Jason Unger

For Financial Media, It's All About People

Posted by junger - 12/30/08 at 06:12:18 pm

I've never held back my disappointment in the financial media, who constantly provide their audiences with some of the worst advice possible.

While outlets like the Motley Fool aggressively cover stock picking — a stupid practice for 98% of the population — they target the masses.

I'm not even out of bed by the time I've heard about the Dow Futures twice on the local news and on the Today show from CNBC updates. If I want to know what the Asian markets did last night, I'll turn on Fox Business, not News 4 Today in Washington.

The financial media don't provide useful information to the masses because, well, they wouldn't make much money doing it. Personal finance is a pretty cut-and-dry subject: once you learn the basics, you're pretty good to go.

As we know, the media needs something to talk about. And there are only so many ways you can say "spend less than you earn."

So What Should Financial Media Do?

Responsible financial media outlets need to spend more time focusing on their audience and not recommending mutual funds from their advertisers.

Instead of coming up with "the one stock you must buy" — which you probably shouldn't — they should tell the stories of real people and their money situations.

This is one of the reasons Dave Ramsey is so popular. It's not like he ever says anything new — he just applies it to his listeners' situations.

One of the leading personal finance blogs, The Simple Dollar, publishes a reader mailbag weekly. It's always my favorite post to read, because it's real people sharing their real stories.

This was probably one of my biggest issues running the Online Savings Blog. I didn't have the experience or authority to tell you how to buy a house (I've never done it), but I was (and still am) passionate about my personal financial situation.

I can share my story and talk about yours. And in the end, isn't telling stories what media is all about?

What's in Your Wallet: Cash or Credit?

Posted by junger - 12/15/08 at 09:12:22 am

With a recession officially upon us, a lot of people are starting to take a harder look at their financial situation.

While I'd normally ask a question like this over at the Online Savings Blog, it's your answer I'm interested in.

When it comes to shopping, spending and saving, do you carry cash and use it or pull out your debit/credit card to make purchases?

Leave a comment and share why you use one or the other.

Is Your Content Valuable?

Posted by junger - 12/11/08 at 08:12:17 am

As you're reading information online, ask yourself: what is this worth to me?

Would I

• actively find out more about the topic?
• sign up to get more information like it?
• pay money for it?

If you answered 'yes' to at least one of those, the content has value to you.

But as a Web publisher, you can't be sure that your readers recognize the value your content has unless you treat it valuably.

How Content's Value Has Changed Completely

The Internet has democratized information. It's a beautiful thing, right?

Well, not for traditional publishers. Control of information has been their domain for hundreds of years.

Newspapers are going belly up. It's not going to get any easier next year, and it will hit certain places much harder than others.

Now that information is available from millions of resources, much of the actual content has lost its value. It's not a rare resource, dominated by a few in power. Anyone can produce it.

Giving Your Content Value

So how do you give your content value?

For small Web publishers, your content has to achieve certain goals or you won't succeed. Even if it's not about making money, it has to serve a purpose.

Your content could:

• Build a community around a product (ex. The Mint Blog)
• Grow a brand around yourself (ex. Robert Scoble)
• Market your offline services or products (ex. any freelance writer with a blog)

How to Make Money From Your Content

As forecasters expect online ad spending to decrease next year, you need to understand that pageviews are not going to pay the bills.

Even if ad spending was going up, users would still ignore ads unrelated to their online goals.

In order to make money from your content, you generally have two options:

• Charge for it
• Treat it as marketing materials for your paid products

Charging for content? Are you serious? Yes. Charging for content can be an extremely compelling business model IF you are creating the right content and, most importantly, targeting the right people.

Most people are not going to pay to read the Wall Street Journal online, especially because the information is available through other outlets.

But if you're a business owner, would you spend $100 to attend a specialized online training or business summit that will make you more money? Of course!

Targeting the right niche with information that will make them more profitable is, in itself, a profitable venture.

Use Your Content to Market Your Product and Services

Instead of charging for your content, use it as marketing for what you do get paid for.

Let's look back at the three 'free' ways to give your content value:

• Build a community around a product
• Grow a brand around yourself
• Market your offline services or products

Each of these use your content to make you money.

If you sell a product, you want a thriving community of users, critics and evangelists.

If you are a talking head or consultant, you need to build up your brand in order to establish your expertise.

If you are a freelancer writer or designer, you need to show off your skills.

Treating your content as marketing does not, however, mean it should be a sales pitch. Like all other information, if it isn't useful, your users won't respond.

What's Your Content Worth?

You're already producing content. But why?

The next time you sit down to write something, measure the value of your content. If you're not getting anything out of it, then your readers aren't either.

For more, follow me on Twitter or sign up for email updates or via RSS.

Rock Band + PS3 = Empty Wallet

Posted by junger - 01/14/08 at 03:01:57 pm

I want Rock Band.

I really want Rock Band.

But I just can't justify buying it.

I have this whole process mapped out in my head, but I can't take the first step — and I probably won't.

Now that it looks like Blu-ray will win the next-gen DVD format war, I figure it's a safe time to buy a PlayStation 3, which features a built-in BD drive.

Read the rest at the Online Savings Blog.

(image from MTV Multiplayer)

What's Keeping Me Busy: 12/27/07

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 10:12:21 pm

Career vs Love: Which Would You Pick? – Well, ideally you could have both.

But there's a reason the song isn't called "All You Need is a Job."

Video Of The Day: Comcast TiVo DVR – I'm hoping that TiVo as software becomes prominent in 2008, and that Comcast here in DC will start to offer the TiVo guide for their boxes.

It's a great middle ground for me and the wife — she likes the Comcast experience and I like the TiVo interface. This rollout looks like it could suit both of us.

Have Your Baby Before New Year's Day, Save Thousands – An interesting look at why December 28th is the "most popular birth date of the year."