Posts Tagged ‘research’
Public Domain Content from Similar Sites
Okay, I admit it, I am a research addict! Being a good researcher can be a great strength…but at times, a weakness as well. It can be SO easy and tempting to get distracted by ALL the goodies you find! Because of this, I tend to rely on tools that help me find the content or information I’m looking for as quickly and as efficiently as possible. The tool I want to share with you today is one such amazing research tool. It’s a website that has become one of my favorites. As a reader of this blog, YOU have benefited from the research gleaned using this tool many times, and so, after today, you will gain the same benefit (and edge) that I have leveraged into content creation, articles and much more.
To be honest, I share this website with you reluctantly BECAUSE it’s such an amazing research tool. I don’t like giving away ALL my secrets. In this case, however, I’ll make the exception so that you can benefit from it as I have!
The website I’m referring to is SimilarSites (http://www.similarsites.com). It’s a search engine of sorts that enables you to find other websites that are similar to the website you type into the search box. I use this website’s search strategy in many different ways, but I’ll share one key method with you today as it relates to the Public Domain. You can use it to find similar and related content sites! Here’s what I mean.
For our example, I typed in the well-known Public Domain content site, Gutenberg.org. I don’t do much with the content from Project Gutenberg, but figured that there may be other sites out there RELATED to it that may offer more great content. BINGO! I was right. Upon conducting the search, here are the results I received…nearly ALL of them offer content from the Public Domain in one form or another:
Similar Sites to Gutenberg.Org
- ManyBooks.net – Free eBooks for your PDA, iPhone, or eBook Reader (manybooks.net)
- LibriVox (librivox.org)
- The Online Books Page (onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu)
- Free-ebooks.net | Download free Fiction, Marketing,electronic publishing ebooks (free-ebooks.net)
- Bibliomania – Free Online Literature and Study Guides (bibliomania.com)
- Online Books, Poems, Short Stories – Read Print (readprint.com)
- Bartleby.com: Great Books Online — Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus and hundreds more (bartleby.com)
- FullBooks.com – Thousands of Full-Text Free Books (fullbooks.com)
- etext center: collections (etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks)
- Feedbooks: Food for the mind (feedbooks.com)
- Page By Page Books. Read Classic Books Online, Free. (pagebypagebooks.com)
- Free eBooks at Planet eBook – Classic Novels and Literature You’re Free to Share (planetebook.com)
- Munseys : A Bangsian Fantasy (munseys.com)
- DP: Welcome (pgdp.net)
- World eBook Fair (worldebookfair.com)
- World Public Library Association (netlibrary.net)
- Bookyards.com » Library to the world (bookyards.com)
- eBooks@Adelaide: Free Web Books, Online (etext.library.adelaide.edu.au)
- The Burgomeister’s Books: Truly free ebook download library (#1) (truly-free.org)
Of course, as you can see in the screen-capture image, you also have the ability to also conduct similar site searches on every result as well…meaning that you could find a LOT of related websites in a very short period of time. Told you this was an amazing tool! What make this tool even MORE fun is that SimilarSites also offers a toolbar (which I have installed) so that if you are out surfing the web and you happen upon a website you really like, the toolbar enables you to find sites similar to the one you are visiting right there on the spot. How cool is that?!
Now I just used Gutenberg.org as the example, but I hope that you’re picking up on the greater implication…like finding niche-specific content, for example. You can also use the search to find sites similar to the popular ones out there…like Facebook. There are new social media sites coming online all the time and there is no way you could possibly find them all. SimilarSites makes it easier…and as I always say, “easier is better!” Have fun with it!
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Working From Anywhere
I have to say that I LOVE what I do. Being able to have what my good friend, Pat O’Bryan, refers to as a Portable Empire is nothing short of incredible. I can literally “work” from anywhere…and HAVE…from some pretty cool places. From a little cabin out in the middle of nowhere or sitting on a lounge chair in Palm Springs, to a private island off the coast of Florida or on-board a cruise ship in the middle of the Carribean…it’s a real privilege to no longer have to work a J.O.B.
One of the keys to truly running your business from anywhere is having the right tools to do so. And while it may take you a while to put together your “team” (it did me), you can actually get started rather cheaply. Now admittedly, I am a bit of a tech junkie, so what I carry with me may be a bit of overkill, but I do like the idea of being prepared to create literally ANY kind of media project I need at anytime, any where. And OF COURSE…my commitment is to help YOU achieve your dream business as well.
