You do learn something when you do it the hard way though.

But if we’re going to do everything in life the hard way…well…life could be really ‘hard’…

I learned some things the “hard way” which will be with me and which I can tap on for the projects I do.

Doing things the “hard way” helps you understand something better than reading about it would do.

Then again, I wouldn’t recommend always doing everything the hard way…

Yep.

I think most readers will see that I’m from the “Have one successful proof of concept then continue replicating it” school of thought.

Creating your own content is a means of understanding the process, once you’re able to have it running smoothly, by all means choose to outsource it if you like.

Hey Ian,
Thanks for the reply.

My intent to understand your position and you’ve provided detail to clarify your strategy.

My intent for this post was to target new marketers, some of whom have fallen into the ‘outsource everything’ school of thought. (which I feel can hurt their long term development)

Andrew,

My comment was meant as a compliment to you for putting up a good article. But based on your reply, I don’t think my intention came across. Regardless, let me at least address your issues and qualify my comments.

Your article is titled Build Massive Traffic with Magnetic Content so I assumed it was meant to help users generate traffic to their site. Also, I see that in the 3rd paragraph, you have crossed out the word ‘viral’ and used the word ‘critical’ in its place. Another suggestion that this article deals with building traffic through content. I simply wanted to point out that not all quality content is meant to generate traffic on the internet. Of course quality content has a purpose, as you stated, but I also think that we must remember that not everyone who publishes quality content does it for the purpose of traffic generation or for monetization for that matter. In summary, Magnetic content can be of high quality, but not all quality content is or inspires to be magnetic.

As for my comment about good content being the new method of traffic generation, I was simply referring to a contrasting view with so many of the internet marketing experts out there who teach others to actively ask for backlinks from websites. I believe that good content will generate backlinks without the author needing to ask. It was simply a contrasting view, nothing more.

And it isn’t just about the cost.. It’s also about the experience and personally getting your hands dirty and knowing what to look for when you’re looking to outsource your content generation in future.

Once you know what you’re doing, you’ll have a better idea of the quality of the content you’re paying for.

Good suggestion.

Although for new online marketers, it’s best to be able to generate your own content, in order to understand the mechanics of what drives traffic to your site and once you have a grasp of what draws the crowds and what doesn’t THEN go outsource it if you can focus on higher value activities if you choose to.

For a newbie starting out, wholly outsourcing all your content generation to external parties could harm your business, especially if you don’t have visibility on the inner workings of your readers, and eventually customers.

Hi,
I’m not sure what you mean.
Quality content will have a purpose. It’s not clear why you put “But with a purpose”?

It’s not a new method, it’s the “original” method. You’d want to access relevant information regardless of the medium.

Quote :

I got a message from a new Internet Marketer who
claimed it was “impossible” to generate content for his
website.

He was about to blow $500 paying one of the guys …

Unquote

While your suggestions can work, there are other factors – time availability, writing style (having many different good writers posting on your forum or blog attracts more attention) – or even just having too many opportunities.

I know a few people on DP forum who subcontract out the writing because while they pay $5 to $10 for an article, they use the same time / effort to earn much more through other activities.

That is a very good tip. Magnetic content, as you have put it, is really quality content but with a purpose. It will not only draw readership, but by providing relevant & sticky content, this will be the new method of generating backlinks and community comments to a website. Thanks for sharing.