Monetizable Content Curation Ideas and Examples - CM #20

Ideas and real-world examples. New interesting tools and resources. The age of directories (Premium subs only)

Hello, welcome to a new issue of Curation Monetized.

Today I am writing you under a ton of rain, probably like never before I have seen on this tiny island. Especially at this time of the year.

Unless you live on the beach, and walk along it, there’s no way you can reach any place on the island without having to immerse your legs into the water up to your calfs.

This island is in many ways still truly a primitive place.

No asphalt, no private cars, no sewage, no place for the water that falls from the sky to escape to.

A tropical sandbank with people living on it.

The livable part (the rest is a natural federal reserve) is a little strip of 2km by 5km, where you can go just about anywhere you want to, simply by walking.

At the two extremes, east and west you have pure nature, while in the center there is a village with shops, restaurants, little hotels.

I estimate a local population of less than 3K.

I love the island for its quite turquoise shallow warm waters and for its unique social life, made easy by the fact that everyone is walking around instead of being caged into a car.

Those who get to stay here more than a few days, are surprised by the number of people that wave and call out their name after they’ve met them just once.

Everyone seems to be having a good time and most people greet you with an open smile.

I don’t know how much longer this paradise is going to last (commercial interests are eating it out faster than one can realize), but for now this is the best place - for my present needs (sunshine, quiet, peaceful, friendly, easy) - that I have found on the map.

Come and visit if you can.

Enjoy.

Robin Good

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Curation Monetized Examples
*Database Catalog 2024*

I am preparing for the release of a premium database of 100 real-world examples of curation monetized businesses containing:

• 100+ Real Businesses that make a profit
  by curating and organizing existing info

• Business name & description

• Business model(s) used

• Publishing/payment platforms used

• Direct contacts

• more

+

• Top Curated Business Models

• List of associated biz opportunities

• Top 5 key trends in curation monetized

I have created this searchable catalog for:

• those in journalism and culture who want to better understand how content curation is evolving and becoming an emerging business model opportunity

• experts, indie entrepreneurs and startups looking to find ideas, inspiration and a viable approach to monetize their expertise, know-how and talent while creating useful resources.

Pricing:

• 100% free for Curation Monetized Premium subscribers.
  

• $49 for free subscribers - limited time.
  

• $99 for everyone else.
  

• Limited Time Offer:
  Reserve a copy now at a special pre-release price of $39
  

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Enjoy your reading.

Robin Good

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In this issue:

• Curation Monetized Business Ideas (1)

• Real-World Examples of Curation Monetized (1)

• Interesting New Tools & Resources (11)

for Premium subscribers only:

• ♛ The Age of Directories (3 videos)

• ♛ Curation Monetized Business Ideas (2)

• ♛ Real-World Examples of Curation Monetized (2)
  

Curation Monetized Business Ideas (1)

In this new section, I share monetizable business ideas that leverage curation to create value. *Find 2 more monetizable curated ideas in the Premium section.

1) Learn X with the Masters

Description:
Curate the best videos by famous academics, experts, scholars and independent researchers that explain a specific topic.

• Identify and link key passages and most important sections of the video

• Provide order and sequence.

• Provide introduction, context and commentary.

• Provide synthetic summary of transcription

• Organize into thematic collections and playlists.

• Sell as Guides / PDFs with links to the curated videos

Key Problems Solved:
Learning a topic from top experts and academics directly from home.
Having a course where there are many different experts presenting their ideas.
Getting access only to the key essential parts of their courses.

Monetization Options:

• Sell as information products, PDF guides

• Premium newsletter subscriptions.

• Sponsorship

Real-World Examples

• LeanVlog
  This is a small, little-known project but beyond what you can see on the linked landing page, it does bring in a slowly growing income. The author is a passionate expert in the field. He finds and collects great lean videos from others and complements any topic with his own clips, 100% created with simple tools. He makes money from YT ads (he has over 40K subs) and from curated bundles like the one here.

Curation Monetized Real-World Examples (1)

Catalog of Great Little-Known Films To Watch

A Good Movie To Watch
Catalog of high-rated, little-known films reviewed by independent critics.

Niche
Problem it solves: Finding great, little-known, hard-to-find films to watch.
Audience: Film fans.