Below is a photo of my backpack. This pretty much goes with me everywhere I travel and it contains EVERYTHING I need to run my business and create new products. Well…what you see plus my Blackberry Storm…and an HP Mini…and a raft of software.
Now I am obviously a photographer as well…and so it’s likely that you may not want to carry so many cameras and lenses, but what you see above has helped me create a business I’m proud of…one that I love and enjoy. And so, as you can see above, your tools of the trade should include (at the very least) a laptop with media-related software, a video camera of some type and a phone. With just those three key items, you can create just about any type of information product just about anywhere. The broadband modem certainly extends your flexibility for high-speed internet quite a bit as does some sort of portable drive.
As for software, you really need a word processor (like Microsoft Word or Open Office), presentation software (like PowerPoint or Keynote), an image editor (like Photoshop or Paint.net), a web design program (like Dreamweaver or Kompozer) and a screencasting program (like Camtasia or Screenflow). There are other programs as well that can come in handy, like video editing software, audio software and file converters. The GREAT news is that you can find free or open source programs in every one of these categories. For me personally, here is what I use:
- Photoshop
- Dreamweaver
- Camtasia
- Screenflow
- Microsoft Office
- Vegas Movie Studio
- Sony Sound Forge
- QuarkXPress
- Super Converter/Encoder
- Acrobat Professional
- Adobe Illustrator
- Artisteer
- And a raft of other programs.
Please know that the point of this post is not to brag…heavens no…rather, it’s to encourage you to TAKE ACTION. You can DO this just as I am. In the coming weeks, I am going to be going MORE in-depth in sharing how you can get started, or move to the next level. Honestly, without the right tools, you’re going to be handicapped. Soooo…this is the beginning of helping point you in the right direction…the direction toward your OWN “Portable Empire.”
PDX-TV Episode 1: New Video Series
Here is the first video of a new series I’ll be producing in 2010 on using Public Domain content to build your online (and offline) business. Hope you enjoy it! It also features my sexy new PDX opening!
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v19613369N2eqJmKY40 Free Trend Tracking Tools and Websites
One of the keys to succeeding online—whether you are selling products or just trying to get traffic to your blog—is to understand what people are looking for…what they want or NEED. By researching these trends, you can focus your efforts (and product offerings) with laser accuracy and increase your chances for success exponentially. I’ve compiled a list of 40 different resources that are free for you to use in your trend research. While each website tracks trends in a wide variety of different ways, not all the resources may suit your needs. However, I would encourage you to spend some time familiarizing yourself with each of the sites to best determine which ones will provide you with the best data on the trends within your niche market.
For ease of use, I’ve listed the websites in alphabetical order.
Alexa’s traffic rankings are far from perfect, but the Movers and Shakers list may help you to identify some current trends.
Alltop links to popular sources of content in a wide range of topics.
Amazon’s Best Sellers list includes various categories and can provide a glimpse that may be helpful, especially for affiliate marketers.
You can follow Amazon’s Hot New Releases list to stay on top of the latest products that are of broad interest.
Amazon’s Movers and Shakers may not be the top sellers, but they’re the products that are gaining the most in terms of ranking.
AOL Hot Searches is similar to MSN A-List with a variety of information on hot topics.
Ask.com also has its own list of top searches.
xRank keeps track of notable people and puts them in order for you.
The eBay Pulse shows what items are selling right now, and which items are being watched the most.
See which pages are being linked to the most by Friendfeed users.
With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames.
Google trends provides data on search phrases that are hot.
Enter a URL and Google Trends for Websites will show you where it’s visitors are (geographically), other sites that they visit, and other searches that they perform.
Google’s Zeitgeist is the collective effort of other Google trend tools mentioned in this post.
Download a Hitwise widget to bring the latest online trends to your desktop.
Ice Tocket’s Trend Tool will letter you enter a word or phrase (or multiple phrases) to see how often it has been mentioned on a timeline.
Keyword Forecast – Microsoft AdCenter
Keyword Forecaster from Microsoft AdCenter forecasts the impression count and predicts demographic distributions of keywords.
Most popular searches for NYC Classifieds.
The Lycos 50 lists the top 50 search phrases of 2008 on Lycos.
MSN A-List provides information on popular topics, people searches, and rumors.
mySimon’s Top Searches reveals what products people are searching for in nearly any category.
The New York Times also provides a look at popular searches on its site.
At Popurls you can quickly see what is doing well at a large number of social media sites.
