Image by AngelaShupe.com via Flickr

Foreword By The Editor

This article by Dan Long focuses on some constructive ways you can use to think of great content ideas and turn them into good, sought-after online material for your readers. If you enjoy it and would like to learn more, please click on the links you will find in the paragraph headed About The Author at the end of the article.
Mike Alexander
Author of ‘ClipCopy Content Solutions‘

Great Ideas

To make your blog or online article successful you need to have great ideas for your content and express them well. Keep reading to learn how to come up with your own content creation ideas and then put them to use in a way that guarantees your success. Why don’t we get started? That’s the reason projects on CB Auto Profits have changed the way we think about things today.

Give Away Tips

One of the easiest ways to come up with content is to give away tips that your readers can use. People are always searching for solutions that are easy to put to use and the content that gives that to them are going to be more popular than those that don’t. Besides this, it also makes your article easy to read since it’s broken down into small chunks of digestible size. It doesn’t matter which niche you choose for yourself, if the content you create is helpful and enjoyable to your readers they will be far more likely to share it with their friends. The goal is to create items that aren’t too short and that feature information your readers will find immediately usable.

Problems Or Issues

Let’s be honest: everyone has problems and everyone would like to find a solution to those problems. You can use your website to bring those problems to light as well as to offer solutions to those who need them. Of course, these need to be related to your site’s niche, but the point is, by helping your readers find answers, you’re actually building a strong brand of your own and creating an air of authority relating to yourself. The readers of your piece will see you as an expert in your field and that can help you gain even more subscribers and higher traffic levels. So, in essence, it is a win-win situation for everyone. The needs of your readers get met while you get the satisfaction of helping people. The only thing that you need to remember here is to focus on only those pressing issues that are rampant, and not waste your time on small issues that nobody is really interested in.Therefore, make sure you check out the following Income Instruments, prior to you making an effective decision.

Company News

If you run a company of any kind, then you can use your website as platform to convey company news, give away product updates, etc. News and product updates can often be a great source of material. Filling your site with great content isn’t just about writing articles about tips or strategies. People genuinely want to know what’s going on in your company and get a good idea about what happens behind the scenes. You can actually win the confidence of your readers by being open on your blog or website about such updates and your readers will connect with you on a higher level, which obviously helps increase business. However, don’t overload your site with updates that aren’t necessary, because too much content that doesn’t serve any strong purpose if also not good.

Target Audience

Finally, don’t forget to learn everything you can about your target audience and what they might be the most interested in learning about. When you learn as much as you can about your readers, you’ll be able to better shape your articles to meet their needs and offer them as much value as possible.

About The Author

I’ve discovered that this article has helped people change the way they think of projects (for example Big Affiliate Profits). This article, originally released as Everything You Have to Know About Coming Up with Blog Content Ideas is released under a creative commons attribution license.

This article, written by Saleem Rana, is about article marketing as a strategy and the four reasons why you should incorporate it into your Internet marketing plans. Over the past few years, particularly since the introduction of the Web 2.0 concept and social networking, the details may have changed slightly, but the effectiveness of article marketing as a strategy is unlikely to fade in the foreseeable future.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Articles As Content

Writing articles about the niche you want to promote is a good idea no matter what your product or service might be but really comes into its own if you take it one step further, namely by using your articles as part of your  marketing strategy. Thousands or millions of search engine pages are devoted to certain keywords or keyword phrases. When you type in a keyword into the search box in your browser window, it will pull up websites that have those keywords embedded in them. These websites receive lots of daily traffic because of those keywords.

Content is king on the Internet and one of the best ways to create content is to write articles. These articles can be placed on your website and they can be submitted to article directories. Both tactics give search engines enough incentive to index your website based on your keywords. Once you do, people will come to your website through search engine referrals.

What follows are four good reasons why writing articles will drive traffic to your website.

Writing Articles Is Free

It may sound too good to be true, but this is no reason to dismiss it. Sure, you will have to pay for your electricity and Internet connection, but writing and marketing articles is completely free. Just think about how wonderful this is for a minute. Simply by writing about something you enjoy, you will get other people interested and they will come to your website and follow your recommendations.

Search Engine Indexation

Writing articles is far easier than doing Google ‘Pay Per Click’. What’s more, you won’t have to keep paying to keep the traffic going. A single article will last on the Internet forever. You can’t say that about an advertisement. An ad will disappear as soon as you stop paying for it. Think of the worst case scenario in both cases. If you write an article that does not get a single click, you will only have wasted an hour, but if you have an ad that does not get a single click, you will have wasted perhaps hundreds of dollars.

Automatic Backlinks

Since you will be submitting your article to article directories, you will be giving other website owners permission to publish your article. When they do, they are required to leave your resource box intact. The more people who publish your article therefore, the more backlinks you will get.

Preselling Site Visitors

Simply writing a sales page or displaying product images on your website will not improve your conversion rate. By writing articles, you will presell visitors before they arrive on your website or on the website of the merchant you’re promoting. People will be inclined to trust you because you have established yourself as an expert by writing an authoritative article about a topic in your niche.

Conclusion

Writing articles is how to make money right now. Writing articles can give new life to your Internet marketing or affiliate business.

About The Author

Do you want to learn some more killer strategies and even more ways on how to make more money right now?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

My thanks are due to Anthony Diaz for this excellent article on the different types of intellectual properties and when and how to implement the rights associated with them. For further information, be sure not to miss the links incorporated in his bio in the last paragraph of the article.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Types

When we use the term property, it is not just physical things such as homes, buildings, vehicles, currency etc that are protected by law. Other kinds of property which are non- material in nature also exist. They are termed intellectual property and are also protected by the law. The three main types of intellectual property rights are patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Copyright

When a creator has created an original work, he or she is said to own the copyright over the piece and is automatically granted legal ownership. This right may be given for songs, films, videos and any other types of creative expressions and not just written or published material. It bestows the owners with a number of rights including monetary and moral rights in addition to the right of being known as the owner of the piece.

Trademarks

Trademarks, on the other hand, afford intellectual property privileges which aim at preventing duplication and exploitation of symbols registered by a person for his own products to help a customer easily tell the origin of a product. With this legal provision, trademark is protected from replication by unscrupulous people who want to ride on the backs of established brands.

Patents

The third type of intellectual property right, termed as patents, protect the rights of inventors for their novel and useful inventions. It gives them exclusive rights of usage and sale of their invention for a specific time.

Others

There are some other intellectual property rights too though they are rarely enforced or even used. Some examples are traditional knowledge possessed by natives of a specific region that is unique only to that area; confidential information that include business secrets, for example, KFC’s recipe; and geographical indicators that are a variation of trademarks used for merchandise arising from a specific part of the world, for instance Champagne.

Summary

While all three main kinds of intellectual property discussed above are distinct from each other there are also some commonalities. Any of these are fully admissible under the law and the rightful holder can take legal recourse to establish his right and claim compensation for any violation.

About The Author

Discover more about Trademark Registration Singapore and discover how does an Intellectual Property protection increase the net worth of your business very fast. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service.

My thanks are due to Bryant Theodore for this article. The introductory paragraph of any written piece of work is your opportunity to draw the reader into the main text. That you already have his (her) attention means you have already won the first battle but this war consists of more than just one skirmish!
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

The Short Intro

When it comes to writing an introduction, what comes to mind is writing a small introductory passage. However, this is not all there is to it. What you need to do to engage the reader’s interest is to bring out your story in the right way. In order to do this, you need to encapsulate the spirit of the entire story and bring it out through an example. When you do this you have to be careful because capturing the story essence alone is not enough, you need to grasp the main point of the story, else the purpose of the story is lost.

If you’re going to start writing, make sure it’s a short introduction. Also, when readers see a headline they expect the text below it to contain content which relates to that headline. There is only so much time a reader will spend on an opener about sports when the headline suggested the article was about vacations.

Even if the introductory paragraph, at its end, would have captured the essence of what the author was trying to say, ask yourself, “is it short enough that a reader won’t lose patience before the writing returns to the topic at hand?”

If you look at the piece above, you will find that it is really short. This is the kind of opener that works best with the reader. Why? The reader is made aware of the subject matter that they are reading. They are also aware of the information they will be getting from the intro in a general sense so they know what they will get when they read the story.

Thus, if you write a very long introduction which does not relate to the headline, you will be putting down reader interest in an otherwise engaging story.

Your Story In Brief

Another point is when you use anecdotes. You should let your reader know beforehand how your anecdote relates to your topic before you tell it to them, else the reader will leave out your topic, even before you begin to elaborate your point. In short, what is necessary is using less words in bring out a perfect story essence. The aim of an introduction is to put forth your subject in a broader and more general sense.

Think about your intro as a whole and consider which details help do this and which do not. Extra details like dates, names, descriptions and diversions, if not necessary to the essence of the anecdote, serve only to distract the reader.

For more details and my inspiration for this article you can visit my site mentioned in the Author field.

Writing an introductory passage with utmost concern is highly important to get a good introductory passage. This is important because this is the lead to the story at hand. So, it’s important to consider your story in a broader sense and only bring in those details which bring this out and leave out those that don’t.

