Easy way to get user-generated content

How to encourage your visitors to interact with your site
/ b7 S' H% z7 G; KAssociate Programs Newsletter #302
Do you want your website to encourage user-generated content? Do you want a great new way to help you connect with your site's visitors?
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Remember, you need to connect with your visitors before you can sell.
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' D9 X5 j  q1 A7 {0 A2 K2 G; DThis is what they call a no-brainer.
; P; l# Q( v7 I6 ICONTENTS:
1. User-generated ray of sunshine
2. Do you want to comment?
3. Video affiliate system should boost sales
4. Thought for today: How high?

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1. User-generated ray of sunshine
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Here's a little ray of sunshine - a really easy way to encourage your website visitors to add unique, topical content to your site.
More good content equals more traffic. More traffic equals more dollars.
+ }- m; U5 P* d$ \3 i# tIt's not a forum. It's not a blog.
It's a simple way of allowing people to comment on the articles or newsletters you publish on your site.
0 o8 a6 d  }, ]6 {2 PI love it.
: i: |) i# I8 K' A% ~Robert Blackstone's new script makes it easy for you to publish a form inviting comments at the bottom of every article.
It's a bit like the comments form you've probably seen on Matt Cutts' blog and other blogs.
# y# S8 V# O. F! H8 v9 j1 Y: PI'm sure you can see how useful this is.
! r; Z; a" [3 E" T3 _, P2 P' GRobert uses this equation to explain the value of article comments:
. v1 G% i& h* ^More Content = More Repeat & SE Traffic = More $$
However, there's a whole lot more to it...

6 q/ Y' w3 e+ @; A9 @ * Article comments enable you to receive quick feedback from your readers, so you can easily see which of your articles strike a chord and which ones are flops. If one particular article is a raving success, you can publish more articles on that topic.

* Your readers will interact with you more. They'll realise you appreciate their views. This is SO important. To sell or PREsell, you MUST make a connection with your readers. Encouraging them to have their say helps build a strong connection.

* Publishing feedback makes your site more interesting. It's not just YOUR opinion any more. You're creating a dynamic, "live" site. Because your site is more interesting, readers are likely to stay on the site longer. Search engines like sites on which readers stay more than a few seconds.
* Search engines also love sites which are updated frequently. Your readers can help you "update" pages all over your site.
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5 Q& i# i! ^2 L- n; m8 W. B- W% J * Are you using PLR articles? Perhaps you haven't done quite enough rewriting to make them truly unique. If a few friends add comments to your PLR articles, this will help make your pages unique - another good thing from an SEO point of view.

