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Just released, March 2001! My first full length book
on Dreamweaver 4. Available through Amazon.com.
This is an affiliate link to Amazon.com that is provided
on my site. Many sites have done very well by providing links to books
that are exceptionally good and related to the goals of the site visitors.
Most large online stores have affiliate programs.
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The last page looked at ways to find more content, or stretch the content
that you do have. Let's look at opportunities to gather content from
outside the normal bounds of your site.
Look for partners
There may be complimentary businesses or information sites that will
mix well with your topic. Content can be shared, filling out pages on
both sites, and hopefully creating more traffic for each partner. Again,
be specific when you are asking a client about this possibility. As
an example: A site may sell craft items on the Web. I know there are
many supplier sites that offer how-to tutorials, or idea sections for
how to use the product. If your site sells that product, chances are
good that you can obtain permission to carry the content on your site.
Even if the supplier will not allow an entire article to be placed on
your site, they may allow you to write a short note about it and include
an image of the finished product.
The previous example is great because it is so targeted to the visitors.
If visitors are considering purchasing supplies from the site, chances
are high that they will also be interested in what that product will
do. As long as you can feature content that helps to deliver answers
for the questions that brought visitors to your site, you are not "padding"
the content, you are adding value.
Suppose you have a site that features home decorating ideas. You could
link to books that you think are very good from an online bookseller,
or even find an affiliate program for furniture, decorating supplies
or accessories that match each topic on your site. Not only do you provide
more content for your site, but you also provide a one-stop service
for your visitors and can earn some additional income.
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A good view of the Earth photographed shortly after
translunar injection of April 16, 1972. Although there is much cloud
cover (over Canada and the oceans), the United States in large part,
most of Mexico and some parts of Central America are clearly visible.
Note Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Also note the Bahama Banks at
upper right part of the sphere. A large part of the Rocky Mountain Range
is also visible.
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Public information
If your site has any relation to subjects that are carried by government
or community agencies, you can often find relevant content. Often, you
will see notes on sites that invite you to use the content that is stated
on a particular page. For example, you may have a site that focuses
on healthy lifestyles, perhaps offering products or services that can
help people improve lifestyle.
Look to national, regional or local health organizations or agencies
for content. They may have a campaign running, and will gladly provide
both text and images for another site to promote the campaign. There
may be an archive of health related material that they will give permission
to reprint. Always be prepared to approach the managers of the content
with a professional attitude, and give them full information about your
site, and how their material will be used when you are requesting permission
to reprint.
Be prepared to find an alternate solution if other sites cannot allow
you to reprint desired material. Perhaps you can provide a small description
of the article on your site, and a link to the material. Annotated links
are much better for your clients, and do fill space on a page. Although
permission from the linked site is usually not required for this type
of link, it is never a bad idea to let the owners of a site know when
you have placed a link on your site. Often, they will respond by adding
a link to your site if they have a links section.
I have included a sample of a space image, one of hundreds that are
copyright free and available for download from the NASA
site. The caption is also provided with the images. Please read
the NASA
guidelines for using these images. You will also find video and
audio files on the same site.
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