Free Range Content Unveils New WordPress Plugin and Monetization Features for Repost.Us
By Rile at July 1, 2011 | 10:21 am | Print
Free Range Content Unveils New WordPress Plugin and Monetization Features for Repost.Us
Most online content publishers, from bloggers to large media outlets, want to make money and unfortunately, the wide-open Internet has made turning a profit and ensuring proper attribution hard to do.
Since its launch in March 2011, Repost.Us has helped online content publishers instantly monetize digital content and automate online syndication by making articles and stories embeddable – just like video.
On June 21, Free Range Content, Inc., the creators of Repost.Us, announced two new capabilities that make monetizing digital content easier and more affordable than ever.
And as a way to spur interest in these new capabilities, Free Range Content will be giving bloggers and publishers who install Repost.US between June 21st and July 31st – sites must keep Repost.Us operational for at least 30 days to qualify – a $10 gift certificate to ThinkGeek, the online store that serves those who are passionate about technology and the internet.
VisionWiz interviewed John Pettitt, CEO of Free Range Content, about Repost.Us and its new capabilities.
Who cares about this and why?
Publishers and content creators of every size deploy Repost.Us to instantly monetize their digital work, automate online syndication and find new opportunities to increase their reach and revenue.
Can you explain what this new service is trying to do?
Repost.Us manages the entire content syndication and monetization process – from formatting content for the syndication site and advertising delivery to direct payments and tracking impressions.
What is the key technology enabling the company’s product or service?
The core of the Repost.Us platform is the syndication engine that loads content from the publisher, dynamically reformats it, and, if desired, inserts advertising and delivers it to readers on demand via a simple embed code.
Last week Repost.Us introduced a new monetization model through Amazon Payments that establishes tiered pricing for the syndication of content and rolled out a new WordPress plugin that makes adding Repost.Us to self-hosted WordPress sites even easier.
Publishers and bloggers can now choose pricing based on impression or page-view limits or simply set a flat fee for syndication. Existing monetization models include network advertisements served by Repost.Us as well as a publisher’s advertisement inventory served with syndicated content. Publishers may also choose free distribution to improve their reach.
How does the technology work?
Repost.Us removes the need to call for permission every time you want to republish an article and in doing so opens up a huge and currently untapped market for content syndication.
It’s New Payment Options:
• Allows customers to purchase single articles for as little as $1.00 – unlike most syndication deals which require a package or subscription to be purchased.
• Allows publishers to establish either a flat fee or tiered pricing bands based on impression limits for content syndication.
• Accepts all major credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers and Amazon account transfers.
• Gives customers a seamless, intuitive experience during the payment process.
• Offers full technical support for both publishers and customers (syndicators).
It’s New WordPress Plugin:
• Delivers site owners more flexibility over which content can and cannot be syndicated.
• Makes adding by-lines to Repost.Us-enabled content extremely easy to do.
• Simplifies installation with plug ‘n’ play components.
• Makes it easy to select the choice and location of Repost.Us buttons.
During the host setup, publishers can simply click the “Install our WordPress plugin” link, which provides the API key required for the Repost.Us settings page. Once the API key is obtained, publishers only need to download the plug-in and follow the simple installation instructions.
In what year was the company founded?
Free Range Content was founded in January 2010. Repost.Us, a product of Free Range Content, launched March 1, 2011.
How many employees do you have?
There are currently 6 full-time employees at Free Range Content, Inc.
What’s the background of the founders?
Repost.Us is a product from Free Range Content, Inc. – the creators of screen-clipping tool Curate.Us. The company is led by CEO John Pettitt, founder of Cybersource and the original Beyond.com. The Repost.Us team has 70 years of engineering and 60 years of content creation and publishing experience cumulatively.
Who is your ideal user?
The ideal customers for Repost.Us are content creators, ranging from small bloggers to large-scale publishers, who seek to distribute their content beyond their own sites in a controlled, monetized way as well as bloggers and publishers who want to syndicate quality content to their sites.
What is the size of the market you are aiming for?
Content syndication is a billion-dollar business for incumbents already in the field, such as wire services and rights clearance centers. However, these businesses ignore most small- to medium-sized publishers, which represents a large, untapped market. Furthermore, nobody currently in the field offers a delivery mechanism for syndicated content.
Who are your competitors?
Copyright Clearance Center, Associated Press, Vertical Acuity, Publish 2, and Amplify.
Briefly explain why the company’s product or service is better than what rivals offer.
Repost.Us is the only full end-to-end content syndication solution that monetizes content and manages delivering content to readers in way that’s friendly to the publishers search rank and that guarantees content integrity.
What’s the evidence of traction? What numbers or other evidence can you provide to show that the company is succeeding? What is its next milestone?
Repost.Us customers include influential media and publishing partners including:
• The Bay Citizen – a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to fact-based, independent reporting on civic and community issues in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• IowaWatch.org – the publication of the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news service.
• Spot.Us – a community-powered journalism site that supports independent reporters across the country.
• Important Media – a network of 17 sites, each dedicated to a niche topic within the realms of nature, civilization, community, society, and creativity.
• MoneyTalksNews.com – a site dedicated to financial news and advice, particularly stories on saving more, spending less, investing, and avoiding debt.
Who are your investors?
Free Range Content is privately held and self-funded.
How much funding have you raised to date, across how many rounds? When was the most recent one?
Repost.Us has been funded by its founder and parent company, Free Range Content, and we are actively in the process of raising a Series A round of funding.
By
Riley McderMid has worked for The New York Times as syndicated reporter where she covered venture capital funding trends across Silicon Valley and the larger start-up community.
In past, she has worked for Markets MediaDeputy Editor, New York. And, also worked for MarketWatch as investment banking reporter where she covered investment banking and private equity trends
