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Should i send only "unique" content to my list?

by Caspoor
8 replies
Hi all. As the title, should i send only unique content to my email list? or it's a common thing to send them youtube videos that not mine and articles that not written by me?
#content #list #send #unique
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    You should probably send to them mostly content that's unique to them (i.e. that they probably/usually haven't seen before).

    One way of making quite certain of that is just to make it all "unique content, period". But that's pretty restrictive, and it may well be possible to judge, well enough, what's likely to be unique to the overwhelming majority of them?

    No problem linking to Youtube videos, but be aware, of course, that reproducing other people's articles in your emails (rather than linking to them), without permission, would be an obvious breach of copyright. Even if you fully accredit the author and include a link to their site.

    Personally, I re-cycle as part of my email series the articles which I've originally used as my major traffic-generation method. This does carry the risk that at some point, some subscriber might see in one of my emails something recognizable as an article they've already read elsewhere, but I'm not aware of it ever having caused me any problems, and in any case my subscribers are aware that that might happen, at some point.

    It's a good idea, in general, to "train your readers" to click on your links, expecting to find something of interest and value (and finding it!), as doing that helps to get a high click-through rate when you're promoting something, too.

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  • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
    Originally Posted by Caspoor View Post

    Hi all. As the title, should i send only unique content to my email list? or it's a common thing to send them youtube videos that not mine and articles that not written by me?
    Hi there Caspoor. I think Alexa (as usual ) summed it up for you. My question to any email marketers, is always this: "What are you trying to get out of your list?"
    Alexa and many others here, have a rapport with their lists. Many, many others, do not, they buy lists, burn them and recycle.

    Unique and personal content is best.

    To answer your question, yes, it is common, just not advised.

    ~ Theresa
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Part of building the email relationship is showing your subscribers that you have their best interests at heart, and that you have the means to serve those interests.

      Sometimes that means that you point them to something someone else has done. BUT, you don't just point them, you provide context and analysis and, often, your own spin on that content.

      Frivolous example:

      Fishing ezine, pointing to a YouTube video showing how to create a bottom-fishing rig for reef fishing off the coast of Florida. The video recommends using stainless steel J-style hooks. Bad recommendation which could land you in serious hot water, because a couple of years ago the laws changed and SS J-hooks are no longer legal for reef fishing in Florida. You would want to explain that, although the video is good, it does have this bit of outdated information.

      Better example:

      I actually used to publish a fishing ezine, and articles by other people (especially pro guides, etc.) let me add a ton of content without having to write it all myself. I always added my own intro and outro, explaining why I thought the article was valuable and why the author was worth reading. The outro was also a good place to put a low-key affiliate promo if appropriate.

      Bottom line, even if all of your content isn't "unique", your take on it should be.
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  • Profile picture of the author Caspoor
    Well, i'm asking this question because English isn't my first language. So, i find it hard to write myself every single email.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Caspoor View Post

      Well, i'm asking this question because English isn't my first language. So, i find it hard to write myself every single email.
      I hadn't realized.

      Well - look at it this way: you only need to write each email once, and they go into your automated series and continue to get sent out to your new subscribers - so you do get quite a lot of value from them?

      And you might be able to find some available content to which you can just add a paragraph or two, as John suggests, above?

      Your English looks good, to me. Maybe you could write an email series and just have it fairly quickly proofread a little by someone whose first language is English? Which shouldn't be an expensive job to outsource?

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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Caspoor View Post

      Well, i'm asking this question because English isn't my first language. So, i find it hard to write myself every single email.
      Don't let English as a second (or more) language stop you. You have the ability to communicate; the evidence is in this thread.

      So unless you are giving yourself a pen name and alternate persona with native English skills, own the fact that you speak multiple languages. People will understand that sometimes your sentence structure or word choice might not be standard, and overlook it.

      Now if you're portraying yourself as a grammar teacher, it's a different story. Otherwise, be yourself and communicate authentically, even if it means finding other writers' material and adding your comments to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew Trujillo
    Sending them content that is relevant to what you know they are interested in. For example if you are in the weight loss niche, you don't want to be sending content on dog training. It doesn't always have to be unique, just be sure to give credit where credit is due if you don't own rights to the material you are using.
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  • Profile picture of the author joshsiaw
    I second what Alexa says. Look at it from a point of view that it's an investment. After content can be reused in many ways.

    As long as you provide content that your subscribers are looking for I suppose there are ways around language limitation such as outsourcing of proof reading or perhaps even partnering with someone.
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