My Half Assed Attempt at Inspiring Readers to Stick Up for Quality Content

As you likely know by now, I've sold a few political news articles to the fine site, Collective Publishing. I am not just saying they are fine because they've paid me a decent rate for my work, but also due to housing a rather admirable collection of talented writers. If you enjoy political news (with an Ontario slant) then you owe it to yourself to check out the high quality content there.

I know, I've suggested you to check out the site before and I've linked to every article I've published there (brace yourself, because there is more to come!). I really do want to encourage you to check out all the great content on there, because how else are you going to procrastinate from your job?

Here is the thing, it is a completely free site, which means all it is costing you is a few minute to read really compelling stuff. BUT the fact is, this site is still essentially a business. A business that pays good rates to highly talented writers (it is also pays me). So, how does a free web site actually become a successful business? Well, it attracts readers. Lot of them.

What this means, is that the best thing you could ever do for any site you like is make sure it gets more readers. These sites aren't asking you to drop a single dime to read their content. But they sure as hell would appreciate gaining more readers.

Essentially, if you like what you read at any site, including this blog, then the greatest early Christmas present or 'payment' you can give is letting other people know about the site or the particular article you like. You can do this by popping the link on your Facebook or sending the link out to friends or putting it up on sites like reddit. Simply put, your best payment is spreading the word about the content you like. Because it means more people will read it and thus more likely the site will continue to offer up high quality content.

For example, most of my highest viewed posts of all time on this blog are due to people putting up links on their site or recommending others to read the article. These linked posts ended up being viewed several hundred more times than anything else on this site. It is strong evidence of how valuable word of mouth style advertising is.

If you like the 3 articles I put on Collective Publishing, then please pass them on to other people. If you liked any other articles on that site, then makes sure you pass them on. If you thought it was worse than a make out session with a hyena then don't do anything.

If you don't like the content, then obviously just leave it be. But if you do like it and you want to see more of it, then you need pass on the word.

It seems like a simple concept, but I also realize most don't even think about it. They probably just assume that if they came across the articles then other people will too. In the vast wilderness of the internet, it does not work that way. In order to make sure that free quality content remains, you need to pass on the word to other people you know will appreciate and enjoy it.

So, if you like it, then promote it. If you don't, well, I'm sure I'll have a cute dog picture for you if you stick around long enough.