About The Author

The truth about english grammar software is finally revealed! Visit us at Whitesmoke to get all the free insider information.

We all run out of ideas from time to time. Very often, all we need is a nudge in the right direction to get us back on track. If you need a few newsletter content ideas, or are just running out of steam, I hope this article helps by giving you a nudge.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Where To Look For Ideas

By their nature, newsletters are usually tightly targeted towards a niche market or readership. Very often there is a pre-existing organization such as a club, company or Association to which all or most of the readers belong. The result is that a bond invariably exists between the individuals that make up the target readership; they share a mutual interest or recognize a ‘common good’. If there is not such a bond, then a newsletter is the perfect medium for cultivating one. Every newsletter publisher, therefore, should make their prime objective the cultivation and nurturing of such a bond. A regular journal or newsletter for such a group should consist of a balance of reader-oriented and interest or organization-related features. To achieve this you should have a very clear picture in your mind of who your readers are, what their likes and dislikes are, etc.

Important Questions

When looking for new ideas, you can use this information to answer two important questions:

1) What information do you want (or need) to impart?

2) What type of material does your reader find compelling?

Answering the first question helps ensure that you stick to the newsletter’s main focus. For a newsletter to be effective this should be every bit as reader-oriented as 2). For example, an employee newsletter’s main objective (from the employer’s perspective) might be to communicate company policy as it impacts employees. Unfortunately, the danger of it evolving into a list of rules is quite high unless the readership is taken sufficiently into account. A better way is to have such ‘rules’ prioritized, broken up into easily digested pieces and placed in readiness for inclusion under the heading ‘information we need to impart’. They can then be balanced with material that the reader is more likely to want to read. One effective way of balancing items in this category is to include an article interpreting the policy that gave rise to such rules. Or one that tells a story illustrating what can happen when such a rule is broken.

Question Number One

The following list proposes some items that you might want to consider for 1). Some of these might be meaningless as far as your own newsletter is concerned but please bear in mind that they are only reminders. Ignore what is inappropriate and add your own suggestions.

• Coming events
• A calendar of regular events
• Project updates, particularly if they have been supported financially or otherwise by readers (include progress graphics like tote boards, charts etc)
• New and mooted projects, personnel involved, objectives, form of assistance sought etc
• Other news from or concerning the organization (assuming there is one)
• Contact information for the organization (as distinct from the newsletter masthead, where contact information regarding the publication appears)
• Update on aspects of the organization (such as news on finances etc)
• News about associated organizations and corporate contributors, sponsors etc
• Notes about sponsor benefits, special discounts to members of the organization (readers) etc
• Calls for volunteers
• Case studies and success stories about the organization and how it functions

Question Number Two

The second question (what type of material the reader finds compelling) isn’t quite so simple but offers more scope from the creativity point of view. Compelling reading is, very simply, anything that the average reader would not be able to pass up without, at least, taking a second look. For example, if your newsletter was aimed at the Elvis Presley Fan Club, then anything to do with the club (the organization), or Elvis, would obviously qualify but so would anything on Rock & Roll in general and probably anything to do with popular music of the 50s and 60s, teenagers of the same era, fashion of the time, etc.

Here, then, are a few ideas you might want to consider for the second section.

• Stories about people who were helped by the organization (or the newsletter’s readership)
• Miscellaneous articles around the general theme of the group’s main interests
• Statistics of how many people amongst the readership volunteered, helped or contributed
• Lists of current volunteers etc regardless of the value of their contribution
• Profiles of individual volunteers or contributors
• Notice of challenges set by other volunteers or contributors
• Excerpts from articles (found in newspapers, magazines etc) about the organization or the group’s common interest, especially if quirky or amusing
• Features that focus on the operation, success and (particularly) personnel of departments within the organization
• Profiles of celebrities connected to, or who are known to have sympathetic views to, the readers’ common interests
• Stories about the early days of the common interest or organization
• Health news or ill-health prevention tips, safety tips etc
• Inspirational passages, quotations and extracts
• Calls for contributions to the newsletter from amongst the readership

Lighten Up

Don’t forget to include newsletter fillers such as jokes or amusing anecdotes whenever they are appropriate. Also, if you can, and especially if it fits your newsletter’s theme, interactive items like quizzes and puzzles. ClipCopy Content Solutions is an excellent source for these types of items and some of the other things mentioned, as well as articles etc covering many subjects.

And a last word of advice: whenever you can, include plenty of faces. People have a never-ending fascination for seeing themselves in print and reading about other people they recognize.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

Non-profit newsletters are relatively easy to recognize as such and are usually provided as a service to members of a group with a common interest. The term ‘FOR-profit’, on the other hand, can easily be misunderstood, in relation to newsletters. For example, a non-profit organization might publish a newsletter that generates cost-covering revenue by means of advertising sales. Does this make it a ‘for-profit’ newsletter? What about a newsletter that is essentially an information sheet but is put out by a commercial organization? For the purposes of this article, it is the nature of the principal organization that differentiates one from the other. All newsletters should be information providers but one deemed to be ‘for profit’ is one that is published in support of a commercial concern’s sales or marketing objectives.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

On Target

As with non-profit newsletters, the first consideration should be the potential readers: your target market. Profiling them might be a little more difficult than with a truly homogeneous group such as a club’s membership but it is still possible to ascertain the most important characteristics they have in common and form a picture accordingly. Once you have done that it is simply a matter of empathizing with them. What are their needs? More importantly, what are their wants? What topics would they be bound to find, at least, of passing interest? What topics would they find absolutely riveting?

What NOT To Do

As a fictitious example, let’s consider how the average marketer might use a newsletter to support efforts to promote a baby food called Yummy. First off, they would probably call it Yummy News, Yummy Quarterly or something similar in the belief that what they need to promote, above all else, is name recognition. Then they would fill it with information about the latest flavors, statistical information about nutritional benefits (perhaps with comparison charts showing how much better Yummy is than competing products), a photograph of the company president or the brand new Yummy factory, a picture of a scientist holding up a test-tube with a caption explaining how Yummy is the result of rigorous scientific research, a favorite marketing activity such as a special introductory offer or a competition where the prize is a year’s supply of Yummy, maybe a photograph of the winner of the competition that featured in the previous edition etc. Does this sound familiar? It should—because it describes the average marketing newsletter. And, for that reason, you might well ask: “Well, what’s wrong with it?”.

A Typical Scenario

We’ve all seen newsletters like this so it’s a valid question. One of the things that is wrong with it is that it probably won’t last beyond a second or third edition because they’ll run out of things to write about. Eventually, funds are going to be needed for some other project and nobody is going to be able to make a strong enough case for its continuation. Everyone might agree that it looks great and they are really proud of it as a company ‘flagship’, but, after all, it’s really just a PR exercise and they would all agree that PR can be a major drain on the marketing budget. It might have graphics designed by a leader in the field. Maybe it’s printed on glossy paper with lots of colorful photos. But, if it’s not seen as a major contributor to successful market penetration it will probably not survive. Disillusion about the role of newsletters in marketing often follows, leading to the abandonment of any future newsletter projects. At this point, management has come to the conclusion that ‘newsletters don’t work’.

Newsletters That Work

The main thing wrong is that there is no empathy with the target market (see ‘On Target’ above), which in this case is mothers.

What are their needs? The brief answer, of course, is help and advice on bringing up healthy babies. Especially sought after is expert advice on what problems they might face and how to overcome them.

What are their wants? They want to know how to get their figures back! They want to be beautiful again! Then they want to know how to stay that way in spite of motherhood! They want to know how to slow the aging process…

What topics would they find interesting? Look at the answers to question 1. and add keeping house, managing the family budget, family health . . .

What topics would they find riveting? Look at the answers to question 2. but add absolutely anything to do with babies!

Follow this formula for suitable content for your commercial newsletter and, not only will it get read assiduously once they realize what’s inside, but the next issue be awaited with eager anticipation! So how do you let them know what’s inside?

Newsletter Names

Obviously you need to get them to pick it up and open it! And that can only come from the cover, especially the newsletter name. Think back to the topics they find riveting—meaning topics that they, the target readership, feel compelled to read—and include a key word or phrase from the prime topic in the title. Mother and Baby, Baby News, Mommy…

Putting The News Into Newsletter

You might, despite fully understanding the reasoning and psychology involved in this method, be wondering if there is any point to this newsletter though, since there seems to be no mention of the principal organization. That is where the news portion of the newsletter belongs. Suitable eye-catching headlines, such as you would see in a newspaper, followed by the latest company news, can have a tremendous marketing impact (Breakthrough in Infant Nutrition!, Yummy #1 for 3rd Year Running, etc).

Other Considerations

Include ongoing features in the newsletter content, if you possibly can, such as serializations etc. They make the reader want to keep coming back for more. Personalize wherever you can and try to include some item(s) featuring satisfied customers, individuals who have benefited from other company activities (such as charity work), etc. Include fun stuff such as puzzles, quizzes, cartoons, jokes and similar material. Scatter newsletter fillers, such as suitable and/or inspiring quotations throughout it to add variety. Lastly, have some kind of interactive, or feedback, facility, such as a ‘Letters to the Editor’ feature. This can be invaluable, not only as a way of involving the readers, which builds loyalty, but as a way of gauging whether your efforts are properly ‘on track’.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

(The previous article in this series covered ‘non-profit’ newsletters.)

