Google's new 'how to' site, called Knol, is something I've pitched to newspapers for the last four months during my job search. Now I'm sharing the plan with everyone.
When I arrived at BostonNOW, one of the first programs I created was called "How To Boston." The graphic designers created sales collateral, and I joined sales reps to pitch clients. Several were interested. So I sent the white paper defining the project requirements to our design firm. And then BostonNOW closed down.
With Google's launch of Knol, it's time to share the details of the idea with everyone so you can get to market fast. Based on the overwhelmingly positive early response in Boston, I guarantee that adopting this plan for your local geography will increase traffic and revenue.
About.com has long known that 'how to' content is a significant traffic driver. And yet no newspaper tried to localize that Internet success. Online-only ventures did catch on. For example, Business.com covers a topical niche and created Work.com, which is a user-submitted site for small business. Regular folks submit 'how to" guides on topics such as "how to write a business plan" or "how to promote your new business." It's a huge success because the business owners see contributing as a way to promote themselves, but the final product is a library of information of great value to Business.com's target audience.
"How To Boston" is effective on multiple levels because it's one-part a 'long tail' strategy, and one-part a 'plus business' strategy.
Long tail
Since anyone can post a 'how to" guide for free, any advertiser can participate without paying a dime. But each business becomes a lead for up-selling featured placement in the directory. If the up-sell is cheap enough, then it becomes entry-level advertising for those small businesses priced out of the mainstream spots. Revenue generated by hundreds of small advertisments adds up to big numbers, and eventually the plan becomes like the farm leagues for online advertising. Consider these entry-level folks as leads for traditional banner ads, etc.
Plus business
Some of your biggest clients have Web advertising budgets and are unsure how to spend them. I've heard advertisers say they want to do something cool online, but they're too suspicious about the pay-off for our most innovative programs. This idea is a good way to dip their toe in the water. Let the giant accounts participate by paying the pittance of a monthly charge required to post a featured how-to. But then convince them to promote their new online guide by buying traditional print and online ads that promote the content to readers. This lets the advertiser use their Web budget to try something new while spending most of the money on something they know -- traditional print and Web ads. Right now, some of you are realizing this is a genius negotiation tactic. Pitching a cornucopia of print and Web ads based on this how-to program is a package deal they will feel comfortable buying. I've seen the advertisers' faces light up when they realize the Web budget can be used to buy print ads.
So there, I've laid the whole program's strategy at your feet. You have the:
- Sales collateral for selling the program
- White paper for building the site
- Mock-up of How-To entry
- Mock-up of How-To teaser box
Get going before Google starts attracting worthwhile local content. Wake up and realize that Google is competing with you, again.
Comments (5)
Lucas,
So this never actually made it out of the starting gate? Had you gotten any commitments from advertisers, or was it too soon?
What I like most about this is that it removes some of the collateral damage of "the wall" between advertising and editorial. Surely, we don't want advertisers dictating changes to our news coverage, but this strikes me as the right balance, recognizing that sponsored content can also be useful and valuable content.
After all, when you're thinking of buying a new bike or refrigerator or bottle of red for the dinner party, one of the sources you're going to consult is the retailer who, presumably, knows a whole lot more about his niche than you do.
The trick, in my mind, is to craft the articles so that there's as little chance as possible for the author to get into a situation where he is making specific recommendations ("For trail-riding, Trek is the clear winner." "I'd go with LG for their nearly spotless repair history.") that could be driven by economics. Had you thought through how to deal with that?
Posted by Tim Windsor | July 27, 2008 9:17 AM
Posted on July 27, 2008 09:17
For an advertiser, the goal of the post is to provide expertise that will attract customers.
As long as the site is clear about which posts are made by businesses, then readers are savvy enough to decide on their own whether to take the advice.
Another tact we discussed is policing the posts for blatant advertising that doesn't even meet the test of being helpful to others. At some point, it becomes a form of spam. Most sites do the same on comment boards.
A beauty salon can explain good skin care, recommending exfoliating once a week and then mentioning a few products they like ... Which I'm sure they sell. The post is still helpful. And the comments let others suggest products they like to use.
Posted by Lucas Grindley | July 27, 2008 6:59 PM
Posted on July 27, 2008 18:59
Lucas,
Who were supposed to write the how-to pages in your system? Companies themselves or BostonNow's journalists?
Provided they accept the idea, I think it'd be interesting to have these pages written by in-house staff. It'd help maintain consistency and editorial quality, whereas it might be costly (and very irritating for the advertiser) to edit the sponsored content.
Posted by nicolas. | July 28, 2008 1:48 AM
Posted on July 28, 2008 01:48
Great stuff, Lucas!
It's a brilliant way to get companies to go beyond the banner ad, to see value in becoming part of the conversation, to add value to the users' experience, and to establish a relationship with the user.
Did you have any advertisers who were lined up waiting for all the collateral to be completed?
Congrats on your new job, too! I'm coming down to ONA in September, so let's finally meet!
John Wilpers
Former BostonNOW editor in chief
Posted by John Wilpers | July 28, 2008 6:53 AM
Posted on July 28, 2008 06:53
Couple quick responses:
- We had a couple advertisers who had time enough before closing to express an interest, yes. Beyond that, ad reps speculated on the interest of several others.
- We figured we would seed the How-To section with some staff-written entries. I had some interns ready to put them together, plus an online editor who had written a handful in topic areas where we wanted to start. But the longer-term goal was to place ads in the paper encouraging readers to share their expertise, and then print some of those in the paper to encourage even more submissions.
Posted by Lucas | July 29, 2008 7:40 AM
Posted on July 29, 2008 07:40