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Syndicated Content... to Borrow? or Not to Borrow?

by art72
9 replies
Hi All...

You know, it's funny, I was starting a new thread... and then deleted it, only to land on discrat's recent post referencing a powerful resource of marketing materials... where the exact topic came up, so rather than invade that thread... here goes...

In understanding there are several ways to syndicate content (i.e. articles, video, audio, images, etc...) - I've been wondering something for awhile now...

Does 'borrowing" content like ezines (already published) help? or hurt a website?

Now, I am not referring specifically to SEO, as God knows; everybody will start squawking about 'duplicate this and duplicate that bs' - but, more importantly... does filling that white space feed a broader audience?

Clearly, I plan to 'invite' other writers/contributors to submit fresh articles and content to my blog (and vise-versa) once everything's up and running, and would prefer unique (non-published materials only) - but, does taking articles from resources like EZA (with bio/resource box in tact) have a negative effect in filling white space?

Clearly, people call it by different names, and there's always been arguments here as far as article marketing, article syndication, guest blogging, and rss syndication's... and it expands beyond the 'online' channels into radio, television, magazines, news, and newspapers... so what's the pro's and con's of grabbing some 'filler" and 'borrowing" existing content?

I've been contemplating doing this for some time... as eventually, I won't be able to write fast enough... with everything else I foresee coming...

Thanks in advance...

All the Bestest,

Art
#borrow #content #syndicated
  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Like many such questions, the answer is "it depends."

    If you're filling in cracks, or trying to avoid empty space in a new blog, republishing some content can be helpful. If you carefully hand-pick (aka, 'curate') articles, it can work. If you simply grab anything that matches some magical keyword you found, you end up with a mess.

    Much like hiring ghost writers or using PLR content, it helps greatly if you know your topic yourself. Otherwise, you end up publishing outdated, incomplete or just plain wrong information, which does nothing to enhance your own position.

    I've said this before, but it bears repeating. I don't go to sites like EZA looking for content. I go looking for talent. I like to build a list (which often ends up woefully short these days) of niche writers who do know their stuff and communicate it well. That way, when I do have a hole to fill, I start running down my list until I find what I need. Saves a lot fo time wading through the residual digital compost left over from the Adsense years.
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    • Profile picture of the author art72
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Like many such questions, the answer is "it depends."

      If you're filling in cracks, or trying to avoid empty space in a new blog, republishing some content can be helpful. If you carefully hand-pick (aka, 'curate') articles, it can work. If you simply grab anything that matches some magical keyword you found, you end up with a mess.

      Much like hiring ghost writers or using PLR content, it helps greatly if you know your topic yourself. Otherwise, you end up publishing outdated, incomplete or just plain wrong information, which does nothing to enhance your own position.

      I've said this before, but it bears repeating. I don't go to sites like EZA looking for content. I go looking for talent. I like to build a list (which often ends up woefully short these days) of niche writers who do know their stuff and communicate it well. That way, when I do have a hole to fill, I start running down my list until I find what I need. Saves a lot fo time wading through the residual digital compost left over from the Adsense years.
      Well I wouldn't just slap any old articles on their, and I believe in reading your response, be it better... be it best, to only seek out content curating when absolutely necessary... and perhaps, EZA was a bad name to drop for this reference.

      I have been looking into other top bloggers who invite "guest posts" or contributor's and a most all require the "article" be an 'exclusive' (non-published) piece... specifically written for the benefits of both parties.

      Also, moving off point here... I notice a ton of people use other peoples YouTube videos.... (you know, aside from affiliate supplied promotional vids).

      Originally Posted by myob View Post

      Unless the articles are particularly compelling or authoritative, I would stay away from republishing content from any article directory or comparable resource. Let me explain why, from my own insights and experience with article syndication.

      Article syndication is a very powerful strategic marketing method, yet it is not fully understood by most internet marketers. Although this concept has been used in offline publications for centuries, somehow this seems to be a radical form of online marketing; particularly on the WF.

      Essentially, syndication involves partnerships between content providers and distribution outlets, in which distribution partners pay a fee to the content creators for the right to publish the content. Simplistically, this "fee" is typically a small ad or attribution at the end of each article.

