The new sales tax is a matter of intense debate with states claiming affiliate Web sites and blogs are acting as salespeople vs.companies who use affiliates, Web site owners and bloggers claiming the relationship is an advertising relationship.  However, states claim that not charging sales tax on sales that are generated from an affiliates site who lives in one of these states causes unfair competition with local businesses who must charge sales tax by law (remember, prior to this legislation, companies only had to charge sales tax to consumers who lived in states where the company maintained a physical presence — an office, warehouse, manufacturing plant, etc.). 

According to the American Marketing Association, the definition of affiliate marketing is:

An online marketing strategy that involves revenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople. Compensation is typically awarded based on performance measures such as sales, clicks, registrations or a combination of factors.

Looks like this argument is going to continue for quite awhile.

In the meantime, Overstock.com responded to this new state legislation by dropping its affiliate programs in those states that enacted it.  Amazon.com also responded.  First, Amazon agreed to collect sales tax when this legislation passed in New York.  However, the process must have been a big burden (bigger than the sales generated from New York affiliates according to Amazon representatives), so when North Carolina, Rhode Island and Hawaii passed similar legislation in June, Amazon dropped its affiliate program in those states. 

There is no word on the ultimate fate of the New York Amazon Associates affiliate program.  We’ll have to wait and see.  In the meantime, rumors are buzzing that California is considering passing similar legislation and other states might follow suit.  In other words, the fate of online affiliate programs as we know them today, might be very different a year from now.

For those Web site owners and bloggers who publish authoritative content that professionals are looking for to do their jobs, licensed syndication through Newstex is a great way to not just earn money through royalties but also provide broad exposure to new audiences that traditional Web searches don’t provide.  Check out The Truth about Blog and Twitter Syndication for more information about licensed online content syndication, or contact Newstex to learn how you can make money and broaden your exposure through licensed syndication.

It’s no secret that newspapers and traditional media like print magazines have been struggling over the past decade with many completely repositioning their brands and content (e.g., Newsweek, Time), adjusting their delivery frequency (e.g., U.S. News and World Report, Playboy) or moving to web distribution only (e.g., PC Magazine, Blender).  However, as the majority of traditional media organizations struggle to find ways to remain relevant and profitable, one brand has remained strong despite the shift in consumer media consumption habits.  That brand is The Economist whose advertising revenue was up in 2008 and print circulation numbers have remained fairly steady over the past several years (via The Atlantic Online).

How has The Economist remained relevant as other media organizations have lost their way?  Simple — niche and focus.

First, The Economist is written in a manner that appeals to a niche audience rather than for the masses.  In the digital world, people can find very specific content through Web searches (albeit, the search process could take a significant amount of time).  These days, people have less patience to accept and consume content that is written with broad appeal in mind.  They want content that is meaningful to them,  and they spend less time on the “extras” that non-niche publications provide.  For example, why should a person read through an entire entertainment magazine when they really only care about one singer or actor?  It’s faster and more satisfying to go to the sources where that person can find a wealth of highly relevant information than to leaf through the many irrelevant pages of a broad appeal periodical.  Most often, that source these days is online, but a few traditional newspapers and magazines continue to survive using niche audience strategies.

The Economist also syndicates its blog content through Newstex, which gets its content directly in front of niche audiences who are looking for the authoritative content that The Economist delivers.  Unlike other publications that push their content across a myriad of sites on the Internet, The Economist has chosen a more focused distribution approach that caters directly to the niche audience they know finds it useful. 

Which leads us to the second part of The Economist’s strategy…

Second, The Economist has a narrow focus — far more so than many of its competitor magazines.  In marketing theory, the law of contraction tells us that a brand will be stronger if it contracts rather than expands because doing so gives it a narrower focus.  A wide, everything to everyone focus actually weakens a brand.  By focusing on what you do best and delivering the best with every customer interaction, your brand will grow stronger organically, and organic growth is much stronger than artificial growth.

There has been so much buzz both online and offline about the fate of newpapers and printed periodicals of late.  Let’s hope there will be room for both in the 21st century.  However, there are lessons to learn from The Economist for both offline and digital content publishers: find your niche and focus on it through a variety of digital touchpoints such as blogs, video, and more.

