eBrandedBooks, MightyWords.com, B-to-B MarketingBiz.com, iSyndicate

CONTENTBIZ.COM
Practical News & Tips for
Marketing Content Online
May 17, 2000 Volume I, Issue 8

IN THIS ISSUE: FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR
COLLEAGUES!!!

1. News: eBrandedBooks, MightyWords.com,
B2BMarketingBiz.com, SafeMoneyReport.com

2. Case Study: ArtofSelfPromotion.com

3. Exclusive Interview: iSyndicate’s Brian McCracken

4: Jobs: Five Big, Beautiful New Jobs!

** Note: Are you reading a pass-along copy? Get your
own subscription today! Sign up at:
http://www.contentbiz.com

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NEWS & GOSSIP
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* EBrandedBooks.com Helps Portals Become Publishers

Eight-month-old eBrandedBooks.com is busy partnering with
technical B-to-B vertical portals, such as CertReview.com as a
backend provider of print and electronic publishing
services. eBrandedBooks helps sites write, edit and sell
their own branded line of books, both online and in bricks
and mortar bookstore chains. DigitalOwl.com is the
subcontractor providing security for the electronic book
versions. eBrandedBooks is also getting into for-fee
online newsletter and article selling, mainly for
individual authors. To partner with them, contact
jonp@ebrandedbooks.com

* MightyWords.com Gets Into B-to-B Niches

Fatbrain’s MightyWords.com store has launched its long
promised new store “boutiques” marketing specific niches of
B2B electronic content. This should raise sales for niche
publishers such as Warren Communications and SkyTrends
whose content just wasn’t effectively merchandised in the
old general “business” shop section.

Check out the three new sections, for telecommunications,
industry analysis and marketing at:
http://www1.mightywords.com/find/categories/telecom.asp
http://www1.mightywords.com/find/categories/analysis.asp
http://www1.mightywords.com/find/categories/marketing.asp

P.S. Added bonus, our lovely publisher is pictured with an
apt quote at the upper left hand corner of the Analysis
shop for the next day or so!

* ContentBiz.com’s Mother Site Has Quadruplets

Yes, it’s beaming faces in the nursery here at the home of
ContentBiz.com. B-to-B portal http://www.marketingsherpa.com/
(our parent company) has added not one, but four more sites
to the family:

http://www.B2BMarketingBiz.com
http://www.MarketingToSmallBiz.com
http://www.MarketingToWebMarketers.com

And for British Internet marketers:
http://www.MarketingSherpa.co.uk.

Whew! Yes they all have free weekly email newsletters you
can sign up for, and all guarantee 100% exclusive content,
including a piping hot new Case Study every week!

P.S. Advertising enquiries go to:
http://www.ads@marketingsherpa.com

Yea/Nay: SafeMoneyReport.com’s Exclusivity Tactic

Safe Money Report’s newly revised site uses a clever tactic
to constantly remind visitors that its publisher (personal
investing guru Martin Weiss) gives them exclusive content
they definitely won’t find on the zillions of financial
info sites across the Web: After the first paragraph of
every regular news story piped in from other sources, such
as CBS MarketWatch, there’s a can’t miss highlighted “Weiss
Comments” section. Check it out at
http://www.safemoneyreport.com
Our vote: Yea, yea, yea!

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CASE STUDY: ArtofSelfPromotion.com
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*Simple Postcards Give Big Bang for the Buck:
ArtofSelfPromotion.com

So-called “double postcards” (built so you can tear off one
half to mail back for a free trial subscription) have
been a staple of traditional magazine and newsletter
marketing for two decades. So we were fascinated to learn
how single postcards are working for online publisher Ilise
Benun of http://www.artofselfpromotion.com.

Campaign: a total of 3,500 postcards mailed to house lists
of former subscribers; included in new subscriber “welcome”
packages; and handed out at events where Ilise is a
speaker. “I only give them to people who know who I am, it
increases response.”

Creative: Benun says, “I really object to this idea that
you can build traffic without giving reason to people of
why they would go to your site. Don’t just give them your
URL and expect floodgates to open. Tell them what they’ll
find there, and then they’ll decide if they want to go.”
Her postcard (printed an eye-catching bright red on the
“picture” side with her domain name in white lettering)
uses the message side to list reasons for people to visit
the site including: “download free how-to marketing
articles,” “access small business resource links,” and
“sign up for free Quick Online Marketing Tips.”