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

Coming up with newsletter content ideas can sometimes tax even the most creative among us. If you are like me, you have times when new ideas just seem to pop into your head unasked but, frustratingly, other times when you can rack your brains for hours and still not come up with anything very inspiring. What’s even more frustrating is that those times when your creative neurons are working best is often the most awkward for recording ideas—with the result that most are forgotten. This article, then, is written in the hope that it will lead you down a few new avenues for developing ideas and give you one or two creative prompts along the way.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

The Common Interest

The first thing you need to consider is who your readers are. Once you have a picture of them firmly in your mind, the next step is easy—just step into their shoes. Then ask yourself what you would want to read about if you were one of them. Are they members of an organization such as a club? Or does the newsletter go to supporters of an organization, such as donors to a charity? What is the link (or links) that bind them; the thing that they all have in common? One of the secrets to producing a newsletter that people want to read is broad coverage of the things that most interest them, including those outside the narrow focus of the obvious.

Of course parents expect to read about school activities in the school newsletter that carries the school’s logo and motto so prominently on its front page. But, because they’re parents, they are also interested in all those other topics that parents in general are interested in: education trends, child psychology as it relates to children of similar ages to their own, holiday activities, nutritious versus junk food, children’s entertainment etc.

It may be feasible to broaden the scope of your contents even more. Using the school newsletter again as an example, parents might very often all belong to a similar social group and have a common ideological viewpoint. This could lead to even more suitable material for inclusion.

Stepping outside the boundaries like this can be very fruitful in helping to spice up an otherwise stodgy newsletter. Be aware that it has its dangers, though. It is possible sometimes to stray into areas so far off topic that you start to lose readers instead of stimulate them. Equally easily, it is possible to unwittingly get involved in issues of controversy that you might otherwise have preferred to avoid.

Standard Topics For Inclusion

Most non-profit organization newsletters would probably have some or all the following information:

• The newsletter’s contact information, format details, deadlines etc (usually all included in the masthead)
• The organization’s contact information, after-hours numbers etc
• Key staff details and contact information
• Committee members and other volunteers, their responsibilities, contact details etc.
• Financial updates, Treasurer’s report etc
• Statement from the Secretary, membership report etc
• News And information

The sort of news they would want in their newsletter might include:

• The organization’s coming events and activities, perhaps using an event calendar
• Updates and progress reports about planned and mooted projects
• Articles, together with pictures, covering recent events
• Reminders about membership benefits, discounts available and so on
• Recaps and analyses of past events, comparisons to current ones etc
• Requests for volunteers, subscriptions, donations, membership renewals etc

Stories, including pictures, about individual members, staff, volunteers, donors, people helped by the organization, local and visiting celebrities linked to the principal organization, corporate sponsors…

• ‘How-To’ Articles And Features
• Additional material that could be appropriate for many newsletters might include:
• Health, safety, fitness and weight-loss
• Home and garden improvement
• Recreation, sport and relaxation
• Travel and automobiles
• And many more…

Balancing Material

Last, but by no means least, nearly all newsletters would be better ‘balanced’ by use of some of the following:

• Jokes, ditties, funny stories and other humorous text
• Cartoons, comic strips, caricatures and other graphical humor
• Amazing statistics and little-known facts
• Quotations, proverbs, and other ‘pearls of wisdom’
• Word games, puzzles and quizzes
• And much more…

Include a liberal amount of the above types of material into your not-for-profit newsletter and readers will actually look forward to each edition.

Layout

One last word on layout, though. Don’t clutter your pages with masses of tiny typefaces so that it looks as if you only just managed to squeeze it all in. White space can be valuable and, if used wisely, can give your publication a clean and orderly appearance. Newsletter illustrations are also important. For example, if you include statistical information of some sort, use a spreadsheet program to present the information in the form of a chart.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

(The next article in this series covers content for ‘for profit’ newsletters.)

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

No matter what type of newsletter you are producing, meaningful and effective newsletter content is essential if you want it to be read. This applies whether it’s for a non-profit concern such as a club, association, church or school, or a commercial newsletter such as for a retailer or other business. Check yours out now to see if it adheres to the following five principles that every newsletter should follow to ensure that it has meaningful quality content.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

The 5 Rules

The most important rules relating to content are that a newsletter should be:

1. Topical (contain news, e.g. coming events, new products, announcements etc)
2. Readable (contain short, properly written, focused articles)
3. Useful (have an advice column, hints & tips, analyze issues etc)
4. Balanced (contain a mixture of serious and light-hearted content)
5. Compelling (cover areas known to be of interest to its readership)

Topical Issues

The first item goes without saying; the news in newsletter is just as important as the news in newspaper—and it’s not news unless it’s topical. If you are responsible for providing the copy for your newsletter, keep notes to ensure that you cover everything that’s happened since the last edition and everything that’s planned following the next. It is vital that the lead item(s) pay due regard to this rule.

Make It Readable

In the case of the second principle, always remember your target audience. A conversational style is usually best, rather than the more formal approach such as I use in this article. I know of course, that the vast majority, if not all, of my readers are relatively literate so my writing style reflects this. As my readership evolves to include people who use English as a second language, I may need to look again at this question of readability.

Useful Information

The third item is important because, amongst other things, it can be effective in building relationships and even soliciting feedback. Advice for new people, a jargon dictionary where older members are asked to contribute, the historical background to some tradition or other, where to go to get this, how to apply for that; these are all ideas that you might want to think about.

That Elusive Balance

Balance, the fourth item in the list, is an elusive quality that is easy to get wrong. The need differs from one newsletter to another. There are boundaries of taste and inappropriate contrasts to consider. For example, a funeral director’s newsletter is hardly likely to be improved by a ‘grim reaper’ cartoon—no matter how funny. On the other hand, some readers can be turned into loyal and enthusiastic followers by the inclusion of something as simple as a regular crossword.

Reader Appeal

Last, but by no means least, how do you make your newsletter compelling? By including newsletter content that is irresistible to the reader; in other words, the things that they are most interested in. You must know your reader. The more you know about the reader the more relevant you can make the content and the more compelling the newsletter. Don’t forget also how compelling it is for people to read about themselves! Even better is seeing a picture of themselves or one that includes them or their group. What about a regular feature such as ‘Volunteer (Worker, Committee Member, Customer etc) of the Month’ or randomly selecting someone in your club for a ‘Focus on a Member’ spot?

If you stick to the five principles of meaningful content, and your newsletter content ideas match, it will have true reader appeal. When it has that it is relatively easy to unleash its potential and make it work for you.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

The TOC (Table Of Contents) section is the part of any newsletter content that is essentially a list of the major articles and features contained in that edition with pointers to where they appear. Newsletter fillers or secondary items are not normally included, as that would detract from its major purpose: being a navigational aid, a sort of map if you like, for the benefit of the readers.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Table Of Contents

Some newsletter publishers don’t include a TOC, reasoning that it’s a waste of space for a four or eight page publication. This is an understandable view, of course, but where space is not at a premium it is often to the publisher’s advantage to include one. As well as being useful to the reader it can advertise, in a very subtle way, the attractions of the content. Using carefully thought-out newsletter headlines (and remember, headlines are not subject to copyright ownership) it can whet the reader’s appetite for the goodies to come. In other words, it’s a golden opportunity to entice readers into… well, reading!

The Name

‘Table Of Contents’ is perfectly acceptable but may be too formal or otherwise not in keeping with the tone of the newsletter. ‘In This Issue’, ‘What’s Inside’, or just ‘Inside’, tend to be far less formal, as is ‘Contents’. You can call it whatever you like but you should use the same name in each issue and it should be in keeping with the general tenor of the publication.

General Layout

Clarity should be the over-riding concern when considering the general layout of a TOC. Most often the clearest way to organize data is in order of pages. In other words, what appears on page one is shown first, followed by page two, and so on. Sometimes though, regular features are separated from issue-specific content so that the TOC is divided into two sections, such as ‘In This Issue’ and ‘Regulars’. Regardless, always ensure that item headings in the TOC exactly match the item titles on the actual pages otherwise confusion will creep in.

The Look

The size of a newsletter will often determine how much space is to be devoted to the TOC. A four-page club newsletter will necessarily have a smaller contents section than an eight-page school newsletter. It might take up half, or even a whole column in a three-column layout, or be spread across two columns, or take up a quarter page across all columns. You can afford to be creative with the TOC, since you will want to repeat the formula from issue to issue. It is an ideal opportunity, for example, to include graphics such as a special headline font or fancy numbering. Remember, this is an opportunity to advertise your ‘wares’, so make it stand out, but keep it within the bounds set by the tone of the newsletter. The one essential element, as is so often the case in newsletters, is consistency.

Although quite often the last part of a newsletter to be worked on, it should never be an afterthought. It should be a carefully thought out section, planned in advance.

