I recently discussed how creators can provide value to their audience by engaging in content arbitrage. In order to do that, you’re going to have to find suitable material. Now you may think this is no big deal–after all, you probably perform dozens of searches each day. But while your regular search engine can certainly help you find worthwhile material, it needn’t be the only tool in your arsenal. Information databases such as LexisNexis and ProQuest can be an excellent way for you to discover high-quality opportunities for content arbitrage.

What is content arbitrage?

Arbitrage is the act of purchasing something in one market for a lower price and then reselling it elsewhere for a higher price. But for content creators, arbitrage can be thought of as a form of recycling. It can take three main forms:

• Curation is when you take pieces of information and consolidate them into something new. 
• Summarizing is when you condense and repurpose information from another source. 
• Translation is when you take material from one context and repackage it for a different audience.

We often think of content arbitrage as something we do with external information. For example, you might take statistics from several different publications and make them into a listicle. But your own body of work likely provides numerous opportunities for this kind of recycling. Perhaps you have several different posts on a related theme that could be refashioned into an ebook or a white paper. Or maybe one of your social media posts could be expanded into a full blog post. 

What are information databases?

One of the downsides of searching on the open web is that you sometimes have to wade through a ton of sketchy results to find something that’s trustworthy and useful. Between ever more intrusive advertising and SEO manipulation, search results can be a real mess. Luckily, there are information databases such as LexisNexis and ProQuest. These subscription-only platforms offer a curated collection of information. If the open web is a chaotic jungle, information databases are elegant greenhouses that only grow the choicest flowers.

Information databases are indispensable tools for researchers across a wide variety of disciplines. From the C-suite to journalists, countless professionals depend on these services to do their jobs. Because everything that appears in an information database is carefully vetted, they don’t have to waste time weeding out clutter and can devote more time to the things that matter. 

One thing to consider about information databases is that they’re only available by subscription. Unfortunately, many of them don’t offer individual subscriptions. However, many schools, libraries, and other institutions do subscribe to these services.  

How can information databases help with content arbitrage?

Needless to say, information databases can be a gold mine when it comes to content arbitrage. Not only do they offer higher-quality content, but they also have powerful search tools that make it easier than ever to find what you need.

Let’s say you run a blog about book publishing that’s aimed at new authors. You know that a lot of your readers are interested in social justice, so you look for content which explores issues of diversity in the publishing industry. You log into LexisNexis’s Nexis database and run a search which turns up a wealth of material, including articles about:

• The demographics of publishing.
• St. Martin’s Press being roasted for sending controversial items (including a sex toy) to influencers without their permission in a bid to promote a new book.
• The rising demand for LGBTQ+ romance novels.

While all of these pieces could be found through a normal web search, the fact that information databases provide a highly granular level of control over the process can be a massive advantage. Nexis even offers a dedicated facet that’s all about discovering trends and events. By targeting your queries with precision, you save yourself valuable time.  

There are several opportunities for content arbitrage here. You could:

• Take the statistics from the piece about demographics and make it into an infographic for your socials (curation).
• Use the St. Martin’s article as the basis of a discussion about the need for sensitivity when dealing with potentially contentious topics (summarizing). 
• Make a YouTube video in which you react to the burgeoning demand for LGBTQ+ content (translation).

In each case, you’re striving to meet the needs of your audience by giving them useful material in the format they prefer. You can also expose people to information that they might not otherwise see because it’s locked behind a paywall. Of course, this doesn’t give you carte blanche to blindly copy and paste this material. You should make sure you understand the basics of fair use and copyright law before attempting content arbitrage. 

Newstex can help others find your work

Just as information databases can be a great way for you to find opportunities for content arbitrage, they can also allow others to do the same with your work. But getting your content into one of these databases can be tough since they rarely strike deals with individual creators. 

Luckily, Newstex can help. We are a leading syndicator of authoritative content, and we have strong relationships with major players such as LexisNexis, ProQuest, and Thomson Reuters Westlaw. They know us. They trust us. They bring in the content we provide. If you want to contribute to the informational ecosystem through content arbitrage, partnering with Newstex is the way to go. Interested? Click here to get started.

Information databases make content arbitrage easy

Content arbitrage is an essential part of a creator’s toolkit. By taking information from one context and reusing it elsewhere, you are doing your audience a huge favor. There’s so much information online that an individual cannot possibly hope to see everything that’s of interest to them. Content arbitrage helps you meet their needs by introducing them to content that might have otherwise slipped past them. Information databases can help you achieve this by offering an impressive suite of search tools that enable you to find what you’re looking for quickly and efficiently. But you want to make sure that others can find your work, too, and partnering with Newstex helps you reach the widest possible audience.