Jason Unger

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On Wednesday night, I went (with Dave Weinberg) to hear Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret, speak about his site and social media.

It was a fascinating look into one of the most revealing, personal Web sites ever. Not that Frank himself has much to do with the content — besides picking out the postcards that go up online — but about how people are willing (and almost need) to share some of their deepest, darkest secrets.

If you've ever been to PostSecret before, you know that the site is little more than a free Blogger account. No custom theme, no ads, no comments, etc.

Warren stumbled into PostSecret — he found the niche, set a couple of wheels into motion, and has watched it blossom.

In reality, he's definitely not the poster boy for social media. He has, however, turned his site into a mega-successful business (books, speaking, and events) by building and harnessing a community.

So rather than ask him a lame question, like the guy who wanted to know how software helped him succeed, I asked two practical, real-world questions.

1. What does your mail carrier think?
2. Can you ever move?

You see, all of the PostSecret cards are mailed directly to Warren's house — not to a PO Box, but to his actual home address. And he gets up to 1,000 postcards each week.

In fact, he says that a copy of his book, which features his address on the cover, was once mistaken for a package and mailed to him.

So how'd he answer?

He pulled up a picture of Cathy, his mail carrier, and said she gets a nice tip every year.

And if he ever does move, the person buying his house will either love it or hate it.

There are just some blogs I hate reading. Specifically, ones written by people who write like

• they have authority, but don't.
• they're experienced, but aren't.
• they've perfected the system, but haven't.

Somehow, the blogosphere has turned in to a world where people have to find a niche and they have to be a leading voice in it, even if they come off as complete phonies.

Don't waste your time. It's not worth it. I've tried.

You can learn all you want about a particular subject, re-package and relay that information to an audience, but if there isn't a piece of you in it, you're unlikely to succeed.

Are You Opening Up to Your Readers?

While the Internet is truly an amazing way to learn, it's even better at connecting with people.

Blogging gives you a way to share your stories with a community of readers. It gives you a way to connect with people across the world. And it gives you the opportunity to show a different side of your personality.

There are a number of things I've written in this blog and others that I don't normally share offline. It's not because of any particular reason — it's just that the medium allows for you to organize, manage, and edit your thoughts.

My goal here is to share my experiences, pass along what I've learned, and interact with you. I won't sit here and tell you that you should do the same, but you at least need to be honest with yourself — and your readers.

You can't truly connect with your readers if you are not sharing your experiences in your posts. If you have no experiences or thoughts, what are you writing for?

Your blog needs you, not just your words.

This is what happens to your renewal notices when the magazine goes digital only.

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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.

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