Positioning

The best place for it in almost all newsletters is somewhere on the front page. Publications that place the TOC inside, such as magazines, usually use cover lines (interest-piquing headlines on the cover that call attention to items within) but few newsletters have the space to spare.

Consistency of page positioning is important too, since readers expect the TOC to be in the same place every time. This is one area, once a position is chosen, where things are best left as they are rather than constantly changing.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

This is the fourth (and final) article in a series of where the focus is on sourcing newsletter content on the Internet. The full sequence of articles is as follows:

1. Copyright Issues
2. Help and Guidance Resources
3. Subject Research

4. Content Providers

Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Types of Providers

Individual Suppliers

Writers, artists and other creators of original works such as experts in particular fields, are well represented on the Internet. In a quest for articles covering obscure topics, this can often prove a most fruitful area. Searching by subject will usually turn up a host of such individuals, many of whom may have works available for download. Those that don’t may be willing to make some previously or privately published work available to you for a consideration, such as a small payment or even just a promise to include their byline (which should go without saying anyway). Some authors, artists and photographers display samples of their work on their own web sites and free material is often made available as a means of publicity—or even out of sheer philanthropy.

Co-operatives

There are a number of ‘exchanges’ on the Internet, some in the form of websites and some being ezines (electronic newsletters), that are set up to allow creators of original works and publishers to interact. Publishers use these facilities to find material and to post messages about their copy needs. Producers use them to display specific works with inherent reprint permissions provided their byline is included. The ‘exchange’ relates to the mutual benefit derived from such an arrangement.

Similarly, there are websites and ezines that are set up as ‘showcases’ or galleries, where writers or artists can post samples of their work for perusal or download, sometimes together with their resumes. As might be expected, though, most of the people using such facilities to display work either have a commercial interest (i.e. they are pushing a product or service) or they are new (i.e. unpublished) and many of the sites themselves are the creations of ‘wannabe’ authors.

Press Release Services

Use of the Internet by journalists and the media is expanding faster than practically any other area of activity on the net. Press Release Services are at the forefront of this phenomenon and the services on offer are growing more comprehensive by the day. Material on some sites is restricted to bona-fide journalists who must produce credentials to verify their right of access but many are open to anyone who may wish to use them. Some are ‘private’ sites available only to members (usually for a fee) but most offer some, if not all, of their services at no charge.

Syndication Services

For the purposes of this article, the term ‘syndication’ covers any collection of ready-made copy that is put together for publishing under license, usually through a third party. Such collections may be packaged by subject, type, author or by any other grouping imaginable, but the commonality is that the syndication service provider manages all transactions between creator and user. Some services specialize in certain areas or types of copy whereas others cover the whole gamut of content provision. Most Internet syndication services concentrate more on content for websites than for newsletters but they can still offer a valuable service to newsletter publishers who need to contract for bulk content. Having said that there are one or two that do specialize in newsletter copy.

Types of Content

Many of the links in this article point to resources that encompass various forms of electronic publishing, but the focus in this series is on content in relation to newsletter publishing, whether hard or soft copy. The links included in this article are meant to give you some idea of the range of resources available and some less well known sites have been deliberately intermingled with better known ones. Also, the various ‘types of providers’ mentioned above are covered where possible. The links themselves are a very small representation of the ever-growing number of resources available on the Internet.

Articles

From the point of view of newsletter publishing, the most sought-after form of content is probably articles that cover the topics of greatest interest to the newsletter’s readers. Fortunately, there are many providers of articles on the Internet. Whether they cover topics of interest to your readers, however, is another matter. If your newsletter covers online marketing, for example, you will find a ready abundance of providers of such material. On the other hand, if the main subject of your publication is very tightly ‘niche-specific’, particularly if it’s a somewhat obscure interest, you may find that suitable copy is much harder to find. Having said that, however, there are thousands of potential sources and many ways to search out what you need.

A great many articles suitable for newsletter content are available on the Internet at no charge provided that the rules of accreditation are observed. On the other hand, there is also a lot that is for sale or available under license. The much-quoted adage “you get what you pay for” may no longer be quite as true as it once was but nonetheless care must be exercised if you want information, especially text-based data, of a certain quality and lucidity.

There are an awful lot of people on the Internet who seem to have persuaded themselves that they are experts in fields in which they are really learners. There are others who, though they might well have expertise in their subject, have difficulty expressing themselves clearly through the written word. Price, or the lack of it, just as in the ‘real’ world, can sometimes be a very rough guide as to what to expect. It can only be a rough guide though. Excellent quality original copy is often provided at no charge on the Internet as a way of ‘showcasing’ a creator’s work. Here are a few examples of websites and ezines that offer articles for publication:

ClipCopy Content Solutions

Hundreds of newsletter articles of all sorts, and other resources for desktop publishers, are in the ClipCopy collection. Particularly good for newsletter producers or anyone who wants to break into the field. Slanted towards home-based and self-employed businesses publishing for profit or non-profit but also appropriate for hobbyists etc.
http://www.clipcopy.com/

Articles Archives

A free, easy-to-use email group service. Articles found on this site are submitted by members, for members to use on their websites or newsletters.
http://www.yahoogroups.com/subscribe/articles_archives

MediaPeak

Serious webmasters, listmasters, entrepreneurs and investors build great businesses. Our members embody the spirit of those innovators who started in their garage and created successful, world-class enterprises.
http://www.mediapeak.com/

NetPower Publishing

‘How-to’ Internet Marketing Articles from Earl B. Hall. Free professional content – yours for the taking… These articles were written to assist online business owners. You are invited to use them in your publication or on your website. The only requirement is the inclusion of the short resource box after each article.
http://www.powerpub.com/articles.htm

Greg Landry Health Articles

Author, speaker and exercise physiologist, Greg has been helping people to lose weight, tone-up, and have more energy for over ten years. His emphasis is on achieving healthy, permanent results through his unique ‘Metabolism System™ For Weight Loss & Muscle Tone’. NO weight loss pills, powders, or potions! He makes a number of excellent articles on the above topics available for free download for publication.
http://www.landry.com/

Publish In Yours

An announcement-only list to receive articles to freely publish in your newsletters.
http://www.geocities.com/soho/study/6219/

World Wide Information Outlet

You are invited to take one or more free articles from World Wide Information Outlet for use on your web page, web site or in your e-mail newsletter. Select from categories such as business, health, pets, travel, religion, life and sports to name a few. Visit often to get fresh and ever changing free content for your web site or e-mail newsletters. Our talented writers offer their articles to you in a gesture of giving something back to the Internet.
http://www.certificate.net/wwio/

Web-Source

Free content: articles for publication in your ezine, newsletter or on your website.
http://www.web-source.net/free_articles.htm

Fillers From Press Releases

Short articles gleaned from press releases can prove very useful because they are so subject-specific. Two major advantages to newsletter publishers is that they are free and that it is normal practice to allow editing without fear of violating copyright (the proviso being, of course, that the core message remains clear and that contact details, if any, remain essentially intact). They are often ideal for sidebars, for instance, or for any occasion where a short piece of text might be called for to augment an original story. Here are a few places on the Internet where they issue such media releases:

Xpress Press

Wacky, offbeat news, weird news, unusual business stories and holiday story ideas sent to journalists and news producers by e-mail.
http://www.xpresspress.com/

COMTEX News Network

The dynamic infomediary that brings together a critical mass of quality real-time content, adds refining data and redistributes specialized, targeted content to the Internet, Wall Street and corporate reseller markets. COMTEX delivers value-added news and information by connecting global publishers with online and corporate distributors. That is an infomediary and that is COMTEX. Over 10,000-information sources guarantee we have the content your audience wants. Our 1100+ clients agree.
http://www.comtex.com/

Internet News Bureau

Premium value Press Release services for businesses and journalists.
http://www.newsbureau.com/

Newsletter Fillers and Features

Two other items that can be used to enhance most newsletters are ‘scatter’ fillers (such as quotations, jokes etc) and regular features (such as crosswords, quizzes, horoscopes, and so on). They have an important part to play in most popular newsletters so don’t make the mistake of undervaluing or dismissing them as trivial or irrelevant. They can be a valuable help in ’rounding out’ a newsletter and are often a real hit with readers. Here are a few samples of online offerings in this area:

ClipCopy Content Solutions

Hundreds of newsletter fillers of all sorts (articles, jokes, crosswords, quotations, etc) and other resources for desktop publishers from the ClipCopy collection. Particularly good for newsletter producers or anyone who wants to break into the field. Slanted towards home-based and self-employed businesses publishing for profit or non-profit but also appropriate for hobbyists etc.
http://www.clipcopy.com/

Quoteland

This site will help you find quotes from silly to inspiring to bolster an opinion, make your members laugh, or just add some class to your list.
http://www.quoteland.com/

HUMORMALL.COM

Resources for comedians, humorists, speakers; includes comedy how-to techniques, insider tips and comedy club backstage secrets. Learn how to write comedy, how to create humor, how to deliver humor, how to add humor to a speech and how to become a comedian. Free jokes for presentations, free jokes for speeches, comedy how-to techniques, plus Free Jokes Weekly, a webzine with ‘copy & paste’ content, cartoons etc.
http://www.humormall.com/

