Author: Alexander Kohl
Date:   09-19-07 05:15

I have recently engaged a writer to write some webpages for one of my Internet projects.

So I was thinking, what if I partnered up with a writer and let them write about their area of expertise. I would produce and market a specific website for that content (not an eBook or POD).

Any successful site on the Internet needs to provide valuable and high quality content. That is the only way it will develop and attract a growing numbers of visitors. But there are also a lot of technical and analytical tasks that support that success.

I am proficient at the technical and analytical things. But I cannot write great content.

How would we earn money? Through ads and product recommendations that are related to the topic of the site. If the writer has published books on that topic, the site will naturally promote them as well.

The process would be something like this:

1) The writer suggests a topic (in a non-fiction area)

2) I research it for viability and come back with a list of related keywords

3) Together we develop a structure for the site (at the start we should be able to plan the content for around 50 pages at 500-800 words each)

4) Then the writer just delivers the written pieces and I program, design and maintain the site.

5) Once the site has around 150-200 pages (so it would have a similar size to a book), it is maintained by a blog, e-zine and smaller updates of the content (probably a new piece of 300-500 words once a fortnight).

6) We share the revenue


My questions are:

Would you enjoy that or see it as below your standards to publish on a website?

Would you feel comfortable earning from advertising and product recommendations (naturally only the ones that are worthwhile)?

What share of the income would you expect to receive?

Would you be willing to share the costs of the production of the website (I am talking external costs, e.g. hosting, graphic design, etc.) or only be interested, if I covered the full investment?

What questions do you have?

Looking forward to your feedback.
Alexander

Author: Cathy C
Date:   09-19-07 13:36

So, you're basically proposing something like Constant Content http://www.constant-content.com (which pays the author by click-throughs), Associated Content http://www.associatedcontent.com (which pays the author directly, at a very low rate) or a dozen others? This is the same method they use, and the payment per article to the writer is pretty dismal because there are a hundred other sites that offer the same information without hoops. For the writer, hoping that visitors will visit the click-through links seldom works to the writer's advantage. Still, there are plenty of people who write articles for them, so there might be some potential interested parties.

But you would do better if your plan is different than these other content sites. Is it? And how is it different from sites like Ask.com or Wikipedia where people can submit without restrictions, that would make it worthwhile for a writer to submit to the site?

Author: Alexander Kohl
Date:   09-19-07 17:44

Thanks for your reply Cathy,

the difference is that I am talking about one specific site for one writer on one topic. So rather than getting lost among thousands of other articles and writers, the site becomes the face of that one single writer.

It would be pretty much like one writer publishing a book, except it is not produced on paper, but as a website. So part of the process would be building relationships with your readers, giving them a chance to interact (with questions, comments on the blog, when there is enough traffic, possibly a forum).

Alexander

Author: Jeff Colburn
Date:   10-04-07 22:35

If you're going to have a site based on one writer, he either needs to be famous or have killer advice. Otherwise, it just another personal website.

To make money use Adsense, sign up for affiliate programs, write ebooks to sell on the website, create a huge mailing list that you can use to send out affiliate ads and joint venture projects.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Author: Julia C
Date:   03-25-08 18:37

Author: Julia C
Date:   03-25-08 18:41