Ultimate Guide to Licensed Content

The
Ultimate Guide
to Licensing
Content
© 2014 NewsCred NewsCred.com l (212) 989-4100 l sales@newscred.com

© 2014 NewsCred 2
More so than
ever before,
marketers are using niche editorial content,
beautiful images, and engaging videos to
build engagement and customer acquisition
engines. By harnessing high quality content,
brands are able to generate leads, nurture
prospects, inspire peer-to-peer referrals, and
encourage repeat purchases.
Today, content is currency. To that end, there
are tens of millions of articles and videos that
circulate the Internet each day. Meanwhile,
consumers are busier than ever, and
frequently browsing the web via mobile while
on the go. All of these stories are competing
for the same sets of eyeballs. How can brands
stand out from cat memes, celebrity gossip
and sports news?
When it comes to content marketing, quality
reigns. Consumers don’t care whether
information is coming from a brand, published
novelist, or close acquaintance. They want to
learn something new, feel enlightened, and
stay connected to topics that they care about.
As you can probably imagine, this level of
quality requires a human touch. That’s why
top brands like Red Bull, Pepsi, American
Express, Dell, and Qualcomm have hired
agencies, teams of in-house journalists, and
freelance writers.
Brands need to invest significant time, budget,
and energy to produce content. Just one in-
depth, reported blog post can cost hundreds
of dollars to produce. Imagine what happens
when companies decide that they’re ready
to amplify their blogging efforts by 10X. For
brands facing significant cost and resource
constraints, it’s simply impossible.
Cutting costs on production is not the right
answer for content marketers who are
struggling to scale. When quality suffers,
so will the efficacy of your content strategy.
That’s where content licensing comes in. In
addition to producing new articles, you can
license high quality material from reputable
publishers. Content licensing will allow you to
amplify your content volume, scale content
production, and grow your audience in a
matter of days.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
» What licensed content is and how it can
help you achieve your marketing goals
» How to integrate licensed content into
your company’s marketing machine
» Which brands have mastered the
licensed & original content model
As well as the unique social mission behind
licensed content, which is reinvigorating
the journalism industry.

© 2014 NewsCred 3
How to Approach Licensing
TIme Inc. & Land Rover Watercooler
Getting Started
What is Licensed Content
Table of Contents
01
02
03
04

© 2014 NewsCred 4
01 What is Content Licensing?
What is Content
Licensing?
The Basics
Content licensing is a practice that stems
back to the earliest days of online media.
You’ve probably seen it happen with
television, newspapers, and magazines.
If you’ve ever purchased a stock photo,
for instance, you’ve purchased a license
to use that content. Even though you are
not the original content creator, you are
legally able to license that material in your
own marketing projects. The same concept
carries over to article and video content.
Content licensing is a legal agreement
between two parties known as licensees
and licensors. Licensees can purchase the
rights to republish content from a licensor.
Licensing is extremely versatile and allows
brands to repackage content into a variety
of forms across desktop and mobile
platforms.
With curated articles from CNN, HealthDay,
and The Washington Post, Blue Cross
Blue Shield delivers daily trending health
news across the issues their customers
care about most. An interactive feature,
the YouBar, allows patients drive their
experience, toggling between topics like
Fitness and Preventative Health.
For instance, Blue Cross Blue Shield BC/
BS Alabama licenses 12 articles daily, from
which they can handpick the most current,
relevant to distribute to customers and
visitors.
Since re-launching the Blue Cross Blue
Shield Alabama site with licensed content,
monthly page views have increased by
287% and unique visitors have increased
by 1776%.

