Free KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays by Mark Victor Hansen, Joel Comm

odd news article into any site and show that it’s dynamic and up-to-date.
     
    There are a couple of problems with writing news articles, though. The first is that unless you’re breaking the news yourself, you’re going to be rewriting. Cutting and pasting content from a news site is illegal, wrong, and may earn you rude e-mails from lawyers. You’ll certainly hear a loud KaChing then, but it will be the sound of your money going out. So, you’ll have to rephrase the content and state where the information is coming from so that the copyright owners can see that you’re not stealing their product.
     
    Figure 3.1 Applelnsider.com provides news-and ads-about Apple and the products Apple fans like.
     

    The second problem is that while news sources are currently free on the Web, it doesn’t look like things are going to stay this way for long. News Corporation (owners of the Wall Street, Journal and a host of other newspapers) has already said that it plans to start charging users in 2010. Other publishers are waiting for News Corporation to make the first move before they bring in their own subscription models. That will make aggregating news on your topic more difficult. On the other hand, it will also make your site more useful to people who don’t want to pay multiple subscription fees to different news sites. Best of all, once users are accustomed to paying to read quality content on the Web, they’ll be more inclined to pay you for your content, too.
     

3. OPINION ARTICLES
     
    News articles tell people what’s happening. They’re at their most valuable when the information you’re providing is exclusive or when it’s closely related to the subject of your site. But you can make news articles even more useful by combining them with analysis.
     
    This can make all the difference between having just another web site in your field and owning a successful, important web site in your field. Whenever anyone reads the news, the question they always want answered is, “What does this have to do with me?” That’s true whether they’re watching Fox broadcasters explaining the deficit, a local newscaster reporting on the opening of a new car park, or a sports reporter interviewing a coach. While all of that might be interesting information, viewers want to know whether they’re going to be paying more taxes, spending less time looking for a parking space, or getting a piece of information that will help them win an argument in a sports bar. Tell your users why the news is important and what it means to them, and you’ll be transforming content that everyone has into unique information and demonstrating that your site is the place to come for expert advice.
     
    For example, in October 2009, the Federal Trade Commission wheeled out a bunch of new guidelines governing the use of testimonials and endorsements in advertising. It was horribly complicated stuff, but it was vitally important to anyone who sells anything online. Anyone with a web site that sold products needed to know about the new rules, so it was no surprise that site after site reported the changes. But what I really wanted to know was what the changes meant. What was I allowed to do, and what did I now need to do differently? I contacted my lawyer for advice and, with his permission, shared that advice on my web site. You can read it at www.TwitPWR.com/newftc .
     
    This isn’t just a news article saying that the FTC has brought out new rules. There were thousands of articles saying that. This is a professional opinion explaining what that news means, and it’s one of the most popular pieces of content on my personal blog.
     
    Clearly, you don’t have to ask a professional to explain the news for you—although there’s nothing wrong with doing that and many will agree in return for the free marketing. You can also analyze it yourself, giving you another easy and valuable piece of content.
     

4. REVIEW ARTICLES
     
    Review articles are