Illustrations

Clipart is not an ‘online’ phenomenon; many of us were clipping and pasting ready-made line art long before the Internet was first thought of. Nevertheless, newcomers to publishing (and the net) might be forgiven for thinking it is. There are literally thousands of clipart sites in cyberspace and some of them are huge, with tens of thousands of pictures available for download. There are also many more sites that concentrate on other types of graphics such as cartoons, photographs, ‘fine’ art etc. Here is a tiny, but fairly broad selection, to give you an idea of what cyberspace has to offer in this field:

Cartoon Bank

Add impact to periodicals, brochures, web sites, and presentations by licensing a New Yorker cartoon. This is the land of cartoons, 85,000 of them, brought to you by the cartoon editor of the New Yorker magazine. You can license the images for advertising or personal use, order framed prints, and buy some of the original artwork through the site.
http://www.cartoonbank.com/

Free Christian Images

At FCI we make free contemporary Christian graphics. Each image has a different design and message. They can be used on webpages, in newsletters, in presentations in letters, etc. Free for non-profit use.
http://www.fci.crossnet.se/

VenturNet

Free for all, clip art with no limit on usage, no charges, no hidden hooks. Feel free to use our clip art as you wish in your personal or business site.
http://www.venturnet.com/clipart/

Hagen Cartoons

A collection of single-panel cartoons available for publication. For commercial use of any of these cartoons in your newsletter, magazine, newspaper or web-pages, all you have to do is pay a (very) small fee for non-exclusive reproduction rights. The price will depend on many parameters, so do not hesitate to contact me (it could even be free for small-companies or club newsletters).
http://members.tripod.com/~Christophe_Granet/

Clipart Place

The Clipart Place features 1000′s of free clipart, animations, icons, and backgrounds.
http://www.clipartplace.simplenet.com/

ArtToday

The largest collection of clipart, photos, fonts and sounds on the internet. Instant access and unlimited downloads for as little as $29.95 a year.
http://www.arttoday.com/

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

This is the third in a series of articles where the focus is on sourcing newsletter content on the Internet. The full sequence of articles is as follows:

1. Copyright Issues
2. Help and Guidance Resources

3. Subject Research

4. Content Providers

Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Database Without Structure

Making the most of the Internet is a matter of making use of the (often) huge amount of data available on practically any subject you care to mention. The drawback is that it is sometimes harder and more time-consuming than expected. There is a lot of information ‘out there’, some of which is neatly sorted and categorized in databases (the owners of which may or may not charge you for access) but, because the Internet is not organized hierarchically, there is no central authority directing ‘where’ things should ‘go’. The data then, is only of use to you if you know how to find it.

Logic dictates that the easiest way to do this is to use Internet Search Sites (search ‘engines’ and directories), which also have the advantage of being free (to users). After all, that’s what they’re for, isn’t it? The answer, in theory, is yes. In theory it is just a matter of entering in key words and bingo!—up pops a list of places where documents containing those words can be found. Unfortunately though, it just isn’t that simple!

Volume Of Data

The main problem is the sheer volume of data available on many subjects. When your search result consists of literally thousands, or even millions of links, you might get the (understandable) feeling that you’ve gone from a paucity of facts to a state of information overload. In other words you may be only a little better off because you are now faced with having to do a further search—of the search results! Not only that but, because of the volume of data and number of sites, it’s practically impossible for the Search Sites to keep ahead of changes constantly occurring on the millions of pages they index, not to mention the thousands of new sites coming online every day.

‘Spamdexing‘

Sometimes the ‘volume of data’ problem manifests itself in unexpected ways. It is common, for example, to get totally irrelevant results that do not seem to have any of the keywords you are searching for. This is often caused by ‘spamdexing’, which is an attempt on the part of some website owners to artificially ‘load’ their pages with common, sometimes hidden, keywords even though they might have little or nothing to do with the content of their site. They do this in order to get a high ranking (in other words, for their site to appear within the first 10 or 20 links returned) in all search results, knowing that any links lower down the list, even if they are more relevant than theirs, will invariably get overlooked. People get very annoyed when their searches turn up a load of rubbish and they usually blame the search engines even though the real culprits are more likely to be the owners of those rubbish sites trying to cheat the system. However, there is one search engine doing a good job of trying to rectify this kind of cheating and, as a result, the worst of it has now changed for the better. That search engine is Google and it is the main reason for its current domination of the search engine field.

Search Options

Engines

The problem of irrelevant search results is most common with search ‘engines’ other than Google. The reason is that their entries are gathered automatically by Internet robots (called spiders) and processed into their databases electronically.

Nevertheless, they have certain advantages over manually processed databases:

1. They can ‘spider’ the web 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, which results in many more sites being indexed than would be possible otherwise.
2. They can index individual pages on sites rather than just the ‘root URL’.

Directories

Does this mean that search directories, or ‘portals’, as they are now sometimes called, are better because they use real people who are not so easily duped? Some people once thought so, but the problem is once again one of volume. Because of the time involved, a database whose entries are checked manually necessitates some fairly strict rules and this can lead to a tendency towards bureaucracy and a lack of flexibility. The end result is often that fewer sites get indexed overall and amongst the missing might be some perfectly good ones—and even some veritable goldmines of information. Meanwhile, other sites with little or no worthwhile content manage to mysteriously achieve positions of prominence, presumably by appealing to a sense of what constitutes a ‘good’ site on the part of the reviewer. The best-known example of a search directory is Yahoo!. (http://www.yahoo.com/)

Topic-Specific Indexes

There are hundreds of very specific databases on the Internet covering a wide variety of subjects. These can sometimes be queried using specialized search engines like Pilot-Search, which is a literary search engine. (http://www.pilot-search.com/)

They can also often be found by using standard searching methods and sometimes by consulting ‘megasource jumpstations’ or, as they are now coming to be known, ‘Vortals’ (vertical portals). These are similar to the search directories mentioned above except that they each concentrate on a particular niche, or market segment. They are invariably much smaller but cover their subject more comprehensively. The main advantage in using this type of site is the concentrated focus, and the fact that many of them include details of resources that, for one reason or another, simply do not appear elsewhere. The downside is that they can often be as hard to find as the information you hope to get from them. One of the reasons for this is that many of the most popular Search Sites refuse to list them (presumably because they see them as competitors).

As mentioned before in this series, there is more to the Internet than the World Wide Web. Because of this there are some ‘protocol-specific’ searching applications that seek out data that is available on Usenet ‘newsgroups‘, Gopher sites, email Mailing Lists etc. Some of these consist of ‘discussion threads’ from within forums and are not always suitable for specific subject research. However, they can sometimes prove invaluable for ongoing research and an increasing number archive their most popular discussion threads on the web too. An example of this type of resource would be Deja.com, which is used for finding discussion groups of all kinds. (http://www.deja.com/)

Focused Searching

Probably the most effective way of getting accurate results when using many engines, directories and databases is by using ‘precision searching’. In its simplest form, this means entering the most precise phrase you can think of to describe what you are looking for, thus narrowing the search as much as possible from the outset. If this doesn’t produce the desired result, then widen the search term one step at a time until it does.

Most people do the opposite. They start by using a single, all-encompassing keyword, which results in a very large list to start with; then they start to narrow the search by qualifying that word in increasing detail. The problem with this method is that the searcher has to wade through huge amounts of data in the process and often never gets to the point of refinement necessary to produce worthwhile results.

Precision searching necessitates the use of search delimiters; the commonest one being “THIS PHRASE” (in other words, enclosing the search phrase within quotation marks). Other important delimiters are the words AND, OR and NOT. This article is not the place to launch into a tutorial on refining devices for searching but suffice to say that you will improve your results dramatically if you take the trouble to learn these and the many other search terms in common use. Most of them can be found by simply using the Help feature in the search engine or other device you are using. The very popular search engine AltaVista is particularly helpful in this respect. (http://www.altavista.com/)

Resources

The URLs listed below are only meant to guide you, to give you some ideas and to illustrate the range of useful sites available to people wishing to research subject material on the Internet. They are only a fraction of a huge range of sites available and are not meant to be in any way representative of what is on the Internet as a whole. However, you will find pointers within them to every type of resource mentioned in this article.

