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UGC + Communities > Next Big Wave, I Launched a Course
UGC, Communities, and my New Reddit Leverage Course
Ewen Finser
June 05, 2024
Welcome to this week's issue of the Niche Media Publishing Newsletter.
Before getting started, be sure to subscribe to Newsletter Operator, a regular weekly open for me:
Ok, let’s get started with this week’s topics.
Is UGC + Community the Future of Digital Media?
Google doesn’t show ANY signs of rolling back their big boost to UGC.
As much as this is incredibly painful for indie publishers and bloggers, there’s opportunity here for those who can pivot.
The rise of communities
Not only Reddit has gained a crazy amount of visibility on Google (now at the level of ) since the Hidden Gems update in May 2023. “Small” communities have sprouted from search soil, too.
— Kevin_Indig (@Kevin_Indig)
8:34 AM • Jun 4, 2024
Let me double tap something that Kevin said real quick….
Reddit now gets as much traffic as Amazon. Full stop.
I don’t think everyone is keyed into the magnitude of this reality, yet.
For context, Amazon’s rapid growth from 2018>2021 gave birth to a massive boom of FBA businesses and then a deluge of Amazon aggregators….raising billions of dollars.
I don’t think the BIG money is on to it just yet. I DO think Reddit is uniquely suited to smaller brands and micro publishers…. right now.
It’s like the good old days of Google 10+ years ago.
This is me, screaming from the rooftops.
Which brings me to…
I’ve Launched a Course!
In an effort to ween our model from Google traffic, I’ve been testing any and every alternative traffic source…
I’ve had some success with Pinterest, Facebook, and Flipboard (so far), but the one that has OUTPERFORMED all of these by miles is… REDDIT.
So - for the first time in my life - I launched a course!
I’ve called the course “Reddit Leverage” and it covers the core ways I’m using Reddit for both traffic and direct monetization…
The thing is, ANY brand can leverage Reddit for traffic, brand awareness and sales…
In fact if you are NOT taking a serious swing with Reddit then you are really missing out.
Particularly if you are down and out because of recent Google updates, this is the CLOSEST thing to the Google playbook that is WORKING right now.
Think of Reddit as a Search proxy, but with bi-directional audience engagement.
In other words, intent based search traffic PLUS direct community and audience engagement!
I’ve launched this course FIRST to my list here and have 35 coupon codes available for 40% off here (lifetime pricing, even when I raise prices in the future). I’m actively expanding and adding modules as I test and apply new tactic and add case studies, but this pricing is locked in for my first customers.
I would love ANY feedback if you do sign up & will personally implement your requests and answer any questions.
Matching Tools to Traffic Sources
I am currently knees deep experimenting with all sorts of strategies to generate traffic and found it useful to start matching optimal tools > platforms:
Pinterest > PinGenerator & Blogtopin
Facebook > Strevio
Reddit > Semrush & Reddit Leverage (my course!)
Flipboard > PostPolish
Newsletters > Beehiiv & ConvertKit
Shopify > Bloggle
What’s Cool About Skool?
I’ve now heard Skool referenced by two friends recently, Richard Patey (check out his Skool) and Paul Lemley (Pickleball Union Skool).
I’m really bullish on the next generation of community + learning + discussion based platfroms… so Skool has me intrigued.
In the age of AI, “raising the drawbridges” (I’ve discussed previously) nests well with the rise of forums and community platforms.
As much as I love the email / newsletter play, a forum or community platform is ALSO a list based business model. You typically need an email to sign up to these communities.
I’m going to be doing more research on Skool specifically, stay tuned!
Other Things I Read Recently
These are some articles I enjoyed, but don’t really have anything to add to!
(Reddit in Search update) Google has started to show recent Reddit posts in Knowledge Panels.
(1/3) 🧵
Note - In the screenshot below, the post was not made by the person mentioned. Instead it was posted by someone else in the subreddit.
I think that it would be interesting to… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Gagan Ghotra (@gaganghotra_)
1:21 AM • Jun 2, 2024
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If you are operating a newsletter (or even just interested), this next one is one of my “must opens” every week:
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OK, that's it for this week...
Please do reply to this email with any feedback or suggestions.
Ewen