© 2014 NewsCred 5
The Law
The Benefits
One of the core benefits of content licensing is
that it is 100% compliant with the law. Licensors
and licensees sign a written agreement that
clarifies ambiguities and protects the two
parties from potential litigation.
This protection is especially important in online
media, where copyright laws can sometimes
feel like a gray zone. Many times, marketers
will republish content without even realizing
that they’re exposing themselves to liability.
In the past, the rule of thumb was that using
a headline and first 300 words of an article is
fair use. This is a myth. For instance, the entire
article could be 350 words long.
In the Harper & Row case in 1985, The Nation
magazine reviewed Gerald Ford’s memoir and
only used 300 words of a 200,000 word book.
Using headlines and lead-in text is widely
practiced, but courts have yet to definitively
rule on the legality of it. It’s possible that
websites are receiving takedown requests for
this same practice. The Internet may be a new
multimedia channel, but copyright laws are
timeless.
Content licensing ensures that your brand
repurposes full-text articles and videos
ethically and legally. It is the only way to
avoid the risk of a lawsuit, takedown order,
Content licensing can add significant value
to your company’s brand strategy. When
starting out with content marketing, brands
are typically building their reputations and
content inventory from the ground up. Content
licensing can help accelerate this process
by allowing brands to instantly access a high
volume of articles and videos from trusted
publishers. Here is a breakdown of some of the
key benefits of content licensing:
1. Trusted sources bring balance
and credibility to content marketing
campaigns.
Anyone can write a blog post about how
great a product or company is, but in today’s
blogophilic culture, where anyone with a
computer can produce content, consumers are
naturally skeptical of what they read. According
to a study conducted by UCLA and HP, content
source is the number one predictor of social
sharing. In other words, an article from a
or fine that could severely impact your
brand reputation, industry relationships, and
customer operations.
trusted source will travel farther than a random
blog post. Licensing allows companies to align
their brands with The New York Times, Forbes,
Bloomberg, and The Washington Post.
2. Licensing helps brands scale their
content marketing campaigns to the
pace of the web.
As online social interactions continue to
accelerate, brands need to be able to keep
up with the volume of content that others are
producing and that readers want to consume.
Licensing reduces the reliance on a brand’s
newsroom. Content marketing campaigns can
be executed quickly and can adapt in real-time
to events as they happen.
3. High value content lives all in one
place.
A distinguishing feature of the licensed content
model is that videos and full-text articles live on
your site. When a user engages with an article
on your site, they don’t have to click away to
keep reading the article on the publisher’s
page. This also allows you to push content on
your social channels that drives straight back
to your site. Ultimately, the results are more site
traffic, more qualified leads, increased search
engine visibility, and greater ROI.

© 2014 NewsCred 6
4. You get more bang for your buck.
Compared to original and aggregated content,
licensed content is much more cost-effective
for brands. Original content produced in-house
or by freelancers is a valuable part of a brand’s
content marketing equation, but it is also costly
and time-intensive. By balancing original and
licensed content, you can fill your content
pipeline. Without licensed content, it may be
impossible to afford significant scale. Brands
may think that by licensing content and hosting
it on your content portal, you’re able to keep
users engaged on your website, longer.
5. It benefits the journalism industry
The journalism industry has been disrupted
by the digital revolution and many traditional
publishers have resorted to massive layoffs,
cutbacks, and reduced publication frequency.
Publications that license their content can
generate additional revenue each time a brand
licenses it. The licensing model is helping to
reinvent the business model for news and keep
high-quality sources afloat.
Difference in CostLicensedTypes Original
Basic Blog Post $25 $200 8x
$31 $325 10x
$38 $700 19x
Basic Reported Story
In-Depth Reported Story

© 2014 NewsCred 7
Content licensing can be as simple as two
companies approaching one another to sign
a deal. But here’s the problem. Publishers
and brands don’t have the bandwidth to
keep entering one-off agreements. Legal
approvals can take weeks, and license
negotiations can feel like pulling teeth.
If brands and publishers are not careful,
content licensing can pose a major pain
point. Think about it -- every time you
want to license an article or set of articles,
you’ll need to sign a new agreement and
negotiate a new rate.
This is the exact pain point that NewsCred
has solved through its software and
publisher relationships. NewsCred works
with publishers to license large volumes
Getting Started
with Licensed Content.
02 Getting Started with Licensed Content
of content -- these publishers include Forbes,
The Washington Post, Investopedia.com,
Business2Community and focused, industry
blogs. NewsCred is then able to sublicense this
content to its brand clients. Each publisher that
NewsCred works with receives a monthly check
for the content they license.
Publishers can license as much or as little
content as they’d like, without the need to
continuously sign agreements. Similarly, content
marketers can tap into an extensive inventory
of content from many different publishers.

© 2014 NewsCred 8
Technical Logistics
With scale comes the need for technology. It’s
easy to manually process content when you’re
searching through a set of 20 or 30 articles,
but the NewsCred system is more extensive.
It’s like walking into a public library - you’re not
going to be able to sort through every single
book manually. Instead, you need to rely on the
help of software.
NewsCred uses an application programming
interface (API) to help connect content
suppliers with content licensees. A brand’s
content management system is easily
integrated with an API such as NewsCred’s
to automatically extract videos and full-text
content. NewsCred clients can also use the
API to search for articles by specific authors,
keywords, curated topics, and sources. It’s
possible to filter through more than 100,000
articles a day to find the exact information that
you need.
NewsCred clients rely on a combination of
automation and editorial curation to find the
specific content that they need. In addition to
working with software, brand managers can
tap into the expertise of NewsCred’s team
of editorial strategists to curate new content.
Algorithms and machines can help with
identifying new content, but they can only take
you so far. It’s just as important to work with
people who can empathize with your brand’s
unique needs and voice.

