How to Build Your Site with Other Peoples Content -- Part 1

Building a new website can be extremely exciting. Seeing your words in "print"--maybe for the first time... what a thrill! At least that's how I feel...

But then, I'm a writer. I've always loved to write. Yes, I was one of those crazy kids who truly loved doing term papers. I make my living by writing. For me, it's rarely a chore... it's unadulterated fun.

But believe me; I am well aware that this opinion is not shared by a huge number of people. I've seen firsthand how my family and friends struggle with the smallest writing assignment--even writing emails. If that applies to you, then you know what I'm talking about, and you're probably struggling right now to complete the first draft of your website. If it doesn't apply to you, if you're one of the lucky ones like me to whom writing comes naturally, good for you! (But I still think you might enjoy reading this article.)

This article will tell you how to leverage other people's content on your site, an extremely powerful concept.

Now, it's important to recognize the value of building many of your own highly visible pages, along with your home page. After all, building your site is all about forging relationships with your site visitors so that monetizing your site will come easy.

Your visitors need to get to know you, to hear your voice throughout the site. So, you'll need to surmount that hurdle first off. One of the most important points I can make is that you don't have to write a scholarly work. Your English teacher is no longer looking over your shoulder. Just write your pages as though you were talking to your visitors face to face. You'll see? the writing will start to flow.

HOW TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR OWN WRITING

OK, so here's the real focus of this article (at last). A content-rich site needs to have at least 20 pages if it's going place well in the search engines. 50 pages or more is even better, because every page you build increases your chances of being discovered at the search engines.

A great way to supplement the content on your site is to use free articles you can find in dozens of places on the Web. The people who write these articles have given permission for you (or almost anyone else) to publish them on your own website--provided you give credit to the author and provide a live link to the URL of their choosing.

Yes, you might lose a few visitors this way, when they click the link and go to the author's site. But if you make the link open in a new window, your site will remain on their desktop, even after they close the new window. Also, there may be the possibility of joining the author's affiliate program and substituting the affiliate link for the link back to their website.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. First, you have to find the articles.

FINDING QUALITY ARTICLES

The easiest way to find free articles you can publish on your website is to go to an article bank or directory, such as www.ezinearticles.com. Just visit any of these directory sites and you'll find hundreds of articles in a variety of categories. Just browse through until you find a few that will fit with (and complement) the content you've already written for your site.

A great way to use free articles from other authors is in an article library on your site. That way, you can show your visitors that you're not trying to pass off someone else's content as your own; you're just giving them more options for learning.

BUILD YOUR OWN LIBRARY MINI-SITE

If you're not too technically challenged, you might want to check out 1st-in-articles.com at this URL: http://www.1st-in-articles.com/build/builder.cfm. They'll allow you to build several pages on your site using a number of themed articles from their database.

LOCATING YOUR OWN ARTICLES

In your research for link partners or affiliate programs, you may also have come across sites that have information you'd like to use on your site. You mustn't ever do so without permission, but there's no harm in contacting the webmaster of the site and asking for permission. You'd be surprised how many will be flattered and will say yes, provided you give them credit for authorship.

OTHER KINDS OF CONTENT

But articles aren't the only kind of content you can find for free on the Web. One of my favorite sites to find supplemental content is Free Sticky, which you'll find at http://www.freesticky.com/stickyweb/. At their site, you'll find tons of free stuff, from articles to news feeds to jokes of the day to cartoons to survey tools and more. Much too much to list here. Just go and check it out. If you can cut and paste, you can probably grab some of this content for your site.

AFFILIATE PROGRAM CONTENT LINKS

Many affiliate programs will provide articles, reviews, ads, and more that you can use on your site. In most cases, I'd recommend that you customize the content for your site, but it gives you a great jumping off point.

RSS NEWS FEEDS

RSS is all the rage these days. There are many sources for these feeds all over the Web. Just do a search and you're sure to find quite a few.

The headlines and articles aren't always real relevant but some are and hey, most change at least daily with absolutely no effort from you!

Whatever type of content you add to your site from other sources, I'd recommend that you add in some of your own comments--perhaps as an introduction?--to help optimize the site for the search engines. Remember--your goal is to get every page on your site indexed by the search engines if possible. Don't underestimate the importance of this intro. One of my highest ranked pages is another author's article that I optimized using an introduction.

Now go out and start having fun creating content!

Kathi MacNaughton is a web entrepreneur and freelance writer, as well as a mentor for the Nitro Incubator program. To learn more, visit http://www.powerf ul-sample-resume-formats.com/how-this-site-came-to-be.html

---

How Are You Plotting?

Creative Writing Tips ?Writing is a creative process and how... Read More

Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 1 of 6

ACCEPT, EXCEPT Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who... Read More

The Struggle

Sometime one must coax the words out.Each day is a... Read More

Get Your Writing Reviewed by Major Publications for Free

All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a... Read More

Making The Time To Write That Novel

Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More

Get Creative In The Great Outdoors

Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More

Learn to Write Like a Pro

Many writers write for the experience. Others dream of having... Read More

Learn to Talk on Paper: The Art of Effective Business Writing

Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes... Read More

Five Keys To A Successful Query Letter

Do you know what a query letter is? If so,... Read More

New York Code Orange Jaisini New Art Series

The creativity of Jaisini is not designed to be preaching... Read More

Starting a Local Writers Group

My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More

Editing and Polishing - How Much is Enough?

A few days ago, I critiqued a chapter for a... Read More

How I Became a Syndicated Columnist -- And You Can Too!

Real Estate has "Location, location, location," and writing has "Clips,... Read More

Zany Ideas That Increase Writing Productivity And Quality

Welcome to the zany ideas of a productive writer. My... Read More

Baby Boomers and Booklets ? Share and Share Alike

As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More

Writing Styles for Fiction: Which Voice to Use

I recently set up a website to promote a new... Read More

5 Ways to Break the Story Spell

You sink back into your favourite chair with a new... Read More

Stimulate Your Sensebuds...and Wave Goodbye To Writers Cramp!

When you get stuck for ideas, and the words won't... Read More

Review In 29 Steps Plus One

I just finished to read a book. A story for... Read More

5 Reasons People Like Technology White Papers

A good white paper is a paper that makes you... Read More

Mind Mapping Your Journal Entries

Clustering, also called Mind Mapping, is a great way to... Read More

Keys to Characterisation

Far too many inexperienced writers create flat, stereotypical characters: the... Read More

Vary Your Writing Style and Win Readers

First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More

Overcome Writers Block with Snake Dancing

Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits... Read More

Gaining Writing Experience

GAINING WRITING EXPERIENCE Some Catch-22, huh? In... Read More

Suspense Novels Made Easy

Suspense novels are probably the easiest novels to write. Suspense... Read More

How to Create Incredible Characters Easily

Creating incredible characters can be easy if you know of... Read More

The Blank Mind

Many writers stare at the blank page or clean computer... Read More

Whose Story Is It?

Whenever you sit down to plot a story (or even... Read More

Why I Write Horror

These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More

7 Ways to Turn Readers Into Friends

Back in my school days, if the teacher demanded a... Read More

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle

Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in... Read More

Weaving Your Personal Statement Together

1. SECRETS TO SUCCESS2. MAKING A POWERFUL FIRST IMPRESSION3. AVOID... Read More