Image: Flickr

The Truth about Blog and Twitter Syndication is available at the lowest price point available through Amazon Kindle, $0.99, which includes free wireless delivery.  You can follow the link to download the ebook for your Amazon Kindle. 

You don’t need to have an Amazon Kindle to read The Truth about Blog and Twitter Syndication.  If you’d prefer, you can view the free ebook here.

There are a number of Twitter video apps available offering a variety of features and functions (some far more than others), but I chose the two that seem to be leading the pack these days to highlight.

TwitVid.io

TwitVid.io is fairly new but offers a lot of features.  You can upload your online videos directly from your computer, via email from your mobile phone, or you can record them from a webcam.  You can upload videos up to 1 GB or 20 minutes in length.  The site is very easy to use and also includes links to uploaded videos that are popular or that have been uploaded recently.  You can also retweet videos directly from the TwitVid.io site.

TwitLens

TwitLens allows users to upload videos from their computers or via their mobile phones.  Videos can be a maximum of 50 MB, and you can upload multiple videos at the same time (a big time saver).  TwitLens also allows you to tag the people in your video and notifies them via Twitter that they’ve been tagged, making sharing even easier!

You can also share videos on Twitter with these Twitter apps:

• Tweetube
• Greetter
• Twitc
• Twiddeo
• 2Tweet
• 12seconds
• TwitterShare

Have you read the free ebook from Newstex, The Truth about Blog and Twitter Syndication, yet?  You can download it here (no registration required).

GlobalPost is a new media leader combining the best of traditional news and new media by forging a new type of news site.  GlobalPost was built by veteran journalists who came from top news organizations such as Hearst, Tribune, New York Times, and major media backgrounds.  The site has grown into a major international news site, linked and sourced regularly by numerous leading news organizations, and is a backbone wire feed for major news outlets around the world.

What makes GlobalPost unique?  Take a look at some of the highlights of the GlobalPost business model:

• More than 65 correspondents/writers covering over 45 countries (see the map below for correspondent locations - they live where the work)
• Independent, objective coverage with “ground truth” — stories are written by in-country professional journalists
• In-depth analysis of important global issues by professional journalists
• Web-based business model
• International syndication service available in print and online
• Free content as well as additional premium content available by subscription

GlobalPost has 3-part a mission:

1. “GlobalPost is embarking on a bold journey to redefine international news for the digital age.  To get there, GlobalPost is relying on the enduring values of great journalism: integrity, accuracy, independence and powerful storytelling.”
2. “GlobalPost follows no political line.  GlobalPost encourages its correspondents to write with a strong voice and to work hard to unearth facts, but we leave opinion on the opinion pages.”
3. “GlobalPost is proud to be an American news organization with a decidedly American voice.  We also intend to seek out and tell the truth as we find it.  To quote the great American newsman and foreign correspondent Edward R. Murrow, we aspire always to report the news “without fear or favor.”

Sound interesting?  It is.  That’s why Newstex is very happy to be partnering with GlobalPost to syndicate GlobalPost’s Authoritative Content to end-user customers around the world who need access to quality content from top sources.  

You can learn more about GlobalPost in the Newstex Publisher INsider, and be sure to check out the GlobalPost website.

But what does licensed blog syndication mean, and how can it help bloggers? What makes it different from other kinds of syndication?

A new FREE ebook from Newstex, The Truth about Blog Syndication, makes sense of all the myths, confusion, and hearsay about blog syndication.

For example, did you know that there are three primary syndication models and they all affect bloggers differently? The truth of the matter is simple — blog syndication offers a variety of benefits to bloggers, but first you need to understand what those syndication models are and weed through the rumors to get to what’s real.

You can download The Truth about Blog Syndication here. Feel free to share it, tweet it, link to it, blog about it, and talk about it.

The only way that people will really understand the truth about blog syndication is by learning the facts first.

If you have any questions about blog syndication or licensing your blog content for syndication through Newstex, contact Newstex today.

Click to View Free eBook - The Truth about Blog Syndication