Two years ago, I wrote down some thoughts around creating demand for your content with a very high level overview of the evolution of online content discovery (above).
As I said in the post, when I started Conversation Agent, after the launch and heavy use of portals as the online one-stop place to find things, often tied to a free email account, being online and establishing an identity was tied mainly to having a blog.
Blogs or at least a place where to outline ideas and collaborate on making them happen are making a strong comeback. I'll have more to say on this in a later post.
For now, I'd like to tackle the evolution of content into digital products via some quick examples.
Making sense and making it
They are the operative words that underscore the evolution of content into digital products. The answers to the questions I posed in that post will show the trajectory:
- Do you want to become a thought leader in a specific field?
Create digital products that help people get stuff done, use products or services, learn a new skill, build a business.
Some examples of people who built a business around creating a path for others through the use of content: Chris Guillebeau's products, the Codecademy program.
- Are you catering to a very specific group of people?
Think categories like entrepreneurs, stay at home moms, students, and segments within them like solo-preneurs, partner entrepreneurs, bootstrapping, VC_funded, or stay at home moms who home school their children, students who are learning a foreign language -- just off the top of my head.
Some examples of people who cater to specific groups: Kelley Crane for SoloPR, Liz Strauss and Terri Starbucker for creating Successful Online Businesses (SOBCon).
- Is your intention to become the go-to place for information and news on a specific topic, solving a certain problem?
Some examples of this value proposition: Michael Port and Book Yourself Solid, Chris Garrett has a few products, each solving a specific problem.
- Do you plan to offer products and services for purchase directly?
Many of the examples in the points above do sell products directly off their sites. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Entrepreneurs and consultants have been leading the (digital) way that many organizations are now following.
Thanks to the ubiquity of broadband access, the familiarity with technology, and the popularity of tablets, content consumption has gone way up.
So much so that it has become viable for media companies to start packaging content for on demand viewing, especially in response to new entrants offering purchase of original content for streaming#, and for news organizations to start experimenting with new models that are not so dependent on advertising revenue#.
+++
Anyway, this is a lot of what I'm working on with media and entertainment companies and eCommerce clients, and I see the cross over very clearly. We're just scratching the surface on the opportunities.
+++
Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.