Is it okay to use similar titles?

[MayMonten]

I have an article I posted here with the title "Top 5 Free Things to Do in New York City in February."

Would it be okay to do another article with the title "Top 5 Free Things to Do in New York City in March"? Maybe even do it as a series, one per month? And/or extend it to other cities -- "Top 5 Free Things to Do in [other city] in March"?

The actual content would be totally different in each article, as they would be mostly about date-dependent special events.

So would it be okay to use such a similar title, or would it be better to mix it up a bit, and say something like "The Best 5 Things..." or "Five Wonderful Things ..."

The article I already did is now offered only for usage rights. Would it make a difference if any of the future articles were for exclusive rights?

[aprilk10]

Sounds like a great idea May!

[MayMonten]

Thanks! So it would be okay to keep on using the same title, just changing the name of the month?

[aprilk10]

I won't guarantee it, but I don't see why not. I think the titles would have to match exactly in order for the title to come back on you. If you submit an article with a title that already exists, it simply will not let you submit and will give you a message that "this title already exists." As long as one word is different in each case, it should be fine.

Each article must be able to stand on its own though...meaning don't refer to one article in another. The articles must be done in a way that a client could purchase just one of them.

[MayMonten]

That helps. Thanks!

[jadedragon]

Sounds like a good string of articles - not a series because they each must stand alone. You could also do "10 Best Things to do in Spring in XYZ" combining the best ideas from the spring months. You could also extend it and do "...with Kids" or "... as a Single" Think long tail.

[aprilk10]

Just on a personal note, I wouldn't get overly date specific. For example, I wouldn't state that XYZ concert will be on April 22, 2011. Things that occur EVERY year at that time, or just things that would be good to do in that month and season would be good. If you get date specific though, you are limiting the sale to this year. Who knows? Maybe you can land a private request client with them who will in turn place request for specific dates. Just a thought...there is a repeat client that returns every month or so placing public orders for articles geared towards Orange County (I am thinking CA). These requests are generally things like "Things to do with your kids in the Fall in Orange County." I think it is mainly a family focus. I have never written anything for those requests though. Good Luck!

By the way, I notice we have May and April posting here...and the discussion is about months! Any Junes or Julys out there? (Sorry...kind of a cheesy joke I know)

[Judith]

LOL not too cheesy ... there is a new July under introduce yourself! And a good sharp cheese is good any month!

[MayMonten]

Sounds like a good string of articles - not a series because they each must stand alone. You could also do "10 Best Things to do in Spring in XYZ" combining the best ideas from the spring months. You could also extend it and do "...with Kids" or "... as a Single" Think long tail.

I had some questions about this, if you don't mind.

How much overlap can there be between articles?

For example, say I was offering all of these articles as Usage only:

Article #1 was "Things to do in March," and listed (1) Jump in a puddle, (2) Drink green beer, and (3) Buy a spring coat.

Article #2 was "Things to do in April," and listed (1) Fly a kite, (2) Pick a flower, and (3) Buy new sandals.

Article #3 was "Things to do in May," and listed (1) Elope, (2) Shop for a new bathing suit, and (3) Go on a diet.

So ... if I then wrote another article, "Best Things to Do in the Spring," could I include (1) Jump in a puddle, (2) Fly a kite, and (3) Elope -- along with the same descriptions I had used in the original month-by-month articles?

In other words, could I just cut and paste paragraphs (items AND their descriptions) from the original articles into the new ones?

Since all the articles are Usage Only, I assume that would be okay as far as my retaining the rights to do this. But what I'm wondering is whether the original customers -- the ones who bought "Things to do in March," "Things to do in April," etc -- would be annoyed to see that I was selling "Things to Do in the Spring" which contained pieces of the articles they had already bought?

Another question I had -- say that instead of selling the articles for Usage Only, I sold them for Unique or Full Rights. I know that in that case, I definitely couldn't duplicate entire paragraphs, but could I use the same events?

For example, using the same month-by-month articles as above, could I then write a "Things to Do in the Spring" article which included (1) Jump in a puddle, (2) Fly a kite, and (3) Elope -- the same ITEMS I had used earlier -- but with different descriptions??

Thanks!

P.S. Hi to April and July! Any Junes around? Also, thanks, everyone, for your great suggestions.

[jadedragon]

Sounds like a good string of articles - not a series because they each must stand alone. You could also do "10 Best Things to do in Spring in XYZ" combining the best ideas from the spring months. You could also extend it and do "...with Kids" or "... as a Single" Think long tail.

I had some questions about this, if you don't mind.

How much overlap can there be between articles?

For example, say I was offering all of these articles as Usage only:

Article #1 was "Things to do in March," and listed (1) Jump in a puddle, (2) Drink green beer, and (3) Buy a spring coat.

Article #2 was "Things to do in April," and listed (1) Fly a kite, (2) Pick a flower, and (3) Buy new sandals.

