For online content publishers, content syndication is a great way to expand your reach, build your reputation, and possibly make money. Similar to how television shows and radio programs can be syndicated to different networks and stations, your digital content can be syndicated through a variety of distributors. 

Sounds great, right? It is, but there are different types of content syndication to consider. Before you decide to syndicate the content you’ve worked hard to create, you need to understand the available syndication models and how they can benefit you. 

What is content syndication?

There are three main types of content syndication:

1. Licensed content syndication

Through the licensed content syndication model, content publishers give distributors permission to provide their content to one or more end users. Publishers retain ownership of their content and control where their content is syndicated. Distributors pay a fee to provide that content to their end users, and publishers receive a portion of that fee when end users access their content.

What does that mean? Let’s break it down:

Publishers

In this case, a publisher is anyone who creates and publishes content online. Each content distributor will have their own requirements for the type of digital content they’ll syndicate. 

Newstex licenses and syndicates authoritative content from a wide variety of online publishers who write high-quality content about a range of topics, including business, law, finance, science, technology, news, and politics

Distributors

As the name implies, distributors provide content to end-user audiences such as corporations, government agencies, research groups, academic libraries, financial institutions, and media organizations. They can use either subscription-based information databases or a combination of subscription and open-web content marketplaces.

Newstex works with numerous syndicated content distributors to help authoritative content publishers reach key audiences, including well-known brands like LexisNexis, Moody’s NewsEdge.com, ProQuest, Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters WestLaw, Industry Dive’s studioID, SyndiGate, and more. 

Licensed

As the creator, content publishers own the copyright to all of their content. Under US law, this is true even if you haven’t formally filed for copyright protection with the US Patent and Trademark Office (although obtaining formal protection does offer additional benefits).

Digital content publishers who syndicate their content through Newstex sign a license agreement that gives Newstex permission to syndicate the content to its distributor partners in exchange for fees that are generated when the content is accessed by end users. This agreement explicitly states that publishers own and retain all copyrights to their content. The license agreement is non-exclusive and can be terminated at any time.

Newstex

It would be extremely difficult for publishers to approach distributors like LexisNexis or Thomson Reuters WestLaw and successfully get their content syndicated through those channels. That’s where Newstex comes into the picture. 

These brands know that Newstex can provide them with the authoritative content their end users are looking for. Newstex also manages contracts, payments, and more, so publishers and distributors can focus on creating and sharing authoritative content.

Authoritative content

Authoritative content is a term used by Newstex to refer to high-quality content, timely and newsworthy topics. It’s the type of content that many professional audiences need to do their jobs. 

Authoritative publishers produce content that is in-depth, updated frequently, and covers emerging topics that aren’t often discussed elsewhere. In addition, they often include the names of companies, organizations, brands, and notable individuals in their work. They’re creating content that matters.

2. Ad-supported content syndication

A content publisher who syndicates their digital content through ad-supported syndication is paid a portion of the revenue the distributor earns from the ads that appear with the publisher’s content. Publishers often have little or no control over where their content is distributed or which ads appear alongside their content. 

Typically, ad revenue is not generated unless the person viewing the content actually views the ad (impression-based advertising), clicks on the ad (pay-per-click advertising), or makes a purchase (affiliate advertising).

3. Free or bartered content syndication

With free or bartered content syndication, a publisher’s content is syndicated to end users through one or multiple websites, but they receive no monetary payment. This type of syndication rarely helps to expand a publisher’s audience and can create more problems than the small lift in exposure is worth. In addition, free aggregators can take-in your content and syndicate it without your permission.

Essential considerations for authoritative content publishers

If you publish high-quality, authoritative content, then you need to do some thinking before you jump into syndication. Here are some recommendations to help you make the best decisions.

Consider your goals

Step one is to think about your goals. Ask yourself: 

• Are you trying to expand your audience? 
• Do you want to get in front of hard-to-reach audiences? 
• Are you trying to monetize your content? 
• What are your long-term goals for publishing content?
• Is your content high-quality?

Research opportunities

Next, research opportunities for syndication using the model that matches your goals. If you publish authoritative content and want to reach professionals who need high-quality news and commentary (and you want to make some money from the content you publish), then licensed syndication through Newstex is likely your best choice. 

Some of the audiences who will read your content when you syndicate your content through Newstex include:

• Journalists
• Regulators
• Attorneys
• Corporate intelligence analysts
• Businesspeople
• Healthcare professionals
• Scholars
• Wall Street analysts
• Financial advisors
• And many more

Confirm ownership, non-exclusivity, and licensing details

Never agree to syndicate your content if you’re required to sign something that states you give up ownership of your content. You own the copyright as the creator, and syndication shouldn’t change that!

In addition, avoid syndicating your content through any distributor or partner who requires that you sign an exclusive deal. It’s your content, and you have the right to re-use, re-publish, and syndicate in any way that you want. Any syndication agreement you enter should be non-exclusive.

Finally, be aware of where your content appears, how it’s used, what it appears with, and where it’s used. If you don’t want your content distributed on the open web, make sure your syndication and/or distribution agreement allows you to prevent it from happening. Also, ask how the syndicator will enforce your wishes.