Notes: Benun thinks other marketers should hand out
postcards instead of business cards at events. “Business
cards are too small, they get lost and people already have
stacks of them from strangers. Flyers are too big. A
postcard is just the perfect size for this piece of
information, which is, Go to my Web site!”

She also suggests publishers (and ecommerce stores) include
more than one copy of a postcard in fulfillment packages
mailed out to subscribers and buyers: “A postcard is an
easy thing for customers to hand out to their friends and
colleagues. It makes word-of-mouth referrals easier.”

Cost & Vendor: Total was around $400 at Printing.com, a
company specializing in printing postcards for Web sites.
Ilise is a big fan and we are too. To check out their low-
cost services (yes they’ll even do art for you included in
the flat price) go to:
http://www.printing.com/affiliate.asp?site=m-sherpa

Go there now because we can’t promise how long this link
will work. Printing.com just sold their domain to an
unnamed buyer for “more money than we could possibly
refuse.” They’ll be known as “WBcards.com” soon, a semi-
lame domain that we don’t mind because we’re also big fans
of Buffy.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Brian McCracken, iSyndicate
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In the past, we’ve advised you to drive traffic to your
site by syndicating your hotlinked headlines to other Web
sites through distributors like iSyndicate, MoreOver.com,
Desktop News and Backwire.com. Several of you contacted us
to demand, “More details please!” Since ContentBiz.com is
your servant to command, we jumped right on it with this
exclusive interview with Brian McCracken, Products Team
Leader at iSyndicate

Q: What’s the pricing model on headline syndication? Seems
like it’s changed recently.

McCracken: Headlines are still two cents per clickthrough.
We are charging 5 cents and up for syndicating more
complicated things -- search boxes, photos with clicks
back, other types of graphics, etc. About six months ago we
added a flat set-up charge for publishers joining the
headline syndication program. It was $500 flat plus $500
prepaid clickthrough fees. Now it’s been raised to $1,500
flat plus $500 prepaid clickthroughs.

Q: Whoa! 300% increase in three months? Why, what do we
get for that -- and will it go up again anytime soon?

McCracken: We want people to be serious about being
participants and to recognize value in being part of our
group. You do get a lot for the money though; we announce
you in our biweekly newsletter to our 200,000 affiliate
sites and add your name to our “New” content category for
two weeks. We also add you to our quarterly press release.
In addition, there is some work on our end to get set-up to
receive your headlines and often publishers have questions
that need answering. By the way, this is a fee per
publisher, not per title so it’s a deal for multi-title or
multi-site publishers. And yes, that $1,500 could easily
increase another $1,000 in next 6 months so sign up today!

Q: What kinds of content are the most popular for your
affiliates? Which types of headlines will get picked up by
a lot of sites?

McCracken: Right now we’re strongly interested in content
that’s good for sending to wireless devices; has some type
of international appeal; or that is localized to a
particular city. The most popular content (and this is
true for full syndication too) is top news, general
technology news, business and finance and sports. We’re
also seeing more interest in health, entertainment and some
lifestyle demographics are emerging as valuable.

Q: What about niche publishers?

McCracken: the most popular niches are adventure sports,
pharmaceutical industry coverage (not at the most granular
level, though), technology, telecom business and anything
for financial professionals.

Q: How long does it take for a publisher to start
syndicating headlines with you? The site says a few days,
but it seems longer.

McCracken: Once we’ve taken a look at your site and
determined that your content is a good fit and you are
technically set up to reliably deliver content in the
format we prefer, it only takes a week or two. But a lot
of content providers contact us who aren’t ready yet.
People should really read the technical requirements at our
site before they contact us. Your headlines and links
should be in a clearly delineated, consistent format, on a
page separate from your Web site, and clearly marked by
product, if you’re feeding us more than one.

Note: Brian later emailed us the technical link, it’s:
http://www.isyndicate.com/providers/partnerships/setup.phtml

Q: OK, let’s quickly talk full syndication. What’s your
deal there, and how much money are publishers making by
selling their content through you? And how are you
different from Screaming Media?