* Many people enjoy helping other people - and some love showing off their knowledge. Allowing article comments satisfies both groups while improving your site.
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Most blogs allow visitors to comment on posts. If you're using a content management system (CMS) you may already have a system which enables article comments.
But what about all the other ordinary sites?
Do you want to go through the hassle of switching all your sites over to a blog or a CMS system? Probably not.
7 |- Z/ T3 z6 `7 S; tWith Robert's script, you get the benefits of user-generated content without the hassle of a complex site conversion.
. K8 _+ f; _2 C! L0 W  R% KSeveral years ago, my friend Jim Reardon suggested I ought to introduce some way for readers to comment on my newsletters. At the time, I put his idea in the too-hard basket.
( k7 ~' w; F: }Now, six or seven years later, we've finally done it. We recently introduced a comments facility on AssociatePrograms.com and I love it.
, c% O1 q- D8 B4 QIt's fun writing a newsletter and then an hour or so later checking to see what readers think of what I've written.
  x; P" D' S9 }1 T9 W" V1 \On AssociatePrograms.com, I've chosen to moderate the comments. I've found that on average about one in every 20 or 30 comments is spammy junk not worth publishing.
. X, R! ~  o( q$ p0 n* ORobert's script works in a similar way. It also has a few features which make it better than our comments tool, giving the site owner more choices. (Robert's tool wasn't on the market when we created our new system.)
) H% J' e+ F* _8 i% n# H% lMy experience with article comments is new and fairly limited, but already I'm a convert.
! n1 |5 ]9 N3 q2 {- O* J: lHere are two recent examples on our site.
We published an article on affiliate datefeeds:
4 r7 t7 `, \" sAn insider's tips on affiliate datafeed sites
http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/434/1/Affiliate-datafeed-sites
7 s7 j0 Q1 W3 ]Readers commented on the article, providing links to a couple of useful resources - DataFeedFile.com and FeedShare.com -  thus making the article more useful. (With Robert's script, you can choose whether to allow HTML, which would make links active. I've chosen not to because I don't want to encourage spammers hoping for a free link.)
0 y% S3 w- j. wAnother example is a newsletter I wrote the other day about how to be your own BS detector. My wife, Joanna, worried that readers would be offended, urged me to remove the term "BS". I went ahead - http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/493/1/Seven-ways-to-be-your-own-BS-detector
9 P# t- B; }* U  E4 sThat newsletter has received 50 thoughtful comments, making the page much more interesting for readers. I'm very grateful to everyone who took the time to add a comment. I really appreciate the feedback.
9 s  v; B# `2 X4 R: k% mIf my next newsletter receives zero comments, I'll know I need to brush up on my writing skills.
+ x, |! S- ~8 y# q9 MThe thing I like most about Robert's new tool is that it encourages the creation of genuinely UNIQUE, relevant content, written specially about your website.
/ \) y# T6 `9 N5 IAs the Internet becomes more and more flooded with duplicate junk, it's nice to see someone who's doing something positive.
If you're planning a serious business future in which the search engines treat you well, you HAVE to think about genuinely unique content.
Robert's script helps you create unique content.
2 Y2 P/ z  \/ M: GIt's easy to install.
The script should work on any web host that supports SSI (server side includes) and/or PHP. "Most do these days, but it wouldn't hurt to double check," Robert says.
5 V' |( ?# m4 {" k, o: F& BHe provides full instructions and support on how to get it up and running.
Robert's a good guy and a friend. You can trust him to look after you.
The script is very modestly priced - excellent value - and you're allowed to use it on as many sites as you like.
* }0 a% b+ X: t2 j5 @I recommend you grab it now before Robert raises the price.
# ^8 c3 f& {' S" o! j4 }: @http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/instant-comments
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__________________________________________SPONSOR__________
Motivated Marketing System is designed for anyone who intends
3 c* [, p2 m: B! s3 V" n4 _6 Zto make money with their own online product or membership
4 a) d% N4 f% Ywebsite. It includes site-building and management software
( r: N: D" u! ^/ [, ]3 w8 Nprogram, create /One Time Offers/ (OTO's) and complete user
- ?6 p' V9 Y  H" E) h- ^0 {guide. It's called the Motivated Marketing System because it
# Q# ?6 n! Q) t3 W* X* z7 o& X*motivates* Check out the FREE version.
http://www.motivated-marketing-lite.com
* t0 H" S. Q  X$ ~) W2 X5 |___________________________________________________________
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2. Do you want to comment?
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6 W$ j, B3 P7 s9 I/ rWe have article comments software on AssociatePrograms.com, so you can have your say on any article.
9 G% m% ]. }: o9 S! S( J% J' vYou can comment on this newsletter right now, at the bottom of this newsletter.
I love receiving feedback on articles. Good or bad, it's all helpful.

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3. Video affiliate system should boost sales
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9 P: S( k, W, k  U$ Y  J* uAffiliate merchants, I reckon you'll see the huge potential in this...
You can now invite your affiliates to place your videos on their websites - with their affiliate links embedded in them.
Joe Chapuis, who's been marketing full-time online since 1996, has created a video affiliate system.
It enables affiliate merchants to combine web video with any affiliate program.
5 G* g9 K" a- w, |Here's how Joe explains it - a quick overview:
* i) ~( V9 {, b' X1. You sell widgets.
; C( w6 [6 n: R* _" e- p, ^) S2 Q2. You have an affiliate program.
3. You create one or more web videos to promote your widgets.
0 c$ w: I+ m7 D/ K: l$ h. [0 d4. Using the Video Affiliate System, you can invite your affiliates to add your videos to their sites.
5. You provide your affiliates with simple instructions for adding to their sites a video player which is embedded with their affiliate links.
- T. O: N3 [& K! O) ]- r6. Clicking on one of the hotspot links built into the player sends traffic to you, the merchant, via an affiliate link.
: ~; {4 s/ |) w7. All transactions are tracked by your affiliate program as usual.
"When your affiliates add your videos to their sites, your web video players are transformed into eye-catching, attention-grabbing affiliate links that will drive tons of targetted to traffic to your site," Joe says.
You and your affiliates need do only three simple things to make it happen.
$ q3 Z% e4 D$ o' j; SThe video affiliate system is one of the video tools available in a new membership site Joe has launched. The membership site is for anyone who wants to put video on their site. You can try it risk-free for 14 days.
9 J# I. d! p' y) f) f+ u# W  d  @This has exciting possibilities.
+ G( g5 R5 V5 E5 z$ J# v/ L7 }- _* V; cFind out more here...
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/video-system
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0 S! f" |' C. q8 I; X# ?9 w9 e2 {4. Thought for today: How high?
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"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think." - Benjamin Disraeli