Well over 3 months ago I mentioned that this newsletter was
about to be redistributed by iSyndicate, an on-line syndicator
of news and articles. It has taken a long time but we have
finally been listed.
In the recent past I did a series of articles on Publishing a
newsletter and on adding Dynamic Content to your web site as
a means of encouraging your visitors to return.
We don't have a direct relationship with iSyndicate other than
through their redistribution of this newsletter. Without
appearing too self serving, I thought it may be valuable to
those of you that are either interested in publishing a
newsletter or adding dynamic content to your site, to tell you a
bit about what iSyndicate does.
Syndication in film, TV and news basically refers to gathering
content and distributing it to publishers that in turn redistribute
it to their viewers and subscribers. iSyndicate does the same
thing over the Internet. Some of iSyndicate's content providers
include: Reuters, Time, CBS Sportsline, Business Wire, UPI,
Rolling Stone, Wired, UPBEAT, CNET and many others. In
total, iSyndicate currently provides content from over 783
different sources in 11 major categories such as Sports,
Entertainment, Technology, Business News, Entertainment
etc.
A Web Site can subscribe to iSyndicate content in three
different ways.
"Express Syndicate" is free. It allows a subscriber to post a
headline on their web site from the content providers they are
interested in. The headlines are automatically updated based
on the frequency of the publication; hourly, daily weekly etc.
A visitor to the web site that is interested would then click on
the headline to be taken to the full story. iSyndicate and the
content provider benefit by sharing in the revenue from ads
displayed with the story. The subscriber benefits by being able
to add dynamic content to their site related to their topics of
interest. The visitor benefits by being able to read an article of
interest.
Their "Essentials" content requires a fee that is based on the
content selected. iSyndicate will then set up a web page with
your look, feel and your banner ads. The web page will
contain links to the various content included with the channel.
An example channel is Golf with links to various articles and
news stories. This option will work best with heavy trafficked
sites that can generate sufficient revenue from their ads to
recover the cost of the content.
Their "Network" option provides integrated content. For a fee,
the subscriber can purchase the right to republish content
directly on their site. The fee will vary again depending on the
content. The advantage with this option is that it does not
require that the visitor leave the subscriber’s web site to view
the article. This option will again work best with heavy
trafficked sites that can generate sufficient revenue from their
ads to recover the cost of the content. Of course, not all web
sites may need to generate ad revenue to justify the cost of
adding appropriate content.
Express Content will be the most appropriate option for most
web sites since it is free. Although there is always the risk that
it will redirect a potential customer away from your web site,
it should provide a greater benefit in the form of dynamic
content that will encourage the redirected visitor to return. A
truly interested customer will nearly always come back.
To sign up for Express View visit: http://affiliate.isyndicate.com/join
fill in the details and agree to the terms. You will then
receive a user name and password in your email. Login at http://affiliate.isyndicate.com/login.html and follow the
instructions to create the necessary code to get the headlines
you are interested in. To add the content from this newsletter
for example, you would follow the custom link to the
Technology -Internet page and select the Virtual Mechanics
Web Design and Web Promotion source. Unfortunately it is
not yet available but I have posted three equivalent feeds on
the main Virtual Mechanics site as an example.
You should of course select content that is appropriate to your
site. As I previously mentioned, there are many different
sources of headlines on many different topics. There is bound
to be something appropriate for your site.
"IMS Web Tips" is a weekly news letter for all web site managers regardless of experience who are looking for detailed information on creating, maintaining and promoting their web sites.
