The online marketing "monster" that made so many people rich is dying.
It may be slow. But it's happening nonetheless.
More and more gimmicks and gadgets that worked so well a few years ago, are completely obsolete today.
Countless guru's and "SEO's" who once commanded big bucks to share their flare and marketing "magic" with the masses... have been disrobed and exposed as fly by night snake oil salesman.
The truth is, from my standpoint, this is a GOOD thing. The more smoke and mirrors that's revealed to be ineffective, the better it is for those of us who are willing to work hard, create good content and BUILD things that have enduring value.
I want to share with you 2 simple trends that I truly believe can transform your business in 2012 and beyond.
1 - Authority sites, or content communities that draw people of passion together to discuss a certain niche, or topic in a social and interactive way, are the future of online publishing.
2 - User created content is the absolute EASIEST way to build your own authority site, and for far too many reasons to cover in one short article.
What do I mean my user created content and the communities that sprout up around them?
Well, from the big picture perspective, Facebook is the most obvious example. So too is Pinterest.
But on the smaller, more attainable level, any site that allows your readership to be content creators and contributors to your community counts.
For example?
In a niche that I publish in, the site that dominates the results pages for just about every search there is (which totals in the millions per month) is a site that encourages people to submit their experiences. (it's a new age niche, so people submit extraordinary psychic or paranormal experiences they've had)
The site "owner" has to do very little. The whole thing is pretty much automated, and the users of the site, become content creators simply by expressing, emoting and sharing their passion for the topic.
While I have no idea how much they're making, based on my own limited experience in the niche (which has paid me personally about 50K in affiliate commissions)I'm sure it's 5 figures plus a month.
There are countless examples of this approach, most specifically the Q and A style sites, and socially driven community sites that are popping up all over the place this year.
I want to give you 2 simple strategies for DOING this, right now, in your niche... no investment required. (both are 100% free)
1 - Transform your blog using Buddypress:
BP is a free plugin for WordPress that literally turns your blog into a social site, overnight. (actually in about 30 minutes) Immediately, your users can start post to their own walls, ask questions, share thoughts, and it's almost like having a bunch of outsourcers working for you... only it's 100% free!
2 - Q and A plugins
I love these sites, and have been using this model very successfully for quite a long while. A Q and A plugin allows your readers to ask questions and offer answers on your blog, emulating a "Yahoo Answers" or "Stack-overflow" sort of set up, without any programming required. The beauty of this approach is that you can integrate it with your existing blog, and you don't need a dedicated blog template to do it WELL, anymore. (which used to be the case)
I challenge you to try the above approaches and watch your content, your community AND your cash flow grow. (along with your natural search engine rankings to boot!
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