Ask about costs and earnings

If a content syndication opportunity requires that you pay something to participate, you should pass. You’re providing the content that you worked hard to create--you shouldn’t have to pay someone else to syndicate it. Instead, choose a syndication opportunity that is free, like licensed syndication through Newstex.

You should also check to see if you’ll earn money from the syndication providers you’re considering. With Newstex, you’ll earn a percentage of the distributor’s fee every time an end user accesses your content. 

On the other hand, ad-supported syndicators only pay you when someone views or clicks ads that are published with your content. They may even have to make a purchase via an ad link for you to see any revenue.

Even if content syndication does not generate much money for you, it will allow you to generate passive income from material you’ve already created. 

Benefits of licensed syndication for digital content publishers

Licensing your content through Newstex can help you:

• Get in front of hard-to-reach audiences
• Bolster your credibility
• Establish your expertise
• Earn passive income for the work you’ve already done

Remember, publishers who syndicate through Newstex retain full ownership and control of their content through a non-exclusive deal. At the same time, distributors can connect their end users to the content they want. Everyone wins!

Content syndication strategies for authoritative content

To help put all of this into perspective, we’re going to look at how different types of authoritative content creators might approach syndication. More specifically, we’ll be talking about avid amateurs, established voices, and seasoned professionals. Note that the following examples are all hypothetical.

Avid amateurs

For avid amateurs just starting out with content creation, a simple syndication strategy leveraging existing social media channels can be an effective way to expand reach to target audiences without overcomplicating the process. Careful selection of excerpts and information to share on each platform helps draw in readers.

Bruce has just started blogging about cryptocurrency. Although his day job is in sales, he’s been following the crypto scene since the very beginning, and he believes that his perspective as a knowledgeable layman can provide value to his readers. While his audience has grown steadily, Bruce hopes to accelerate its growth.

One easy way for him to get his content in front of more eyeballs is to share it with friends, family, and colleagues via his existing social media channels. But Bruce is savvy enough to realize that he should take a targeted approach instead of flooding every one of his socials with the same self-promotional content. Ultimately, he decides that he wants to reach out to young professionals who are enthusiastic about technology. This leads him to focus on LinkedIn and X since they can connect him with his target demographic. Also, Bruce uses these channels to find interesting new content. 

Bruce lets his LinkedIn followers know every time he updates his blog. But instead of just posting a link and calling it a day, he’s careful to accompany it with an informative excerpt that draws the reader in and makes them want to click through. Bruce does something similar on X, though the shorter character limit means he has to choose his words carefully to make the most of his limited space. But Bruce doesn’t just promote new posts on X. He also uses it to provide his audience with information that might not warrant a full post but is nevertheless likely to be interesting. 

This is a very basic form of syndication, but for a hobbyist like Bruce, its simplicity is arguably its biggest appeal. 

Established voices

Established content creators looking to level up their audience growth can pursue syndication of top-performing pieces on larger platforms. While more time-intensive, this approach provides control over which content is syndicated and helps build personal brand recognition with a wider audience.

Kai has been blogging about their experiences as a queer businessperson for several years. Until now, their audience expansion strategies have largely focused on social media platforms, and they feel that the time has come to take the next step. 

Kai decides to syndicate some of their best-performing content on a bigger platform. Kai ultimately decides to reach out to Business Insider since Kai knows that they will syndicate individual pieces. This way, they can show off their best work to a wide audience. While Kai’s approach is more labor-intensive than Bruce’s, they want to exercise control over how their content is used. Kai also believes that this form of syndication is a great way to build their personal brand.

Seasoned professionals

Experienced professionals with authority in their domain can benefit from more comprehensive syndication solutions that distribute their full body of work while retaining ownership. Partnerships with top distributors maximize reach to relevant professional audiences while enabling passive income from existing content.

Emmaline has established a reputation as one of the leading authorities on fusion power. She enjoys a large following, and she’s in high demand as a guest contributor for other publications. However, she’s eager to consolidate her professional readership and reach out to people who might not think to scour the blogosphere for fusion-related insights.

Emmaline decides to enter into a syndication agreement with Newstex. She likes the fact that she retains full ownership of her work, which means she’s free to use it however she sees fit. She knows that Newstex’s partnerships with leading distributors can help ensure that she’s reaching as many professionals as possible. The fact that Emmaline can syndicate all of her content in one fell swoop is also attractive since she won’t have to agonize over whether or not a given piece is worthy of syndication. And the icing on the cake is that she can potentially earn passive income from her existing body of work. 

Do’s and don’ts of content syndication

Do:

• Consider your goals and your audience
• Research different syndication options
• Make a list of questions to ask before signing any agreements
• Decide how much control you wish to have over the reuse of your content
• Be realistic–even if syndication doesn’t get you a million dollars or a million readers, it can still be beneficial

Don’t:

• Assume that the simplest option is the best option
• Make sure your syndication partner(s) properly acknowledge your work
• Assume that quantity is an indicator of quality

Your next steps to license your authoritative content for syndication through top distributors

Ready to put your authoritative content in front of hard-to-reach audiences? Whether you’re looking to expand your audience or simply generate some passive income, you can do it through Newstex licensed syndication. It’s easy to get set up! Contact us to get started.

Additional resources

• Content syndication platforms in 2024

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