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PDF or Blog?

by John Taylor
17 replies
I've been thinking about delivering content
as a private, customer only, blog rather than
as a PDF file.

The reasoning is fairly straightforward..

I plan to regularly update the content and
updating a blog is going to be easier than
sending out updated versions of a PDF.

What's your opinion as a potential customer?

Would you prefer to receive the content as
a PDF or as a password protected blog?

(I plan to use the AstickyPostOrderer plugin
so I can organise the chapters in sequence)

John
#blog #content #pdf
  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    Hey John..

    I think it's an amazing idea.. in fact, after your recent membership thread.. I have planned just what you are talking about on another blog of mine... and then each updated product will ALSO come in .pdf and blog format

    My thinking is this:

    I serve the whole content as a .pdf

    And I will also serve each chapter on a product blog for the paying customers to interact with me about each section and discuss how to implement etc..

    Peace

    Jay
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    Bare Murkage.........

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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
    Hi John:

    I prefer the PDF where I can just go to a download link and get it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Roger Mayne
    Hi John

    I presume you mean that customers will be on a list, you'll email them when you update, and they get the new content?

    If so, I would prefer the blog route. That way, if I happened to miss an email (or delete it accidentally), your next email would mean I can log onto your blog, read the current info, and read archive info I've missed at the same time.
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  • Profile picture of the author globalpro
    Hi John,

    My preference is the blog. Sometimes if I download a PDF, I either forget where it's at or never get time to read it. I alos like what Jay had about the interacting part. It's a big feature of a blog

    As an option (a bit more work), depending on what the information is, if it's something I would call a 'keeper' having a download link for a PDF would be great.

    Just my thoughts.

    Thanks,

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    And also John..

    With the plugin you previously recommended for this type of thing..

    There are 3 settings

    So the membership site could have an overall paid membership on the lowest priced subscription, but any posts put into a new product category when you open a new product could be only for platinum members etc....

    I'm loving getting this set up right now and it is definitely going to be a feature of my first IM product

    Peace

    Jay
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    Bare Murkage.........

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    • Profile picture of the author Charles E. White
      John, I would prefer the PDF too instead of a blog.
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      Charles E. White
      Internet Money Making Programs
      http://www.internetmoneymakingprograms.com
      ^Find out the programs and products we have found to be worth the money^
      Join our FREE newsletter and get up-to-date details.

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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Dixon
    Hi John.

    I've implemeted a site using the Memberwing plugin you mentioned in a previous post, so thanks for the tip on that.

    As to PDF or blog, I am using both.

    I put the information in a post if the information easily fits in one, but if I am doing lots of screenshots and explanations then I will put that in a PDF and link it from the private part of the premium post.

    Tim
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  • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
    It was a close call for me. I like the blog idea but would I be able to subscribe to the RSS feed if it's private?

    In the end I voted PDF. I have a lot of stuff in Google Reader I don't check much because of time. If it's a PDF I'll read it. In a blog I might forget about it and miss the good stuff.

    I would have voted for both.
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  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    I like the idea of offering both.

    That way, customers can save the PDF file to their hard drives when they run across a post they really like. (As even people who know how to print posts to PDF often don't actually take the steps to do so.)

    On the other hand, the password-protected blog format could be used to raise the curiosity factor for potential customers... especially if you show partial posts and teasers.

    cheers,
    Becky
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  • Profile picture of the author Derek_Franklin
    Hey John,

    If I'm not mistaken, Google Docs (docs.google.com) will allow you to share 'live' documents with others pretty easily.

    The great thing about Google Docs is when you edit the document, users who view the document will always see the updated version online.

    If they want to save as a PDF, Google Docs allows them to do that as well!

    Sounds like it might be the perfect solution for your idea.

    Derek
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    Derek Franklin (Udemy Instructor, Adobe Press author)

    www.derekfranklin.com - Let's dig into habits, productivity, motivation, thinking, learning, improving, and living, and have some fun doing it!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
    Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

    I plan to regularly update the content and
    updating a blog is going to be easier than
    sending out updated versions of a PDF.
    Why do you need to send updated versions of the PDF? Why can't you send each chapter in a separate PDF?
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    Dan's content is irregularly read by handfuls of people. Join the elite few by reading his blog: dcrBlogs.com, following him on Twitter: dcrTweets.com or reading his fiction: dcrWrites.com but NOT by Clicking Here!