Tech
WordPress

Business
Business Model: Affiliate Commissions.
Price: N/A
Sold via: N/A

Author(s)
Bilal Zouheir (founder)

Curator’s Job: Search, review and organize little-known, highly-rated films into searchable and well-categorized database.

Create / leverage tools/software to identify all the streaming platforms where each film can be seen and generate affiliate links to it.

Key Insights and Opportunities:
Insights:

• Makes money through affiliate commissions coming from ""cut-the-cord"" streaming services (which allow to view films, shows and sports without paying for a cable TV contract) that are promoted and linked throughout the website.

• Accepts user reviews.

• Lots of good content well organized

Opportunities:
Replicate approach and business model in other industries such as fashion, food, books and others. The basic strategy remains the same:

a. leverage one or more passionate curators to find and review little-known gems in a specific sector

b. organize the gems inside a database

c. let users access/buy/view the gems in the collection by utilizing - where possible - affiliate links that provide a commission.

Interesting Tools & Resources (11)

• Google Web Filter
  ”Google now offers ‘web’ search — and an AI opt-out button”
  Incredible but true, inside Google search results pages you have now a new filter next to Images, News, Videos and Maps. It’s called “Web” and it offers a clean page of results without additional Google generated info-boxes. Worth checking out.
  .

• Exa Search
  Alternative indie search engine leverages AI to optimize your search queries text to identify valuable content / resources / info on any topic. Great to find best [x] in your favorite interest area. Best books, videos, experts, tools and so on. More info. API.

  1000 requests/month free - Pro from $50/mo for 1K
  .

• Gather
  Smartphone app (iOS and Android) for archiving and curating your personal notes and image collections. Personal, private, local-first (works offline) to save, organize and curate anything that is of interest to you. Syncs to Are.na. The story behind it. Sign-up for updates.
  .

• Xbase
  Bookmark manager for X/Twitter (Web app + Chrome extension). Designed to help you tag, organize and find again interesting things that you find on Twitter. Allows you to create collections of your selected bookmarks and export/share them.
  $6/mo or $199/lifetime
  .

• TweetFinder
  From the same guys who build Xbase, this web app makes it easy to instantly find the most interesting and relevant tweets on any topic (even without having a X/Twitter account). Offers also keyword tracking and the ability to subscribe to new tweets via email
  $19.99/mo or $199/lifetime
  .

• DirectoryFast
  For curators/coders. NextJs boilerplate allows you to build web directories applications. It provides pre-built components and functionalities specific to directory websites such as user authentication, admin dashboard, listing management, ratings and reviews, collections, SEO optimization and more. It also includes monetization capabilities such as featured spots, affiliate links, and newsletter integration.
  $297-one time - example site: https://indiesread.it/
  .

• Feedle World
  A search engine for blogs and podcasts. Find what you are looking for across millions of blog posts and podcast episodes.
  100% free
  .

• SearchMySite
  Niche search engine focussing on the "indieweb", "small web" and "digital gardens", i.e. non-commercial content, primarily personal and independent websites.
  .

• Blogroll

  “a humanly curated list of fine personal & independent blogs that are updated regularly” by Ray
  .

• Ooh Directory
  A unique hand-curated collection of 2K+ blogs about every topic
  .

• Feedland,
  “a place to share and discover feeds” by Dave Winer. Web service for managing your list of RSS feeds, sharing them with other users. The goal of FeedLand is to make news a social thing, following the pattern of social media apps, but using open formats and protocols.

  100% free

N.B.: I have no interest, partnership or affiliation with any of the companies / services mentioned in this issue.

Readers Poll - Help me Improve this Newsletter

Thanks for providing your feedback and preferences. I am always curious to know how I can provide you with the most useful info on the topic of monetizing content curation.

If you have enjoyed this issue so far, please support this publication by clicking on the heart/like icon at the end or by sharing / forwarding to a friend who could appreciate it.

Robin Good

In the Premium Section:

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1) The Age of Directories (3 Videos)

“Search is the ultimate answer, but when there is too much to search, you need a directory.”

A growing number of indie entrepreneurs are looking at building directories.
Find out: why directories are coming of age again, the unique key visibility benefits directories offer and one solid business strategy that works across niches.

2) Curation Monetized: Business Ideas (2)

1. EduClips Archive

2. Cinephile Collection

3) Curation Monetized: Real World Examples (2)

1. Catalog of X Ready To Y

2. Reference Image Library for Z