In this month’s Internet Income Detective newsletter…
As well as getting excited about Nick’s fantastic training videos, this week the team at Internet Income Detective have been hard at work putting the finishing touches to the next issue of our monthly printed newsletter.
Here’s a small taster of what you can expect to find in the next issue…
The tools and techniques of curating content for a successful authority website
Content curation is something of a buzz-phrase at the moment but, unlike many online fads and trends, it’s one that is genuinely useful, interesting and worth our while.
Indeed, name a successful website these days and I will show you an expert content curator (or team of them!) that’s behind it. It is the best way to create a popular website.
What Is content curation?
Content curation is about pinpointing the very best content on a topic, pulling together that content from various sources and presenting it to the reader in a way that is unique to you, your site, and the message you want to get out with the collection of content you’ve curated.
I’ve heard some people (wrongly) describe it as ‘farming’ content from other places. That’s not what it’s about.
Content curation doesn’t mean presenting a list of stories or a weekly roundup of links.
It’s definitely not a simple cut and paste job where you take content from other sites. It’s more of an art than that! An art we want to teach you.
The idea is to take the information available and make sense of it for your readers.
The process starts with carefully sifting through all (or as much as you can) of what is out there and selecting the golden nuggets of information or content that would most compel your readers. Or that pulled together tell a new, improved or more detailed story.
Once you have your content you present it to make it relevant, valuable, memorable, sharable … the sum of all its parts.
Why curate content?
Some may say that as the content is already out there for your readers to access, why put it together for them?
This is the key to good content curation – it’s not just a pile of information. We’re inundated by a deluge of information every minute of every day: the Internet is wonderful because of this, but it can be totally overwhelming too.
Everyone has to sift through loads of stuff to find what they’re truly interested in reading. A good content curator does this for you, and builds a following of loyal readers as a result.
How content curation helps you
OK, I want to be honest here… Content curation ISN’T EASY. It’s a skill that you can master. A common misconception about content curation is that it’s an easy way out of content creation.
It’s true that curation can remove a lot of the need to be a writer when it comes to online content. But that doesn’t mean it’s something you can just spend two minutes on and create a huge, text-rich website.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Actually, like original content, the content you curate can help you establish authority and create a connection with your readers.
Think of it from the reader’s point of view. Your authority website is a source of the exact information they want on a regular basis. It saves them from having to do their own sifting online.
Over time, they come to see you as a go-to source for their information. They see you as a knowledgeable expert in your field.
If you log on to ClickBank you will find all sorts of software and programmes that farm content from other sites.
An automated programme that uses keyword algorithms to suck up content from other sites and spurt it out somewhere else will not create authority for you. This isn’t what the blueprint we have for you in the upcoming issue of IID is about.
If your content is relevant and helpful to your readers, they’ll keep coming back for more. It doesn’t matter to them whether you’re the actual content creator or not.
Curating content should be taken just as seriously as creating your own content from scratch, but one of the advantages of this approach is that it is easier and more cost effective than writing your own content or hiring a writer.
It’s just a matter of understanding your readers well and choosing the right content.
It’s a fun, rewarding and interesting way of creating your own website. It is also a skill that is hugely beneficial to learn and to put in to practice. The latest issue of Internet Income Detective will show you how.
Create professional videos using nothing but the phone in your pocket
Another subject we look at in May’s issue of the newsletter is video creation using nothing but a smart phone.
Most of us have a smart phone. Or at least access to one. And in our Internet Marketing learning and training and reading and researching, most of us have tried or contemplated using video as a content type on our websites and blogs etc.
But we’re put off, thinking it’s going to be super-complicated or tricky.
I’ve been playing around with video using ONLY my phone and/or iPad for a few months now. It’s amazing how simple it is.
In May’s Internet Income Detective, we look at some of the apps and services out there to help you to create professional videos you can use for share-worthy content for your authority site, or as a promotional tool to sell your product or service.
One of the apps we look at is iMovie for the iPhone.
There are endless options out there when it comes to video creation and editing: you visit the App Store and find thousands. Arguably, Apple’s iMovie remains at the top of the list for video making and editing.
Apple has packed this app full of features, making it far superior to the standard video camera on the iPhone. iMovie will have you looking like a professional in no time.
It’s not possible to cover all of the features today, but we will cover the highlights so you can make an educated decision as to whether this app is right for you.
iMovie is as easy to use as the iPhone generally, with the mobile app having the same, intuitive, touch screen way of maneuvering.
The movie scenes will automatically be separated into video clips which makes shifting and eliminating scenes super easy.
You are able to do the following:
- tap to add video, photos and music
- drag to trim the length of any video clip
- swipe up and down to split or freeze a frame
- shift scenes around and eliminate those you don’t need
- create cutaways, cut-ins and smooth transitions for a professional look
- add special effects to video and photos at certain frames of your choosing.
Flexible
One of the greatest features of iMovie is that it is compatible with both your iPhone and iPad.
It allows you to transfer even your partially edited videos between devices.
You can start editing a movie on your phone right after you shoot the video, then finish on your iPad or even on your computer.
Professional features
You are able to fancify your HD video by choosing from eight unique themes or you can customise with your own titles and photos from your library. You can also add special effects to your video and photos at a specific frame.
Of course there is probably already sound on your video, but you can also add sound effects that come with iMovie or use a song from your iTunes library wherever you see fit. Record your own voice as a voiceover for a more personal touch to your video.
You can choose from 12 trailers with pretty great graphics. You can also customise your video with other videos and photos from your library and add titles, transitions and music.
Add credits with rolling commentary or opening titles. Customise the text colour and font to match up with any branding etc, that you might want to put in to place.
Cost
At only £2.99 iMovie is definitely worth the purchase since it’s got LOADS of features.
I see video editing software being sold for hundreds of pounds on the Internet, but use the right app and video creation costs just pennies.
It is proven that people are more drawn to video than just a simple graphic on your website.
Using iMovie you can literally can have a professional marketable video promoting your business within minutes. That is no exaggeration and all with a phone.
In the latest issue of Internet Income Detective we look at several video apps and how to use them.
One even does the editing for you. Pretty clever stuff, but pretty easy stuff too from a user’s point of view.
Of course, you will find loads more in the issue, including a local business marketing blueprint from Ben Fathers, who I interviewed in last week’s email
There’s also some training on using the Amazon Marketplace to sell the products you’ve sourced – as a result of some of Amanda O’Brien’s fantastic sourcing training from recent issues of the newsletter.
We also have lots of bonuses and extras, including a guide to creating infographics and loads of useful information on the practical elements of creating an amazing website of your own.
Have a great week and I look forward to hearing what you think of the issue.
Best wishes
Sara
Editor
Internet Income Detective
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