McCracken: It’s our main business -- headline syndication
is more of a relationship builder for us with publishers
and sites; full content syndication is our bread and
butter. Getting set up as a content syndicator is free.
Then we pay you a standard 50% cut of sales on a quarterly
basis. That’s only negotiable for really big huge name
brand companies. Unlike Screaming Media, who break your
content into articles and then sell them to sites as an
aggregated topical group with other people’s content mixed
in, we attach value to your brand. Site owners
specifically select and purchase your brand’s content and
it runs with your name on their site.

Also unlike Screaming Media, who sell content as text
that’s all the same price per article -- no matter whether
it comes from the New York Times or BusinessWire, we price
your content -- depending on your brand name, the content
type, its shelf life, the length of articles, etc.-- in
order to maximize value of brand for each provider. The
lowest level sale is $250 a month per brand per site. So if
we syndicate your content to a single site for one year, at
50% you’ll net $1,500. Right now we have 350 sites buying
content from us and that number is growing rapidly. Some
of the biggest brands working with us are grossing six
figures per month. The best way to increase your sales is
to coordinate with our sales force. You can come into our
San Francisco office and present to them or meet at shows.

The other difference between iSyndicate and Screaming
Media, for now anyway, is that we also syndicate rich media
like streaming audio, video, private label calendars,
calculators, stock quotes, weather, sports scores, you name
it. It’s not just text content anymore.

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JOBS: ArkNet, Westlake Consulting, more
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-- National Marketing Director, ArkNET
ArkNET USA, Inc. seeks National Marketing Director for
Christian/Educational-based global intranet. Position
reports to the CEO and is responsible for all Domestic
Marketing. Must have experience in the establishment of a
subscriber-based market development, in Telecom or ISP
company, from start-up to 300,000+ customers. Understanding
of Christian market helpful. Attractive compensation
package including stock options for a company targeting IPO
in the next 12 months. Contact: Larry A. Carter, CEO –
larryac@bellsouth.net Fax 678-781-2001

-- Marketing Coordinator for Westlake Consulting
WestLake Consulting Group, a leading provider of Web-based
systems and e-commerce solutions in the DC area, is looking
for talented, energetic individuals with experience in the
Internet industry and business development. We currently
seek a Marketing Coordinator to join our Washington, DC
office. For details, see the job description at:
http://www.wlcg.com/careers/openings/jobs_operations.html

-- Web Marketing Manager, American Petroleum Exchange
Develop online marketing communications plans to drive
membership registration and qualified sales leads. Develop
online marketing messaging and creative.
Closely track the budget and analyze campaign results.
Coordinate with outside partners. Create innovative online
marketing programs based on the Internet's most extensive
database of on-line buyers. Requires BA/BS degree in
Marketing, Business, or other related field
MBA a plus. 5+ years of advertising or direct marketing
with 2+ years of online advertising including project
management experience preferred. Must have outstanding
written and verbal communication skills. Apply now:
mktmgr@apexchange.com or visit http://www.apexchange.com

-- Backwire.com, Senior Dir. of Business Development
Well-financed, Internet startup based in Old Town,
Alexandria VA, seeks someone to develop and implement the
company's portfolio of strategic alliances with leading
portals, e-commerce, and community sites. Will consider
analytical professional with at least 4 years business
experience. The ideal candidate must be a self-starter,
Detail oriented, and comfortable working in a fast-paced,
team-based environment. Experience negotiating and closing
partnership deals in the Internet space is preferred.
Send resumes to employment@backwire.com (refer to this
posting) http://www.backwire.com

-- Thingamajob.com (Allegis Grp), Content Manager
Hanover, MD: Content Manager will serve as the primary
voice of our website, Thingamajob.com. You will help manage
a dynamic and cool website that will drive job seekers to
Allegis Group, Inc job postings. Develop website content;
manage flow of content to the site; keeping the site fresh
and accurate; analyzing website reports and utilizing this
information to help drive online decisions. 2 years website
experience, with HTML/web development experience a plus.
Send resumes to egiffin@allegisgroup.com
http://www.allegisgroup.com.

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CONTENTBIZ.COM INFO
----------
Subscription and Advertising Contact:
Aimee Kessler Evans
aimee@marketingsherpa.com
973.992.5330

Content Director:
Felix Gorrio
felix@marketingsherpa.com
202.256.1472

Publisher:
Anne Holland
anneh@marketingsherpa.com
202.232.6830

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