I recently picked up a new magazine that featured beautiful photography and great writing. At home, I flipped through and spotted a story from David Sedaris. (Yeah!) But I had read it before. (Boo.) Some of the photos I realized I had seen before. The whole publication appeared to be licensed content. Not a bad thing, licensing content. Especially licensing great content, as this magazine did. But when you license everything ... you're not unique. In fact, you're a disappointment. And in the online world where new and original counts for so much -- traffic, word of mouth, popularity -- licensing a high percentage of nonexclusive content can hurt you. It may be the long way around, but imagine what we'd discover if we skip the shortcut to content and create something unique. Something innovative. Inspiring. Something that means something. Something with impact.
Shelly Bowen, MFA, is a content writer, content strategist, and founder of Pybop.
For decades, Shelly has written for businesses on complex topics from disease prevention and medical devices to alternative energy and leveraging data. Today, she's hyper-focused on supporting B-B technology businesses. In her spare time, she hikes, kayaks, draws, and works on her T-Bird.
A wide variety of brands rely on Shelly as an essential freelance writer and content strategy resource.
Follow Shelly on Instagram @pybop or connect on LinkedIn. More about Shelly and Pybop.