SquirrelNet

A simple and concise guide to searching the Internet and finding cool sites. SquirrelNet ranks the top search engines and tells you which is best for different types of searching needs. This site also links to free online games, hidden jobs and links about squirrels(!).
http://www.squirrelnet.com/

direct search

A huge compilation of search tools, directories and resources that allows a lot of material that is normally hidden or invisible to general search engines to be accessible and searchable.
http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/direct.htm

Internets Search Engines, Databases and Newswires

Search the Internet’s collection of search engines and databases in every useful category. Glowing reviews from press and universities about the 1000′s of reference search engines.
http://www.internets.com/

InfoSpace

Real world information where you’ll find yellow pages, white pages, classifieds, shopping sites, finance information, government data, chat rooms, and much more.
http://www.infospace.com/

Sookoo Strategy Searches

What if you are searching for information about a concept, rather than a specific company or person? Try Sookoo, the business strategy search specialist. At this site you can drill through categories such as big thinkers, leadership, trends or change management—or search on just about any term you can think of.
http://www.sookoo.com/

IMG Network Search Resources

The official IMG Network Search page where all the tools and help you need can be found.
http://www.img.net/search/

ePilot.com

Search the Web with the ePilot Desktop Application!
http://www.epilot.com/

AffirmNet Search Resources

Whether looking for information on a subject of your interest or trying to see whether the Internet is aware of the existence of your web site, these search engines and directories are some of the most useful ways to make sense of the overwhelming size and complexity of the Internet.
http://www.affirmnet.com/search.html

WorldPages.com

The world’s premier Internet Yellow Pages and White Pages, Email directory, featuring 117 Million U.S. & Canadian white and yellow pages listings, 30 million URLs, 125,000 web sites hosted for local businesses, government listings, email and web search, maps, classifieds, ecommerce, and links to over 350 international online government, business and email directories worldwide.
http://www.worldpages.com/

The Ultimates

A new type of index with twenty-five net services at your fingertips.
http://www.theultimates.com/

theDigitalDetective.com

Your master index to the world: find ancestors, audio, businesses, domain name, driving directions, e-mail, how-to, laws, location, maps, news, people, phone numbers, pictures, places, software, and zip codes.
http://www.thedigitaldetective.com/

Search Search Sites

Use SSS to find appropriate search engines and search directories for whatever you are looking for.
http://www.motherofallsearches.com/search.htm

Liszt, The Mailing List Directory

A really big directory of mailing lists (and newsgroups, too). If you like anything, you’re bound to find something you like here.
http://www.liszt.com/

CNET Search

Search hundreds of sites in one place.
http://new.search.com/

The Invisible Web

For those hard-to-find resources.
http://www.invisibleweb.com/

Windweaver

Top search engines, directories, libraries and metasearch pages reviewed plus links to recommended search tools and an online search skills course. Other resources at Windweaver include searching tutorials, search resources, recommended Web sites, hints for email communication and mailing lists, etc.
http://www.windweaver.com/

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

This is the second in a series of articles where the focus is on sourcing newsletter content on the Internet. The full sequence of articles is as follows:

1. Copyright Issues

2. Help and Guidance Resources

3. Subject Research
4. Content Providers

Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Writing Your Own Material

If you intend writing your own newsletter articles, or even just the occasional piece, you already know those areas where you might need help. For example, some people have no trouble putting their thoughts on paper but, when it comes to spelling, they are practically dyslexic. Others can spell even the most difficult words but have trouble stringing them together in grammatically correct sentences. And even the most proficient of writers need reference material from time to time.

One of the great things about the Internet is that anyone can now access whatever assistance they require without even leaving the keyboard. It’s like having a vast library of reference works right at your fingertips. In fact it’s better than a conventional library because the interactive nature of the electronic medium allows for greater flexibility in terms of describing nuances, illustrating examples, explaining details and so on.

URLs that you might find helpful when writing your own copy appear below under the headings: General Writing Help, Writing Courses and Training, Dictionaries and Thesauri, Writing Style and Grammar, and finally Other Writing Aids.

Outsourcing Work

For those publishers who need to outsource work, whether it is to contract a writer, editor, artist, proofreader, or some other writing or editorial service, things are not quite so easy—but it only takes a little perseverance to get very satisfying results. Obviously, the main problem is that services are easily offered but it takes a little investigation to be sure that the person or organization you choose is capable of producing to the standard you require and within the parameters you set. It is the same in the virtual world of the Internet as it is in the real world. However, as with the copyright issue covered in Part One, extra care is required when communicating, and especially when carrying out transactions, online. The worldwide nature of the Internet offers incredible scope and a huge range of options but the opportunities for gain are available just as much to the unscrupulous as to the honest. The old maxim ‘Let the buyer beware’ has every bit as much relevance as it ever did.

URLs that you might find useful for outsourcing work appear under the following headings: Writing and Editing Services, and Photographers and Cartoonists.

Publishing Resources

The range of resources available to publishers of all types is immense, not least in the area of most interest for our purposes: desktop publishing, and more particularly newsletter publishing. This is not really surprising when you consider that the growth of this particular industry is closely aligned to the growth of computers and their rapid adoption in the modern workplace.

URLs that publishers may find of use are grouped under the headings Desktop Publishing Services, Newsletter Publishing, Publishing Courses and Training, Graphic Services, Fonts etc, Stock Illustrations and Clipart, and Publishing and Graphics Software.

Ancillary Services

Under the heading Ancillary Services are found thumbnails for those other items related to content, or that can vitally affect the presentation of it, but that don’t fit comfortably into one of the slots mentioned above.

The Resource URLs

Included among the thumbnail sketches are some of the more popular and well-known sites and mailing lists that provide help and guidance for writers and publishers. Popularity though, is no guarantee of quality, so I have included some personal favorites of mine as well as interspersing some that are completely new to me. It is, therefore, a somewhat random collection and you need to bear this in mind, as well as the fact that it is has been put together to help only non-professional and occasional writers.

‘Cyberspace’ is an ever-changing and evolving environment and thousands of sites get added and hundreds deleted every day. This means that there might be many better places to go for help by the time that you read this and some of those mentioned might even have dropped out of sight (though I hope not many; I have tried to restrict the list to the tried and tested). Nevertheless, these URLs will give you an idea of the range of services available and should prove a good starting point. Many of them also provide their own hyperlinks to other resources worth exploring.

Searching The Internet

What follows is a very small selection of representative URLs but many more resources of these types exist on the Internet than appear in this article. They can be found on various ‘portal’ and directory sites, including our own ClipCopy Content Solutions and of course, this site, which have many more resources than appear here but the abstracts are more detailed as well.

Most of the sites that were found in the course of research whilst planning this article are archived there. More still can be found by conducting your own Internet search and this is what will be covered in some detail in Part Three (Subject Research) of ‘Sourcing Content On The Internet’.

General Writing Help

Article Ideas

A weekly newsletter jam-packed with article ideas for writers. Send for a sample copy (put NEW on the subject line) at:
articleideas-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Editorial Eye

A monthly newsletter for writers, editors, designers, project managers, communications specialists, and everyone else who cares about contemporary publishing practices.
http://www.eeicommunications.com/eye/

PenLinks.com

This site features a categorized and searchable directory of writers’ resources on the
Internet.
http://penlinks.com/

Write-It-Right

This list is for writers who need help with: spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. To subscribe, send an email to:
write-it-right-subscribe@topica.com

Writing Tips

Features tips on how to avoid some of the more common errors in writing such as how to use the apostrophe and other punctuation demons and vocabulary quizzes to improve word power.
http://move.to/writewell

Writing Tips, Tools & Ideas

The World-Wide Web‘s first comprehensive English-language writing assistance center brought to you by Academic Consulting International.
http://www.aci-plus.com/tips/

Writing Courses And Training

Basic Learning Systems, Inc.

Bull’s Eye Business Writing, a self-paced workbook that can help managers and others improve their business writing and all other written communications.
http://www.basic-learning.com/wbwt/tipstw.htm

Say It Better!

Kare Anderson, author, and speaker, shows how to Say It Better in how you speak, appear, write, and create the work and other settings of your life.
http://www.sayitbetter.com/

Write101.com

Home Study Tutorials to improve writing skills or professional copy writing, editing and proof reading.
http://www.write101.com/

Dictionaries And Thesauri

American-British – British-American Dictionary

The definitive American/British translation guide.
http://www.peak.org/~jeremy/dictionary/

Dictionary.com

Free online English dictionary, thesaurus and reference guide.
http://www.dictionary.com/

Merriam-Webster OnLine

A free, searchable on-line dictionary and thesaurus that includes many other English language and vocabulary reference tools and resources.
http://www.m-w.com/

Online Dictionaries, Glossaries and Encyclopedias

An annotated listing of dictionaries, glossaries and encyclopedias that have some sort of version online.
http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/hyperref.html

Phrase Finder

A phrases thesaurus and searchable database of English phrases and sayings.
http://www.shu.ac.uk/web-admin/phrases/

Thesaurus.com

Roget’s Thesaurus of English words and phrases.
http://www.thesaurus.com/

Writing Style And Grammar

A Guide to Grammar and Writing

Contains several digital handouts on grammar and English usage and a way to submit questions about grammar and writing.
http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/original.htm

Garbl’s Writing Resources

Online Annotated directory of web sites focusing on grammar, style, usage, plain language, words, references, etc.
http://pw1.netcom.com/~garbl1/index.html

Grammar Slammer

The English Grammar help file that goes beyond a grammar checker.
http://englishplus.com/grammar/

Robin’s Nest

Grammar help and rules offered in areas such as common English errors, copyediting, and elements of style.
http://www2.netdoor.com/~smslady/grammar.html

UIUC Writers’ Workshop

Mainly for students who want help and assistance with grammar, writing techniques etc.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/

Other Writing Aids

Writers’ Guidelines Database

Keep experts, news sources, government databases, online dictionaries, writers’ search tools and more at your fingertips.
http://mav.net/guidelines/

Writing And Editing Services

Apryl A. Duncan

Freelance copywriter and Web marketing consultant.
http://www.copywriter.bizland.com/

Editorial Experts

Writing, editing and proofreading services.
http://www.editorialexperts.com/

Frankie Thornhill

Freelance writer, editor, proofreader and designer for brochures, newsletters etc.
http://www.cadvision.com/thornpub/

Lake Technical Communications, Inc.