RSSmeme shows popular blog posts that have been shared.
Search.com – Most Popular Searches
Search.com popular search list provides a quick way to see what is popular at the moment.
Updated once daily, SEOmoz’s Popular Searches is an aggregation of popular search queries gathered from various sources across the web.
Shopping.com Consumer Demand Index
The Shopping.com Consumer Demand Index (CDI) makes it easy for you to put your finger on the pulse of consumer demand.
Shopzilla provides some useful information that shows what shoppers are searching for.
Techmeme is a constantly updated site that publishes links to tech news.
The Leaderboard at Techmeme shows which sites are mentioned most frequently on Techmeme.
Technorati’s Popular page will show you some current trends of the blog world.
Your search for hottest wholesale and retail trends can now begin and end at the latest go-to trend-tracking site, Top Ten Trends
With 9+ million monthly views, TrendHunter.com is the world’s largest, most popular trend community.
Trendpedia lists popular search phrases and also lets you compare trends of multiple phrases.
trendwatching.com is an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas.
Truemors allows you to follow news and rumors.
Twist allows you to see what is being mentioned on Twitter.
URLTrends will provide a trends report based on a particular URL.
Wall Street Journal’s Most Popular
For finance-related content, Wall Street Journal will show you what’s popular.
Yahoo! Buzz tracks the buzz about anything — from breaking stories on major news to viral videos on personal blogs.
Download this Information in PDF Form HERE!
Product and Niche Research with Magazines
I want to share some valuable lessons I’ve learned through a method of research I use to determine the best niches to sell in and the types of products to develop for those niches. I will also share some unique insights with this method that you may have not considered before now, but that can have a profound impact on your product creation process.
There are a number of effective methods for researching niche markets to identify which are the best for achieving success, but the one method I want to focus on in this article is this: Using current print magazines as research tools. There are some huge benefits to utilizing print magazines for niche market research, and while some are obvious, others may be less apparent. Let’s look at these benefits as they apply to effective niche research:
1. Magazines Help Identify Niche Trends. If there is a niche you are interested in pursuing but you’re having a hard time finding print magazines related to that niche, it’s likely that the niche is a waste of your time. Of course, as in all things, there are exceptions to this rule, but I’ve found that this is a rule worth paying attention to for a number of reasons.
First off, magazine publishers spend a LOT of money doing market research as well when producing or preparing to produce a magazine. If there is little interest in a topic, the readership (also known as circulation) will not be there and neither will the advertisers; and it’s in those two areas where the money is in traditional magazine publishing. So, in a sense, we could say that you need to “follow the money.” If there is a strong readership/circulation AND an abundance of advertisers for the magazine, then it’s likely that the niche will have sales potential. A good resource to read that I highly recommend is the 2008-2009 Magazine Handbook found here: http://www.magazine.org/consumer_marketing/circ_trends/index.aspx. You can also find a wealth of magazine trend information here: http://www.mediainfocenter.org/magazine/magazinecategories.asp. Also, if you have access to it (check your local library), the SRDS manual can shed valuable insights into the true circulation numbers for most magazines. It’s worth checking out!
Another feature to watch for when searching for magazines in a specific niche is how many magazines there are for that niche! If you can only find one or two magazines for a niche, it’s likely that there is not the same public interest there that you would find for a niche that has 10 magazines in it. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should still consider the niche with only a few magazines in it, it just means that the market share is likely to be smaller.
2. Magazines Help Identify the Best Content Demands. What topics are the magazines you found writing about consistently? As you study the various magazines you find, you’re going to see trends…again, pay attention! There is a reason why those topics are coming up over and over again—it’s what the consumer is looking for! When doing this type of magazine research, I would HIGHLY recommend that you purchase copies of EVERY magazine related to your niche so that you can study the articles and content. As you review the magazines, make a list of the content topics that are the SAME in every magazine…this is valuable data that can help to focus your own product efforts. If you find that all the magazines related to your niche offer certain types of data or content, you NEED to offer those same types of data as well! This seems like an obvious point here, but not surprising, most marketers never pay much attention to this.
3. Pay Attention to the Advertisers. Just like you will see trends in the articles and features, you will also see trends in the advertising. Pay attention to this. Advertisers are paying a lot of money to be in the magazine, and many are there on a regular basis. Learn to leverage advertiser’s research and money expenditures for your own benefit. If advertisers are consistent with offering certain types of products or services within the niche your magazines serve, you need to note that and pay attention to it as well!
