Is Automatic Content Creation a Smart Idea?
Is Automatic Content Creation a Smart Idea?
I am going to sum up in one word whether automatic content creation is a smart idea. Are you ready? Here is the word:
NO!
I get wanting to save time. We are all busy and let’s face it, content creation takes time. It is enticing when someone comes along with a solution that can do it all for you.
If you have been trying to make money on the internet for any length of time, you probably have already tried an automated scheme or two. If you had, did it work for you? I am going out on a limb and state that it hasn’t. If it has, you probably won’t even consider reading this article. Why would you need to?
If you are new to the make money online world, take it from one who has tried many of these crazy automated schemes. They don’t work. Perhaps one day well into the future, someone may find a way to make them work. As of now though, you’re looking for trouble if you use them.
Scheme #1 – Copy from Others
The first type of scheme is to pull content from other websites. Before Google flagged article directories for duplicate content, this scheme actually worked. You could grab related articles from these directories and include them on your website. It was all about back links in those days.
Smart marketers developed automated systems that pull from these article directories and posted them directly on your website. It was usually in the form of a software package that you paid for. Sometimes the payment was a monthly payment. Other times, it was a one-time fee.
Google caught onto this game and changed its algorithm to penalize article directories. Anyone else who used duplicate content would also receive a penalty. Directories that had a page rank of 7 or 8 suddenly found themselves disappearing from search results completely. Article marketing died at that point.
Scheme #2 – Article Spinners
Another form of automatic content creation is content spinners. The concept behind this is to create variations on phrases, or even paragraphs. You specify to the software what words or sentences should be replaced and the software replaces several variations for you. You can spin hundreds of these variations.
The biggest problem with these variations is they read like garbage. Good luck trying to get readers to accept them. What’s worse is hack writers would pass off spun content to their clients, without revising the results of the spun content. This gave all writers a bad name. Clients are extra vigilant when looking for writers.
Scheduling Content
Automatic content creation, a.k.a. programmatic content, should be avoided. However, once you have your content created, you can and should schedule it. In fact, you should set up an editorial calendar to make sure you are creating content on a regular basis. This calendar occurs before you write your content. It’s a plan that specify and follow to determine what is going to get published.
You have the flexibility of when you create the content from the calendar. Some like to create several pieces of content at once and then feed the finished results into the scheduler. Others like to create content on or before the due date and publish immediately. Others still, choose to do a combination of both.
Bear in mind that if you use automated scheduling tools for social media, you run the risk of getting your accounts banned. Some of the schedules work well but then users find that weeks and months worth of sharing and likes are out the window due to a ban. Some people get away with it for indefinite periods. However, it catches up to most people. Social media platforms have strict rules against this practice. For them, it removes the social aspect of social media.
Outsourcing
If you get others to create content for you, this is considered automated content in some sense. The end result is you ask someone to create content and they deliver. The difference is the results are going to be great when you pick someone capable of producing quality content. If it doesn’t work out, you can ditch your outsourcer early on and find someone better.
People are afraid to hire outsourcers because they heard horror stories from others who tried it. However, it doesn’t have to be scary. You just need to determine what you want to produce and set a price that makes sense.
You get what you pay for with content creation. If you are looking for writers to produce 500-word reports for $5, don’t be surprised if you spend much time correcting grammar or spelling errors. Revisions are probably non-existent. If you find great writers at these prices, they won’t be available at those prices forever. They WILL find much better rates somewhere else. Insisting on low rates will keep you forever chasing after good writers. Each time, you need to start the entire vetting process over. This will become your new full-time job.
When you find great content creation specialists and you pay them what they are worth, you will see a return on your investment. As long as your content strategy is sound, i.e., great research and an editorial calendar, your content is going to produce what you expected. If you don’t have a decent content strategy, learn how to create one or find a strategist who can do it for you. Otherwise, you will waste time and money on an outsourcer, irrespective of how good they are.
What Value Does Automatic Content Produce?
As mentioned, perhaps someday automatic content creation will have its day in the sun. It produces readable content that your visitors consume and love. However, we are nowhere near this time. Even if it happens someday, every blogger will start using it. Therefore, the value that it produces will probably be quite low. It’s hard to imagine that a machine can capture what people want to read. But, even so, when everyone jumps on the bandwagon, they will compete themselves out of existence.
