------------------------------------------ Introduction ------------------------------------------If you run a content driven web site or eZine, then I think you will agree with me when I say that finding free, quality content on
‘Net is a pain. Sure, people are writing articles which they want published, but nine times out of ten, these articles are just “copy-pasted” or recycled from someone else’s articles, and content like this wont give your site a particularly high profile.
There are heaps of ways to add some pizzazz and glitz to your site or eZines content that will keep your visitors coming back on a regular basis. In this article I will talk about three of them: Interviews, Reviews and Books.
------------------------------------------ Interviews ------------------------------------------ People like reading about other people: What they do, how they do it, and most importantly, why they do it. So do you, right? Well I know I do. Have you ever thought about emailing a specific person from a company and requesting a “virtual interview” with them?
When I say virtual interview, I mean conducting interview via a series of emailed questions. I have, and every single person that I emailed was more than happy to give me time of day to answer some questions about them, their job role, their history, etc. When you think about it, it’s a win-win situation for both you and that person: You add more quality content to your site, and they get promos and links back to their site from your interview (This is a must, and can be deciding factor in nailing interview).
But just how would you go about asking for a virtual interview? And whom would you ask? Let me give you an example.
About two weeks ago, one of my editors (Tim Pabst) interviewed Markus Maki from MadOnion.com. This interview added value to our site, because in interview Markus talked about his industry experience, development of 3Dmark series, as well as his opinions on technology, etc. No one else has this kind of “insider” information about Markus on their site, so it makes our virtual interview one-of-a-kind.
Here’s email that Tim used to ask Markus to participate in our virtual interview:
Hi Markus, My name is Time Pabst, and I am one of editors for http://www.devarticles.com. I have been a huge fan of MadOnion.com for as long as I can remember, and I was wondering if I would be able to conduct an email-based interview with you.
This interview would consist of you answering some short questions about your life, job and experiences and simply emailing them back to me. Your questions will be compiled into an article and posted on our site.
Your interview will also include several mentions of MadOnion.com, thus creating more links back to your site. Please let me know if and when this is possible.
I look forward to your reply. Tim Pabst
Notice how email was short and to point? No marketing gook, no confusing sentences, just a quick description of who’s, what’s, when’s, why’s and how’s of interview.
The email was a success, and Interview questions were sent to Markus next day. We had interview on site within a week. You can see it at http://www.devarticles.com/art/1/35
------------------------------------------ Reviews ------------------------------------------
Reviews are another great way to add some variety to your sites content. You don’t have to be a professional to review a product or web site. Reviews are merely one person’s opinion of an item with some technical babble thrown in for good measure.
I am currently in process of reviewing Namo Web Editor 5. It is a complete web editing solution, similar to FrontPage. I decided to review this product because a lot of my visitors are newbies to web, just learning how to start programming.