      When such an article appears in a relevant publication which is read by an audience of targeted demographics, there is a subtle but powerful implied endorsement of the author from the publication. Depending upon the editors' relationship with their readers/subscribers or the perception of publication prestige, this effect can be quite compelling for conversions.

      On the other hand, accepting articles from directories or submissions from other writers can often dilute the credibility of your own publication. In my not so humble opinion, the ideal scenario would be to write your own articles and/or outsource researchers/writers to produce articles for your branded name. An exception to this negative effect may be a featured "guest" with well-recognized credentials.
      Definitely cannot afford to dilute my own publications, so from what I am gathering by your expertise in this field...which I believe; is something you've been doing successfully for some time now... is to avoid "republishing" any articles or content that have already been published elsewhere... in the sense that, I'd be better to write, buy, or broker deals based solely on 'unique' or 'exclusive' materials.

      In looking forward, if my eBook turns a good response... I did hope to submit 'unique' articles (specifically as guest posts) with relevance to the eBook... which is free, but on the front-end builds subscribers, and inside has an upsell and a few sponsored links... to wit, I believea few (unique) well placed articles could do wonders!

      In revisiting this idea, I think it's best to avoid using highly circulated content, but rather focus on brokering trades, fees, or attributions in the exchange... while keeping the 'works' tightly guarded.

      Originally Posted by GetPLRhere View Post

      If your concern isn't about ranking on in the search engine, then there should be no problem using EZA and other syndicated content. Google is not everything.
      Don't get me wrong, the EMD I am building now shows 80M-90M results pages, (far more than the terms affiliate marketing) and my biggest SEO hurdle is Wikipedia, lol... so, while I say; "I'm not focused heavily on SEO, there's definitely some concern there, as I'd like all the free organic traffic I can get."

      ...and While I cannot determine if it will be something I can ingrain (or brand) into the readers minds? -or- not?... the name is memorable, and I do believe; my content & offerings will make that determination, ya know... weighed heavily on my ability to drive targeted traffic, of course.

      Originally Posted by grandstar View Post

      Rumor has it that Google blacklist content from EZA because Google does not see your borrowed content as original content.

      However, this may be a rumor.

      However, if too much of such content is used, Google may view you as a lazy blogger who can't produce original content and in the long run blacklist your site.

      Again, that is a rumor
      I've seen these arguments for years about duplicate content, and while I don't 'think' it will black list the site, as I do intend to provide quality, value, and some (hopefully) epic original content of my own making... So, I think this is more a penalty suffered by blog scrapers, thieves, and people trying to game Google to churn pennies with AdSense... which I have no vested interest in... at least not without have substantial traffic numbers...maybe then.

      Originally Posted by Brent Stangel View Post

      I find it interesting that most people think "opportunity seekers" and entrepreneurship are an Internet invention.

      I have a large collection of "snail mail" memorabilia that I sometimes think would be worth posting...print ads, flyers, copies of my magazine, chain letters (in many forms), MLMs, resale rights reports, freebies galore...but I fear it would be lost on this audience, for the most part.

      I also have a large collection of testimonials. Some are written with pencil on scraps of paper.

      My most prized possessions!
      Hell yeah... that's cool, I think the copywriting thread would appreciate that more than the main threads here... I know I would dig that, old memorabilia intrigues me.

      I lost a storage unit full of antiques and collectibles some years ago... and one thing that pissed me off, was I had a 16.5 x 12 Kodak picture (I bought at Goodwill in th art section for $3.99) - and it was of the Beatles "Abbey Road" albulm cover sequence... except mine was slightly differing than the pic chosen, was only worth a few hundred buck with no signatures... but it was cool!


      Art
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by art72 View Post

        Well I wouldn't just slap any old articles on their, and I believe in reading your response, be it better... be it best, to only seek out content curating when absolutely necessary... and perhaps, EZA was a bad name to drop for this reference.

        I have been looking into other top bloggers who invite "guest posts" or contributor's and a most all require the "article" be an 'exclusive' (non-published) piece... specifically written for the benefits of both parties.

        Also, moving off point here... I notice a ton of people use other peoples YouTube videos.... (you know, aside from affiliate supplied promotional vids).

        Art
        Content curation has its place. The trick is to add your own commentary, with either an intro, a summary, or both. As for EZA, it's the best of the survivors by a long shot. But like I said earlier, there's still a lot of crap left over from the dark days of Bum Marketing.