Article #3 was "Things to do in May," and listed (1) Elope, (2) Shop for a new bathing suit, and (3) Go on a diet.

So ... if I then wrote another article, "Best Things to Do in the Spring," could I include (1) Jump in a puddle, (2) Fly a kite, and (3) Elope -- along with the same descriptions I had used in the original month-by-month articles?
In other words, could I just cut and paste paragraphs (items AND their descriptions) from the original articles into the new ones?

Given that you are selling Usage only, I think so.

Since all the articles are Usage Only, I assume that would be okay as far as my retaining the rights to do this. But what I'm wondering is whether the original customers -- the ones who bought "Things to do in March," "Things to do in April," etc -- would be annoyed to see that I was selling "Things to Do in the Spring" which contained pieces of the articles they had already bought?

Maybe, but they are only buying usage. You could do this in reverse too. Say you wrote a 5 chapter guide and than broke it into 5 stand alone articles for usage sale.

Another question I had -- say that instead of selling the articles for Usage Only, I sold them for Unique or Full Rights. I know that in that case, I definitely couldn't duplicate entire paragraphs, but could I use the same events?

For example, using the same month-by-month articles as above, could I then write a "Things to Do in the Spring" article which included (1) Jump in a puddle, (2) Fly a kite, and (3) Elope -- the same ITEMS I had used earlier -- but with different descriptions??

Without a doubt. Think about instructive articles. If there are 5 steps to set up a computer program you need to be able to write those 5 steps in various ways.

[Celeste Stewart]

Since all the articles are Usage Only, I assume that would be okay as far as my retaining the rights to do this. But what I'm wondering is whether the original customers -- the ones who bought "Things to do in March," "Things to do in April," etc -- would be annoyed to see that I was selling "Things to Do in the Spring" which contained pieces of the articles they had already bought?

If customers buy full rights, you can't take paragraphs from those articles - you sold the rights to those paragraphs and no longer have the right to do that. So, yes, they'd be annoyed. If the original customers bought usage rights, they might not be annoyed unless they bought the next article in the series. Then, they'd probably be annoyed. So, I'd avoid going too crazy because some customers may want to buy more than one in the series.

If you're planning on going usage only across the board, then technically you'd be able to copy and paste the occasional paragraph. I'd avoid being too aggressive with this strategy on CC as I recall the editors frowning on this in the past. That said, there's no reason you can't write about a given activity many times in many different ways. For example, if you write about kite flying, it doesn't mean that topic's off limits in the future. Just try a fresh approach. If the first one talks about going to the park and flying a kite, have the second one talk about making homemade kites with the kids or attending a kite fighting contest.

Try to mix it up so that your "Things to do in Spring" isn't just a reguritated "Things to do in March" version with all the same topics and angles.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

I agree with Celeste that while you COULD just copy and paste if you're doing usage only across the board, that would weaken your product overall. First, it sounds like there are items that are ONLY available in a certain month. For example, in my area the Strawberry Festival is always in May. Putting it in an article about spring is a little awkward since it isn't available all spring long. Whereas activities like picking wildflowers, taking a nature hike, going on a picnic at XYZ park by the river are all available all spring long. Now you could have a sub-heading "Produce Festivals" and talk about common produce festivals in the spring...etc. I would still suggest though putting a different spin if you do include the same activities in a monthly/seasonal article.

For what it's worth, my article "Fun Springtime Activities for Families with Kids" has sold usage 3 times for $10. I posted it in 2008, and it is also on other revenue sharing sites. Not too bad for a 700 word article.

[jadedragon]

My opinion is based on what would be technically permissible. The advisability of it is another matter.

[MayMonten]

Yeah, I was asking about the advisability. I think I understand the technical part, but what I don't know is the advisability in terms of the Constant Content "culture." I don't want to annoy customers who might become repeat customers, but I also don't want to overlook possibilities for getting more mileage out of my research.

The events I'm actually using are usually more specific than the ones I gave in my example above. For example, an actual event I used in the "Things to Do in February in NY" article was the Chinese New Year's Day parade. I understand that in the grand scheme of things, there are many different angles I could take to writing about the Chinese New Years -- but following up on the original suggestion I was given above that I could spin off a "Things to Do in Spring" article from the monthly articles, it's a question of can I list the same event in two different articles ("Things to do in March ..." and "Things to Do in the Spring ...") if both articles were to be the same type of event-listing articles (containing lists of events with short descriptions of the events)?

(I also haven't decided yet whether I want to do all of this Use only, or offer a mix of rights, which is why I've been asking about different scenarios.)

Thanks again for your help.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Well here's one way to look at it... what if the same customer bought "Things To Do in NY in Feb" and "Things To Do in NY in Winter" and realized there were large chunks of the exact same text? How would the buyer's readers react? That's why we say it is always best to change up the copy, even if you are only asking for Usage rights, because that's what is in the best interest of the buyer. We may all be writers here, but if no one buys, no one eats...