Is this marketing idea brilliant or utterly stupid?

18 replies
My budget for marketing is limited so I came up with an idea. I was thinking about creating 5 professionally-looking fake news sites, fill them with articles every day by copy-pasting from various sites. Then I post an article about my product.

I use my news sites and written articles to contact various local real news sites. So they'll see that other news sites already published a story, so they might be more interested in it and maybe be more willing to cover it.
If I make them do it, I can move on to a bigger news sites.

I am a developer so all of it is extremely easy for me and I can automate it.

What do you say?
#brilliant #idea #marketing #stupid #utterly
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    It may be easy and automated - but where is the value?

    How will you 'copy-paste' from other sites without violating copyright? How will you attract visitors with content that is already available on higher ranked sites online?

    How will you funnel people to your 'product page' - how will that product be related to 'copy-paste' content?

    Why would a 'real news' site have an interest in a site made up of content taken from other sites? What unique spin would you have to offer?


    Maybe you have this figured out - can't tell from the post above.
    Signature
    Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
    ***
    Sometimes I just want someone to hug me and say...
    "It's going to be OK - here's a horse and two million dollars."
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711769].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Dario2
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      It may be easy and automated - but where is the value?


      How will you 'copy-paste' from other sites without violating copyright? How will you attract visitors with content that is already available on higher ranked sites online?


      How will you funnel people to your 'product page' - how will that product be related to 'copy-paste' content?


      Why would a 'real news' site have an interest in a site made up of content taken from other sites? What unique spin would you have to offer?
      Good question
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711770].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author MarioG1
      Local real news will not know it is fake obviously. I would use it just to generate interests of the local news site that I'll contact
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711772].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author WF- Enzo
        Administrator
        They surely will. Almost every news org I know has been fact checking information to verify authenticity and stuff like that.

        Originally Posted by MarioG1 View Post

        Local real news will not know it is fake obviously.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711863].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Local real news will not know it is fake obviously.

    Perhaps in your country that's true - but local news have access to internet and internet tools where I live.
    Signature
    Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
    ***
    Sometimes I just want someone to hug me and say...
    "It's going to be OK - here's a horse and two million dollars."
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711773].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author MarioG1
      The question is how much do they use it. Journalists often don't check stories, they just publish
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711774].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Journalists often don't check stories, they just publish
    Again - maybe in your country but that's not the norm.


    You asked if this is a good idea...I don't think it is but that's only my opinion.
    Signature
    Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
    ***
    Sometimes I just want someone to hug me and say...
    "It's going to be OK - here's a horse and two million dollars."
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711780].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    This its the wrong way of marketing ,just trying to get some sales .Firstly your audience its not targetet as you target people reading news and them you show then a weight loss product as example and they are not interested because they come to your site to read news and not to buy something .I would advice you to focus on creating a good business where you build value and help people ,for example you can choose a niche on affiliate marketing amf start to write about it .If you bring value then people eill love you amd buy from you
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711786].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author quadagon
    Originally Posted by MarioG1 View Post

    My budget for marketing is limited so I came up with an idea. I was thinking about creating 5 professionally-looking fake news sites, fill them with articles every day by copy-pasting from various sites. Then I post an article about my product.

    I use my news sites and written articles to contact various local real news sites. So they'll see that other news sites already published a story, so they might be more interested in it and maybe be more willing to cover it.
    If I make them do it, I can move on to a bigger news sites.

    I am a developer so all of it is extremely easy for me and I can automate it.

    What do you say?
    That's a lot of largely unnecessary work.

    Here's a couple of points I hope help you

    Journalists are looking for stories. They want eyeballs on their material but they want stories not sales pitches.

    The media generally works in patterns and cycles. At certain points of the year you will get similar stories repeated year after year after year. You can use this to your advantage.

    Search for stories related to what you are selling on the media sites. Take a not of the stories and the journalist. See if they still work their. Send them a direct press release about your story.

    I have done this for years to the point where journalists phone me and ask if I have anything.

    You will get better results for less work this way.

    The other technique is see who journalists follow on social media and get in with the same crowd
    Signature
    I've got 99 problems but a niche ain't one
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711855].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    I don't think your idea is utterly stupid, but i think your web development talents may be leading you to go down the wrong path. As quadagon stated, this is alot of largely unnecessary work. If you put all that energy into a strategy such as Youtube marketing, you'd get better results - and alot faster.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711928].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jougeek
    I think your idea is the common way of marketing. I also did the same for my inetioal products. It worked well.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711970].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Profit Traveler
    Banned
    Always a way to add some marketing to a topic.

    Let's say you just created a post in Off Topic about John Wick Movies.

    But what if you took the time to do a count of all the times someone got taken out and created a video around that... "Kill Count Videos."

    Those videos are garnishing views in the MILLIONS per video.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11711983].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author malzeri83
    It is a brilliant and stupid.
    Brilliant because with news website you can really get into the top place. It is impossible to get with something simple but news websites can achieve DA80-90.
    Moreover if they will be there, you can just sell there links and to move from your product just to professional Internet seo business.
    Stupid because if you will be so hard-working to make 5 websites of DA80 yourself, you can spend much less time to achieve to Google top 5 with your product, doesn't matter what is it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11712063].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author GordonJ
    Have you created ONE?

    A mock up? To see what your idea would look like, since it would be easy for you, in the last few days you could easily have given us a sample to look out.

    It is an idea. Just like millions of others you will find here over the last 20 years.

    DO something with it, since it is easy for you, show us the idea with minimum viable operation, and flesh it out.

    Until you do something, just going to get opinions, and what do they mean to you?

    Time is going bye bye. Do something and let the world and market determine if it is stupid or brilliant, eh?

    GordonJ

    Originally Posted by MarioG1 View Post

    My budget for marketing is limited so I came up with an idea. I was thinking about creating 5 professionally-looking fake news sites, fill them with articles every day by copy-pasting from various sites. Then I post an article about my product.

    I use my news sites and written articles to contact various local real news sites. So they'll see that other news sites already published a story, so they might be more interested in it and maybe be more willing to cover it.
    If I make them do it, I can move on to a bigger news sites.

    I am a developer so all of it is extremely easy for me and I can automate it.

    What do you say?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11712078].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    Originally Posted by MarioG1 View Post

    My budget for marketing is limited so I came up with an idea. I was thinking about creating 5 professionally-looking fake news sites, fill them with articles every day by copy-pasting from various sites. Then I post an article about my product.

    I use my news sites and written articles to contact various local real news sites. So they'll see that other news sites already published a story, so they might be more interested in it and maybe be more willing to cover it.
    If I make them do it, I can move on to a bigger news sites.

    I am a developer so all of it is extremely easy for me and I can automate it.

    What do you say?
    So...you plan to dump more trash onto internet users' heads?

    That makes you a spammer. Not a marketer.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11712089].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author quesadilia
    Hmm, in fact, a very good option on how to quickly promote your sites and start making good money.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11734420].message }}

Trending Topics