A technical writing company.
http://www.laketec.com/

Nightcats Multimedia Productions

Business writing at reasonable rates for reports, newsletters, articles, proofing, brochures, etc. Projects available in PDF, HTML, word, ASCII or print.
http://www.nightcats.com/

Persuasive Pen

Freelance writing, editing and proofreading service.
http://www.persuasivepen.com/

Sederquist

Photographer/writer/editor Betty Sederquist has been publishing her writing and photography for over 20 years.
http://www.innercite.com/~bettysed/

SuccessWorks

Powerful, results-driven dynamic online writing including website and marketing writing, online copywriting and site content.
http://www.successwks.com/

Tim Badgery-Parker

An Internet-based professional editor specializing in biological and medical sciences.
http://www.rpi.net.au/~timbp/

Word Magic

Producing and repairing all kinds of communications, such as newsletters, articles, brochures, flyers, etc at a very low cost. Also proofreading and editing services.
http://www.tcguide.com/wordmagic/

Photographers And Cartoonists

Barry Myers Photography

Still lifes and photographs for advertising, brochures, e-commerce etc.
http://myersphoto.com/stillife/

Bob Storts – Artist

Original art, custom commissions, murals, and accessories for your collecting, designing, and decorating needs.
http://www.customart.bizland.com/

Carol Chislovsky Design Inc.

Stock and custom images by several artists represented by Carol Chislovsky.
http://www.chislovsky.com/trial.html

Cartoon Factory

Cartoon fun by Ron Coleman and George Crenshaw.
http://www.cartoonfactory.com/

Cartoons by Ted Goff

Hundreds of business and safety cartoons searchable by keyword or topic.
http://www.tedgoff.com/

Images.com, Inc.

The world’s largest stock illustration agency.
http://www.spotsonthespot.com/

John Keith Photography

Specializing in brochures, annual reports, executive portraits, newsletters, etc.
http://www.johnkeithphotography.com/

Outsight Photography Images Online

Nature and scenic stock photography suitable for desktop publishing for numerous personal and small business uses.
http://www.outsight.com/imonline.html

Desktop Publishing Services

About.com

Desktop Publishing Articles about getting started in desktop publishing including design basics, software tips and tutorials, classes for learning DTP etc.
http://desktoppub.miningco.com/compute/desktoppub/

Desktop Publishers Journal

Everything you need to be successful in this competitive industry. Every design technique, every product review, every technology trend is at your fingertips in Desktop Publishers Journal.
http://www.dtpjournal.com

Desktop Publishing Supplies

A large line of banner paper, designer brochures, trifold brochures etc all at great prices.
http://www.dpsstore.com/index.htm

Desktop Publishing’s Premiere Resource

The ultimate resource for clipart, desktop publishing, fonts, web authoring, and much more.
http://desktopPublishing.com/

DTP Newsgroups

The following Usenet newsgroups are quite active and new users of the applications concerned would probably find them quite valuable.
alt.aldus.pagemaker
comp.graphics.apps.pagemaker
list.comp.software.adobe.acrobat

IDEAS Publishing Consultants

For publishers, associations, and SOHOs (small/home offices) including exclusive articles, reports and newsletters.
http://www.ideasdtp.com/

PAGEMAKR mailing list

The subscription base varies from 1,000-2,000, with a core of wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful members. Mail messages can be received as they are posted or once daily as a digest.
http://www.hypercorp.com/gain/pm/

Newsletter Publishing

A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters

Newsletters that influence employees, customers, prospects, and members: learn how with the help of this definitive book.
http://www.managersguide.com/

Graphics and Words – Newsletter Central

Resources for newsletter editors and publishers.
http://www.graphicsandwords.com

Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association

The international trade association serving publishers of subscription, for-profit newsletters and specialized information services.
http://www.newsletters.org/

Newsletters Only

Information for people who edit, produce or publish newsletters.
http://newslettersonly.com/

PSP Communications

Specializing in start-to-finish, turnkey newsletter solutions.
http://www.pspcommunications.com/

Publishing Courses And Training

Designer-info.com

Reviews, articles and tutorials of all the latest DTP, photo editing, drawing and web design software.
http://www.designer-info.com/

Internet Brothers

Tips and tutorials about HTML and DHTML, graphics editing, layout and design, desktop publishing, digital photography, and site promotion presented often with humor, and always with examples.
http://internetbrothers.com/desktoppub.htm

Mike’s Sketchpad

Free tutorials plus undocumented tips and techniques for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Macromedia Freehand, Paint Shop Pro, Deneba Canvas and QuarkXPress.
http://www.sketchpad.net/

On With Learning Inc.

Software training videos with a large selection of desktop publishing material.
http://videoed.com/pcsub06.html

Graphic Services, Fonts etc

Abke Publishing & Graphic Services

Graphic design and illustrations, desktop publishing services and multimedia presentations.
http://www.abke.com/

Ad·Mark·Com

A proprietor-operated graphic design studio offering copywriting/design of logos, newsletters, brochures, etc.
http://www.admarkcom.com/

Cool Archive

Huge free vault of 1000+ clipart images, 950+ fonts, 4000+ icons, hundreds of animations, buttons, bullets, etc.
http://www.coolarchive.com/

Font Archives

Free fonts archive with over 200 free fonts.
http://www.what-next.com/fonts/fonts.html

Graphic Design Resource Center

Huge graphic and web design database of useful graphic tips, techniques, and tutorials.
http://deezin.com/

Graphics Newsgroups

If you are a Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro user, or you have one of the Ulead applications, you might be interested in one the following Usenet newsgroups.
alt.graphics.photoshop
comp.graphics.apps.paint-shop-pro
comp.graphics.apps.ulead

Graphics Resource Center

The complete online information resource center for the graphic arts, publishing, printing, press, bindery, and mailing professional.
http://www.graphicsresourcecenter.com/

GraphSearch

GraphSearch allows you to quickly locate icons, animated GIFs, photographs and clip art.
http://www.graphsearch.com

Stock Illustrations And Clipart

1-click-clipart.com

One of the most popular clipart and resource sites on the web containing high quality free material for you to use.
http://www.1-click-clipart.com/

ArtToday.com

The largest collection of clipart, photos, fonts and sounds on the Internet.
http://www.arttoday.com/

Clipart.com

The net’s best clipart, font, photo and web graphic links.
http://www.clipart.com/

Digital Art Shop

The Internet’s royalty free source for stock images, clip art and graphics.
http://www.digitalartshop.com/

Doctor Stock

Stock photography and illustration for healthcare.
http://www.doctorstock.com/

PictureQuest

Stock photography including royalty free photography, stock photos, digital media and online images.
http://www.picturequest.com/

Technical Clip Art

A clipart library of standard parts for technical illustrations and technical desktop publishing.
http://www.techm.com/

Publishing And Graphics Software

Extensis Products Group

Software for Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress and Digital Media.
http://www.extensis.com/

Jasc Software Products

Jasc Software image editing and multimedia product index -home of Paint Shop Pro.
http://www.jasc.com/products.html

PDFzone

Adobe Acrobat and PDF technology – everything you wanted to know.
http://www.pdfzone.com/

Solidus Corel Ventura

Publisher information, scripts, FAQs, and chat forums for support and discussion of techniques and approaches to this market leading program.
http://www.solid-us.com

Square One Graphics & Associates

This site is designed to support serious Corel users from around the world.
http://www.squareonegraphics.com/

Ancillary Services

Crossword Construction Kit

The Desktop Publisher for creating theme based crossword puzzles.
http://www.crosswordkit.com/

DeepTrans Translation Services

The art of good communication is simply ensuring that the translated text perfectly conveys your message and nothing else. To meet this challenge we have a dedicated team of professional writers.
http://www.deeptrans.com/

ITO Translation & Publishing

Japanese translation, desktop publishing, and software localization. We offer support services to translation agencies and software companies worldwide.
http://www.itotranslation.com/

Lingua – Language Software and Fonts

Multilingual software and fonts for all languages and scripts from Arabic to Urdu.
http://www.lingua-uk.com/

Microsoft Page Layout Newsgroups

These are very popular and very busy newsgroups that new users of MS Publisher and/or MS Word might find extremely useful.
Microsoft.public.publisher
Microsoft.public.word.pagelayout

Publishing and Prepress Newsgroups

The following are some Usenet newsgroups that cover publishing and preparation.
alt.publish.books
alt.publish.newspaper
comp.publish.prepress

Puzzlemaker

Generate your own educational puzzles, games, and activities based on your lesson plan needs.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/

Sullivan’s Online Scanning Resources

Sullivan’s Scanning Tips and Techniques is a valuable online resource for all levels of scanning operators.
http://www.hsdesign.com/scanning/

Tongli International

Your solution to translation, DTP, Web page design and software localization in over 60 languages.
http://www.tongliusa.com/

Transit – Computer-Aided Translation System

The primary goal is to boost translation productivity by providing translation-specific support, and fully compatible interfaces to popular desktop publishing systems.
http://www.star-ag.ch/products/transit/

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

This is the first in a series of four articles where the focus is on sourcing newsletter content on the Internet. The full sequence of topics covered in the series is as follows:

1. Copyright Issues

2. Help and Guidance Resources
3. Subject Research
4. Content Providers

Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Basic Understanding

It is really important that you have at least a basic understanding of copyright law if you intend publishing something, even if it’s a hard copy newsletter for local distribution only. Mainly to help newcomers to this field, I wrote an article entitled ‘The Meaning Of Copyright’ with the intention of providing just this basic degree of knowledge. It covers the subject simply and briefly but in sufficient depth for the needs of most small business people and ‘newbie’ publishers.

