities which allows their company to grow.
Brian D. Dale
Make Money Article Marketing
