Information is one of the most valuable commodities we have today. If I can tell you how to make $1 million in only 8 weeks, you’d probably be willing to pay me quite a bit of money for that information. If I offered to tell you yesterday’s news headlines, you’d probably go right back to what you were doing and wouldn’t even bother to read what I have to say.

But many information providers today are providing the equivalent of yesterday’s headlines at a time when people expect more. A rehash of what has already happened or information that can be obtained from a dozen other sources won’t cut it either.

That’s why niche information publishing is alive and well today, whether it’s online or in print. Niche publishers are providing specific information that can’t be found anywhere else.

In just the last few years, I’ve worked on some very successful B2B print newsletters covering credit unions for CEOs, auto retailing for car dealers, regulatory changes for bank presidents and compliance officers and compliance regulations for Investment Advisors to name just a few. For some of those publications, we charged as much as $1,595 for a weekly publication. Yet, magazines and newspapers struggle to give away their content. Why?

Why can some publishers charge $1,595 for their publication and others can’t even seem to give it away?

It’s obviously not the price. And it’s not just a phenomenon among B2B publications. I’ve worked on B2C newsletters such as a group that covers alternative health for senior citizens who want better information about how to take care of their aches and pains using natural medicine. We charged as little as $19.95 for a weekly publication and made 3-4 times that among the most loyal subscribers on back-end products like books, reports, vitamins and supplements.

So obviously cheaper is not the answer either to the question. The answer is content. The content found in mainstream, print media is holding on to the notion that reporting on what just happened and having it come from a “reputable” paper is enough. Wrong! That’s not enough. Not in an age where we can get just the information we want from a variety of channels including e-zines, blogs. Videos, RSS feeds and even email. Oh, and we can still get the information we “should know” from CNN.com, NYTimes.com, wsj.com and WashingtonPost.com.

The key is to develop content for your audience that separates you from the rest and is valuable enough that people will want to pay you for it. Here then are my 6 tips that have helped me generate 85% renewal rates on some publications and helped me turnaround more than a dozen struggling publications that have gone on to make millions of dollars in profits.

6 steps to create great content

Step #1: You must have a killer story idea to begin. I often required our writers/editors to come to the story meeting with the first paragraph written out as they see the story. Often, it wasn’t great at that point, but by discussing the topic we could usually come up with a great idea and if not, we knew then and there we had to come up with a better lead story. It’s important to have the writers come to the story conference with the lead paragraph already written because you want them to really give some thought to how they see that story shaping up.

Step #2: Every article should answer the question: What’s In it For the Reader (WIFR)? In fact, the lead paragraph will often answer that question. If the answer isn’t in the first paragraph, it should be no farther down than the third or fifth paragraph depending on the length of the article. Every article should have a reason why the writer is saying this is so important that you should not only take the time to read it, but pay me to read it. In order to answer that question, the article has to be writer to the reader and for the reader – not for anyone else. Notice in the newsletter publications I discussed earlier and who I said they were for – credit union CEOs, bank compliance officers, and auto dealers. Not only is each written for a niche industry, but they are written to and for a specific position in that industry. Every article must be written with that person in mind.

Step #3: What can you do to keep your readers’ interest? Every publisher worth the ink or HTML code needed to produce the content is going to make sure he’s doing steps 1 and 2. So what can you do to make your articles stand out from the rest? If your publication and a competitor’s publication are sitting on a desk or coffee table, what are you going to do to make sure the reader picks up yours first – and not put it down right away?! Can you take a contrarian stand? Can you invoke some controversy by pitting two sources against each other? Like my friend and client Jon Goldman (www.BrandLauncher.com) asks: “Where can you zig where the others zag?” What unique angle can you have? Are there unique sources or ideas you can bring into the article?

Step #4: What sources or anecdotes will you use to make the story come alive? A story is only as good as the ideas within the story. These stories within the story often come from other sources or from anecdotes that help paint a picture. For instance, I just finished working with the writers of US News and World Report’s new car review site, and unlike most other car review sites, it’s entirely based on other sources. The articles are packed with terrific car buying information that is brought to life with anecdotes and comments from other reviewers.

Step #5: Create compelling copy. This is often where I see writers, editors and even publishers get lazy. It’s not enough to just put the information together. It’s got to be compelling. It has to grab you and keep hold of you so you find yourself so involved that anything else would be a rude, irritating disruption. Will every story do that? Of course not. But it’s something your writers and editors should strive for every time! Like I often say, it’s an art, not a science and so therefore it should be an art that is constantly practiced. That’s why I always look for talented writers who care about producing great content first. You can teach the subject matter. That will come. The care and dedication needed to produce great content is something you can’t teach – and great content will always win in a competitive market.

Step #6: Write strong, intriguing headlines and subheads. I mention this last for a reason. All the steps in fact are listed in order of how they should be approached. But it’s important to save the headline writing and subheads for last. I don’t know how many times I found the headline in the lead -- or worse, it’s buried at the end of the article. I’ll have more to say about writing great headlines at another time (that’s a whole separate column), but a good headline should grab you, intrigue and tell you why it’s so important that you stop everything you’re doing to read the article. Subheads should not be overlooked, either. I’ve often found them to be more of notes to the writer as a form of an outline to break up thoughts. Wrong! The subhead is a tool to keep the reader engaged in the article and in some cases, pull the reader into the article so they must include a benefit. They too must answer the question: What’s In it For Me?

Use those 6 steps and I guarantee you’ll come away with great content, higher renewals and better profits as a result.

Call me today to find out how I can apply these money-making strategies and more to your business.