        That said, I wouldn't use pure republishing for more than 20% of my content. You're better off using "borrowed" content as fodder for list articles ("5 Best Articles on ________ This Week"), which are quite popular and do get shared.

        You're right. More and more of the places you actually want to place an article are asking for, and getting, either exclusive or first publication pieces. For your own good, do not put your stuff, especially exclusive stuff, on blogs that accept anything submitted. I don't think I need to tell you not to BE one of those places, either.

        Ignore that garbage about getting blacklisted by Google for publishing anything that isn't unique or original. That's hogwash. Google simply says that they will choose the copy to display in the SERPs, and it may not be the copy you want displayed. Which is another reason many blogs and other sites ask for exclusive content. If it only appears in one place, choosing which copy to display becomes pretty simple, right?

        Moving off point with you, yes, a lot of people use YouTube videos, for many reasons. From "Google loves YT" to "Google owns YT, so it has o be an advantage" to simply not having the time, skills or resources to produce their own videos, embedding YT vids will continue for a long while. In fact, embedding carefully curated videos, with the same caveats about adding your own content could be a good compromise for getting a lot of content relatively quickly.
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  • Profile picture of the author grandstar
    Rumor has it that Google blacklist content from EZA because Google does not see your borrowed content as original content.

    However, this may be a rumor.

    However, if too much of such content is used, Google may view you as a lazy blogger who can't produce original content and in the long run blacklist your site.

    Again, that is a rumor
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  • Profile picture of the author myob
    Unless the articles are particularly compelling or authoritative, I would stay away from republishing content from any article directory or comparable resource. Let me explain why, from my own insights and experience with article syndication.

    Article syndication is a very powerful strategic marketing method, yet it is not fully understood by most internet marketers. Although this concept has been used in offline publications for centuries, somehow this seems to be a radical form of online marketing; particularly on the WF.

    Essentially, syndication involves partnerships between content providers and distribution outlets, in which distribution partners pay a fee to the content creators for the right to publish the content. Simplistically, this "fee" is typically a small ad or attribution at the end of each article.

    When such an article appears in a relevant publication which is read by an audience of targeted demographics, there is a subtle but powerful implied endorsement of the author from the publication. Depending upon the editors' relationship with their readers/subscribers or the perception of publication prestige, this effect can be quite compelling for conversions.

    On the other hand, accepting articles from directories or submissions from other writers can often dilute the credibility of your own publication. In my not so humble opinion, the ideal scenario would be to write your own articles and/or outsource researchers/writers to produce articles for your branded name. An exception to this negative effect may be a featured "guest" with well-recognized credentials.
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  • Profile picture of the author GetPLRhere
    If your concern isn't about ranking in the search engine, then there should be no problem using EZA and other syndicated content. Google is not everything.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    content curation....even though the warriorforum does seem to be filling up with whiners and name calling, you can do a search and see some very cool ways to do this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    Although this concept has been used in offline publications for centuries, somehow this seems to be a radical form of online marketing; particularly on the WF.
    I find it interesting that most people think "opportunity seekers" and entrepreneurship are an Internet invention.

    I have a large collection of "snail mail" memorabilia that I sometimes think would be worth posting...print ads, flyers, copies of my magazine, chain letters (in many forms), MLMs, resale rights reports, freebies galore...but I fear it would be lost on this audience, for the most part.

    I also have a large collection of testimonials. Some are written with pencil on scraps of paper.

    My most prized possessions!
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by art72 View Post

    does filling that white space feed a broader audience?

    Art,

    Personally, I would say don't do it. If all you're trying to do is "fill that white space" (you said it twice), you are not going to be catering to the desires of your audience. They want new, unique, fresh content and they want it from you, the person whose personality and knowledge they signed up to follow.

    It would be better to have fewer articles on your site and grow the content over time, but make it your own. No one expects a new site to be instantly full of unique content - the audience understands. Just build your site in a natural way and you will be rewarded.

    Everyone these days, it seems to me, tries to avoid developing their own content. So the Internet is becoming one big inbred dumping ground. Stand apart from all your competitors and offer something original. Your subscribers will thank you for it with their wallets if you do it right.

    Steve
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