To say we live in an age of information overload is an understatement of phenomenal proportion. I think it’s better to say that we live in an age of total information saturation.
We have all become skimmers and devourers of bolded text. That’s not the best way to get the big picture.
- Writers seek to hit your target with their bullet-ed entries.
But is all the information found on the web the same? Can you derive the same value from free content as you can from paid content? Maybe.
Can you research a topic in depth, cull through thousands of sites and posts, and reach the same conclusions? Maybe, if you don’t get distracted by some other shiny bauble of info you find along the way.
How many times, have you found what you’re looking for, only to realize the post is three years old and the information is no longer useful?
How many blogs have you followed that have been abandoned by the author when “living life became paramount to journaling about it”.
For you, with the bursting inbox(es), with Facebook friends in the triple digits, groups, forums, and more RSS feeds than bandwidth every month, timely, pertinent, accurate information is worth its weight in gold (or most definitely $2.50 – but more on that later).
It’s information that transforms you from a reader, to a doer. You become one who can quickly find the resources you need and then USE THEM to make your life easier, painless, and more prosperous.
While we like free content (we have hundreds of free posts on our site), we strongly believe that real solutions to the problems and issues your facing RIGHT NOW can be found easily, quickly and affordably in paid content.
How can we be so sure of this? We feel strongly that paid content sites must adhere to these expectations:
· Expectation #1 Paid Content is Original – Original content stems from original ideas. Like they say, “there’s no substitute for The Original”.
· Expectation #2 Paid Content is Timely, Pertinent and Accurate - You want information you can use right now! Information that you know has been verified and that has been created with you in mind.
· Expectation #3 Paid Content is Solution Based – You can pick up any issue of our magazine and find at least one (but probably more like four) ideas you can act on immediately to make your life easier.
· Expectation #4 Paid Content is Dependable - It is delivered to you on a predetermined schedule and you can bet if we say we’re going to deliver it – it will be in your inbox.
· Expectation #5 Paid Content is Over Delivered – You should always feel like you are getting way more than you paid for.
As the editor of an e-mag for RV’ing families, I can tell you,
Our Writers Bring It!
Every month. Every issue. Every article.
Do you adhere to these exacting expectations for your readers?
If you’re looking for real solutions, real ideas, real information you can count on, I strongly advise you don't click away just because you see a shopping cart. You could be doing yourself a great disservice. These membership sites value their subscribers, feel truly beholden to them and seek to provide superior content at very affordable rates. (Aren’t those the cornerstones of every successful business model?)
If you believe your time is worth something, then stop wasting it hunting and pecking through the web and do the math. The average cost of a subscription-based site is $30 A YEAR! That’s $2.50 a month!
Isn’t your time worth $2.50 to get the information you need served to you on silver platter?
I encourage you to share your thoughts on this post. Do you think paid content sites are valuable, or do you think free is the only way to go? We want to know.
Kimberly Travaglino is the Editor of Fulltime Families Magazine, a company that supports risk takers, pioneers, and enlightened families blazing their own path across the country.