However, if there is the slightest chance that your material might eventually be published on the Internet, either statically, such as on a web page, or for distribution by email (or newsgroups etc), you need to understand that laws other than those pertaining to your own country might apply.

The Global Nature Of The Internet

Americans, in particular, tend to overlook, or sometimes seem to be unaware of, the global nature of the Internet. How many times have you read messages like “Have a great 4th July, everyone!” as the big day approaches, or “Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers” in an email-broadcast newsletter or on a website? The writers of these messages have probably never stopped to think how incongruous such messages appear when seen through the eyes of non-Americans. But when you realize how potentially huge the proportion of readers from other countries is, you realize how important the issue of globalization is and how new and unique an environment cyberspace is. Estimates are that 70% of current Internet users live in countries other than the USA. Not only that but the proportions are changing rapidly as the Internet evolves and citizens of less prosperous nations go online. The day is not far off when there will be many more ‘foreigners’ online than Americans and they will be even more of a minority.

International Conventions

It is not possible, nor necessary of course, to be familiar with all the laws of every country on earth! Luckily they are often not that different from each other anyway (as regards copyright, that is). And anyway, there are international conventions that lay down the accepted principles that most counties adhere to.

What then, is the problem, you might ask? Well, for a start, not all countries recognize these principles. The most important landmarks in the field of international copyright tenets are the Berne Convention of 1886 and the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952, both of which are legally recognized by most Western democracies and other major countries. Unfortunately, as with many similar international protocols, there are dissenter nations. Any documents sourced from these ‘rogue’ states, as they are sometimes called, should be viewed with suspicion from the outset since ‘pirating’ (deliberately copying and distributing copyrighted works for financial gain) is often rife, and even sometimes encouraged.

Almost as bad though, is the problem of lip service to the principles by some states, followed by a failure, for one reason or another, to enforce them. These are issues that will undoubtedly become of ever-greater concern with the growing pervasiveness of the Internet.

The Need For Caution

What is important then, is that copyright ownership questions need to be more carefully considered when sourcing material on the Internet, partly because of the potential anonymity of users, partly because of the speed at which illicit material can be copied and distributed, and partly because of its international nature. For these reasons it is probably best to avoid anything that looks suspect if its veracity can’t be confirmed.

The newness of the electronic medium also gives reason for treating it with extra caution. New laws are coming into effect around the world in an attempt to ‘tame’ the apparent lawlessness of the Internet, including cross-border co-operation in some places, and the fact that prosecutions so far have been few does not necessarily mean that things will stay that way.

Making assumptions based on nationally accepted normal practices is also not a good idea. For instance, any material published by the US government for public consumption is usually ‘copyright-free’ (i.e. in the public domain), but that certainly does not mean that the same applies everywhere. Government publications in some countries are subject to a very different regime of regulations indeed.

Copyright Resources

Looking at the positive side of the Internet leads us to consider and appreciate the huge gains that have been made in the dissemination of knowledge and information. For publishers, whether of the electronic or hard copy variety, this includes the ready availability of help and research resources, content material of all sorts, and data related to the protection of intellectual property itself.

To help you explore this subject further, there follows a short list of thumbnail word-sketches, each with a link to its actual URL. They broadly represent what is available on the Internet about copyright at the time of writing.

The Copyright Website

The premiere location on the web for information on copyright.
http://www.benedict.com/

Copyright and the Web

This site provides links to web resources with information and advice on electronic copyright issues, especially as they apply to British users.
http://www.talisman.hw.ac.uk/TMan-Events/old/copyright/Resources.html

Copyright & Intellectual Property

St Lawrence University’s links to copyright & intellectual property legislation and advocacy resources in the USA.
http://www.stlawu.edu/library:http/copyforu.html

Online Copyright Resources

The University of Texas site has information about copyright with links to American, British and Australian sites.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/hrc/resources.html

IPMENU

A search portal for Intellectual Property resources on the Internet by a firm of Australian and New Zealand Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. This site provides a truly international perspective with links to sites around the world.
http://www.ipmenu.com/copyright.htm

Copyright Resources

Copyright resources from a mainly Canadian perspective.
http://www.dal.ca/~copyrt/copyright/cpygninf.html

Copyright & Fair Use

In-depth coverage of the subject, including links to some appropriate newsgroups as well as the WWW, put together by Stanford University Libraries.
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/internet/

UA Library Copyright Resources

This site contains a wide coverage of the topic with some good links to various ‘How-to’ files and other ancillary material.
http://dizzy.library.arizona.edu/copyright/resource.htm

Links to Copyright Resources

This list of resources includes European as well as American copyright sites.
http://wwwalet.clarion.edu/amiller/copyright.htm

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

I recently got a flyer in my mailbox (my real one, not my electronic one) from a real estate agent. It led with a query about whether I was interested in selling my home and following with a list of properties in my area that were on the market. It was a well-designed piece of work. A lot of thought had gone into the layout, paper type etc. It was a very professional presentation. So, what do you think I did with it? Yes, that’s right. I did what most other people who received it did. I consigned it to a round file (garbage bin) without even reading it. That’s what happens to nearly all flyers. Similar results apply to advertisements of all kinds. In our house we use the TV remote a lot—for muting the ads. Reading a newspaper can be a frustrating experience too. Some have so many advertisements it is hard to find the bits you want to read (the news!).
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

The Problem Of Finding Buyers

Let’s look again at the real estate agent’s solution to her problem of finding buyers. She has been told, quite rightly, that selling is a numbers game. Present your message to enough prospects, she has learned, and the sales will follow. And it’s true! It is also true that if you asked everyone you met, “Do you want to buy a house?” it would be only a matter of time before someone would answer “Yes, OK. How much?”. A long, long time. Most people would respond with that old cliché, “not interested, thanks”. The flyer is just another way of asking the same question. The only difference is that it costs a lot more than asking everyone you meet.

A Newspaper Lesson

We can learn something, though, from how we scan newspapers for news. The advertisements are skimmed as quickly as possible. Occasionally we get caught out by a clever advertiser framing her ad so that it looks like a news item (this should be a lesson in itself but more on that in another issue). Then something catches our eye and we stop to read it. It might be a filler article on a subject we are interested in. It might be a cartoon or a joke. The point is that people will always stop to read what is, to them, compelling reading. In other words, subjects they are interested in or that they perceive as useful to them.

Why You Need Compelling Content

So, am I suggesting that this agent is wasting her time? Well, yes—and no! No, because by putting out something that is potentially less transient than a spoken question, she is on the right track. Yes, because a flyer is the wrong vehicle for her message. There is no compelling reason to read it. What she should be doing is publishing a regular newsletter full of quality content so that when her prospects are in the market for a new home, she is the one they naturally turn to.

Finding Compelling Content

To provide compelling content there are only two questions that must be answered:

1. Who is the reader?
2. What are her prime, and in some cases, secondary, interests likely to be?

The key is to choose items for inclusion according to these two considerations. For example, the newsletter supporting our real estate agent would be distributed to house owners and house buyers. They, not the agent, are the people who make up the readership. Key interests for these people are things like home improvement, insurance, garden supplies, furnishings, home finance, etc. On a secondary level you might look at an even wider range of interests for the type of readership you are aiming at. House owners are, on average, family people, car owners, vacationers etc. Any topic of interest to these groups can be compelling content, especially if it contains advice or help of some kind.

The success of any newsletter depends largely on the amount of compelling content it contains. In the case of a newsletter which you are producing on behalf of a principal (e.g. if you were desktop publishing a realtor newsletter, as discussed earlier), she (the principal) will often want to provide an article or message(s) for inclusion. Aside from this though, the problem of finding suitable supporting material, which might determine how successful the newsletter turns out to be, would often be yours. You certainly should be willing to advise in this area if you want the account to continue and prosper.

Writing A Newsletter

You could, of course, write the content yourself provided you are reasonably competent at grammar. Spelling should be no problem because you have a Spell Checker (you do use yours, right?) so it’s only a question of knowing the difference between like-sounding words, such as ‘there’ and ‘their’.

There are numerous articles on how to write a newsletter on the Internet, not least on one of our own sites, ClipCopy Content Solutions. There you will find all sorts of material, including our famous newsletter fillers, so creating a newsletter is no big mystery.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.