    Dan also writes content for hire, but you can't afford him anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
    I didn't answer the poll.

    Why?

    Because "BOTH" was not an option!

    Give them as many modalities of content as feasible. Internet Marketing 301.

    In fact, repurposing content is one of the best things to do... Create videos, strip out MP3's, get them transcribed, create a masterplan PDF, Create Step By Step PDF's...

    So John, go for both!

    -Lakshay
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    WARNING EXPLICIT: This is ugly... and this is the distilled truth


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  • Profile picture of the author Derek_Franklin
    Hey Lakshay,

    Normally I'd agree with you, but the fact that John says he'll be regularly updating the content, having to recreate everything whenever a change is made may not be feasible.

    But, I've been know to be wrong two other times in my life.

    Derek
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    Derek Franklin (Udemy Instructor, Adobe Press author)

    www.derekfranklin.com - Let's dig into habits, productivity, motivation, thinking, learning, improving, and living, and have some fun doing it!
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    • Profile picture of the author jmidas
      Hi John, how would you handle managing the memberships/passwords, etc.. on the blog?
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    • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
      Originally Posted by Derek_Franklin View Post

      Hey Lakshay,

      Normally I'd agree with you, but the fact that John says he'll be regularly updating the content, having to recreate everything whenever a change is made may not be feasible.

      But, I've been know to be wrong two other times in my life.

      Derek
      Derek!

      Its OK to be wrong... Its great to accept it when you are wrong, but its probably a weakness to accept you are wrong even when you are not sure you are wrong!
      I hope that made sense.

      With that said, I'll say JOIN THE WAR ROOM.

      You are missing boat. The computer has ginormous power... And Jack Dunacn explains completely how almost 90% of anything can be AUTOMATED... I have several softwares that I have created myself using the info in that post. And I now know my computer is working all the redundant tasks for me while I am sipping Red Bull...

      While I can not give you the whole story here... I'll say this... The MULTIPLE UPDATION does NOT need to be done MANUALLY... It can be automated right on your computer. PERIOD! If not 100%, then 95% of it can certainly be. And the remaining 5% can be outsourced at less than $5 per hour overseas.

      Now... I'll give you the crux... If you are as smart as I think you are, you'll take it from me and run with it. Once again, thanks Jack for sharing that wonderful info with me... Its called WinAutomation - Windows Automation Software & Macro Recorder - Windows Scripting - Automate and Schedule Windows tasks

      This beast's got its own learning Curve... That can be shortened when you join the War Room... But still I needed to play around with for at least 50-60 hours before I started thinking outside the box.

      OK... This is what took me from an average marketer to probably one of the richest self made kids in India.

      -Lakshay
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      WARNING EXPLICIT: This is ugly... and this is the distilled truth


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  • Profile picture of the author Caroline Middlebrook
    My vote is for the private blog, partly because it's simpler for the customer but it's also simpler for you. Until Adobe come up with a way of creating auto-updated PDF files that you can control (like software that automatically updates itself), managing a PDF that updates often is a royal pain in the a** and customers can easily get confused not know what version they are on.

    Caroline
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  • Profile picture of the author Buddd
    Hi John,

    I'm a member of your Marketing Confidential and I really like the blog format.

    It's easy to read, and if any particular article or item is really important to
    me, it's very simple to print that item. For me, it cuts down on the amount of
    paper one handles and hard drive clogging.

    I personally don't need an email notification of new posts (Does anybody need
    more emails?) because I check the blog on a regular basis. If there's nothing new,
    I'll quite often read one of the other posts again. All valuable info.

    The only other thing is audio. I don't know what you might have planned, maybe
    some Blog Talk Radio. There were some valuable insights in that first episode. You
    and that large, tall, hairy Japanese guy wearing the g-string, good stuff.

    All in all, I like the blog format. The information is all organized and much easier to
    find than some of my own!

    Buddd
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