4. Learn From the Design and Layout of the Magazine. This point is one that most people overlook and one that can be extremely valuable for you! I’m sure I’ve been more sensitive to this because of my work as a graphic designer, but it will serve you well to deliberately consider the design and layout of the articles, features and regular columns. Here’s why…THIS is what your target audience is USED to…it’s what they see (and expect) from content in this niche. You WANT to give your customer what they want, right? Then you need to know not only what “what they want” is from a content perspective, but also how it’s being presented to them. I ALWAYS look for these design trends. Consider these questions when flipping through the magazines:
a. What fonts are being used?
b. How are photographs and artwork being used? And what types of artwork?
c. Is there secondary or support information included with the articles? What is it and how is it presented?
d. What colors are being used for headers or for backgrounds?
e. How effective are the article titles?
f. How is the Table of Contents designed?
g. Are statistics, charts and graphs used? How?
h. Are there Q&A’s, step-by-step articles, editorials, interviews, testimonials, etc.?
i. Is the content presented in bite-sized chunks or in long form? What is the balance between the two?
These questions and others help identify the design and content trends for your niche. Again, a lot of money is spent identifying these trends and then designing for them…leverage that research for your own benefit! Use the magazine design to spark ideas for your own product design, layout and creation! It will only serve to improve your product and presentation.
I love this method of research using current magazines because it gives you the ability to benefit from millions of dollars of research for a niche market, and all for the cost of a few dollars! Think about that…the publishers have spent millions in research and the advertisers have spent millions in research, and you get ALL that for $5.95 or whatever the cost of the magazine is! Now that’s leverage! Niche research just doesn’t get better than this…so use it to maximize your own efforts and enjoy the success it brings. I know I do!
Pay Attention to This…
There is a secret research strategy for finding top quality Public Domain books that I’ve been using for a while now. I’ve hinted at it in the past once or twice, but never, until now, have I come right out and told you, “pay attention to this…and do it!” All that changes today, because once again…today…this strategy has proven itself once again.
There are lots of methods you can use to find Public Domain books…online, at used bookstores, flea markets, the library, etc., but the one I’m going to share shortly has become my method of choice because it has consistently proven itslef to be the quickest way to identify the best niche-related books in the Public Domain. As with any method, it is not a be-all-end-all strategy…and it requires some work…but it certainly builds off my now-famous saying, “You can’t find what you don’t know to look for!” Today, knowing what to look for is about to get MUCH easier because of what I’m going to share. Here goes.
When I first began researching magazines in the Public Domain several months back, I noticed that most magazines advertised books related to the niche the magazine addressed. The same is true today. Nothing earth-shaking there. But then I also noticed that many of the publishing companies who published magazines ALSO published books related to the magazine topic. Very often, the books published were collections of articles from the magazine or were written by their top article writers or editors. Nothing unusual there. As I was researching the copyright status of many of these niche magazines, I became curious about the books that were advertised as well…and that’s when I noticed a trend…
Pay attention to this…
I noticed that every magazine I checked that had NOT renewed their magazine copyright ALSO had never renewed the copyright for any of the books they published! I’m sure there are exceptions to this rule, but I have checked books from nearly a dozen different magazines, and if the magazine itself is in the Public Domain, so are the books they published. This is huge because most of the time, the books that were published by these magazine publishers offered the BEST information they had published. They wanted to sell books, so they “put out the good china” for all who purchased the books. This secret discovery has changed my Public Domain research strategy quite a bit because I started buying a number of those books from the magazines, and guess what…the content is awesome! Two just came in the mail yesterday. So far, every book that I’ve found in a Public Domain magazine that was published by the magazine publisher has provided some of the best Public Domain content I’ve found to date (so far I’ve picked up a couple dozen books in nearly a dozen different niches using this method).
Now, if you want to just hop online, go to some website and download Public Domain content that already been scanned, edited and waiting for you…then this strategy isn’t for you. This method requires some work. You have to:
- Find and purchase the magazines
- Check the copyright status of the magazines (and magazine articles)
- Go through the magazine to search for ads that offer books from the publisher
- Check the copyright status of the books
- Find and purchase the books
- Scan and OCR the books
You may not want to go through all that effort for your content…and that’s okay with me. Just know that my content is likely going to be superior to yours, which means better products and better sales. However, if you are serious about finding quality, proven content for your next niche project, I just handed you the keys to the research kingdom!