© 2014 NewsCred 9
How to Approach Licensing
Licensing should adapt to your existing
content marketing plan. The best way to
figure out how licensed content fits into
your strategy is to look at your coverage
strengths and gaps. Which topics are you
covering well? Where are the gaps? What
is your existing vs. desired level of content
production? Licensed content can help
you bridge these gaps. Here are some steps
that you can take to figure out what types
of content to license.
1. Conduct an audit of your content strategy
by looking at the content that your brand
has already produced, as well as what is in
the pipeline. Group each piece of content
into a particular type or theme. For instance,
you can map content against each stage
of the sales funnel, or group content by
vertical, format, and audience.
2. Create a list of the topics that your
audience cares about. In an ideal world,
what information would your brand be able
to distribute? In which areas do you want
to become a thought leader? Consider
how frequently you would need to engage
your audience to accomplish this.
3. Examine the gaps between your lists in
#1 and #2. Which gaps can you fill with
original content production? Which are
outside the scope of your company’s
editorial or marketing team? The content
that you should but can’t produce is what you
should syndicate from reputable third parties.
Think of your content marketing plan like a
puzzle. Each piece is a facet of your content
strategy: original articles, videos, infographics,
licensed content and social media. Your
big picture goal is to drive leads and brand
awareness, and your success in doing so will
depend on how the pieces of the puzzle fit
together.
Your Options for Filling the Content Pipeline
In-house
editorial team
Freelancers Aggregation Guest bloggers
Brands hire their
own editorial
teams that are
solely dedicated to
producing content.
Journalists write
for brands and
bill by the article.
This model
involves brands
taking headlines
and excerpts from
other news sites
and blogs and
displaying snippets
of third-party
content on their
sites.
Even with another
content model
in place, guest
blogging is a
great way to show
reciprocity with
otehr content
creators, improve
SEO, and provide
a variety of opinions
and styles to your
blog or site.

© 2014 NewsCred 10
How Much to License?
The answer to this question is up to your
brand’s discretion. If you cannot produce any
original content, you may have no choice but
to license 100% of your content inventory.
You should, however, keep your content
portfolio as diverse as possible.
Start with your distribution strategy, and
reverse engineer your content production
and curation process.
Every brand has different licensing needs. If
you’re just starting your content marketing
program, you may not be able to devote
25% of your budget to original content
production. And if you’re just starting out,
you won’t have content to recycle. Licensing
may be your best (or only) option.
Why?Content Type
Amount to
Produce
Definition
25% Licensed Licensed content from reputable
publishers and topical experts
— Content created by in-house
marketing team and freelancers
—Can include articles, videos
and infographics
— Links to great content from
other companies in your brand’s
industry
—These links should be linked to
within your content and shared
via social media
—Note that you are not
repurposing this content on your
own blog or microsite
— Repurposed, original stories
that are pushed to the top of
your content queue
— Typically includes content
with a longer lifespan (i.e. not a
seasonal blog posts)
— Adds diversity to your content
portfolio
— Fills content coverage gaps
— Enables your brand to scale
production
—Aligns your brand with
reputable, trusted sources of
information
—Allows your brand to publish
new information in real-time
—Generates strong social media
value
— Positions brand as a source of
thought leadership and valuable
information
— Generates strong SEO and
social media value
— Can be directly tied with the
products and services of the
brand via case studies, product
snapshots, white papers, how-to
guides and announcements
— Content marketing is part
of a larger ecosystem. To get
distribution, you need to give
distribution
—Sharing content from other
reputable sources will help you
build relationships, thought
leadership, and authority in your
industry
— Increases the shelf-life of
evergreen content
— Gives content additional
potential for distribution via social
media
Original
Curated
Recycled
25%
25%
25%

© 2014 NewsCred 11
Content Marketing Goals
Content licensing should align with
your overall content marketing goals.
Brands should monitor success metrics
that are tied to their sales, revenue
and engagement cycles. Both licensed
and original content can be assessed
according to the same performance
benchmarks.
Metrics like social shares, page
impressions and search rankings need to
sync up with costs, revenues, profits and
pipelines. The following framework can
help you connect the dots.
02 Getting Started with Licensed Content02 Getting Started with Licensed Content
ConceptGoal Metrics
Reach, Brand
Awareness,
and Virality
Loyalty &
Engagement
Leads
Opportunity &
Mobility
Revenue
Are you effectively boosting
awareness about your brand?
Is your marketing generating
an echo effect that inspires
audiences to share your content
organically?
Do your customers trust what you
have to say, and are they coming
back for more information? Are
they sharing your content with
your networks of peers? Are they
valuing your brand’s content
above your competitors’?
Are your audiences interested
in taking the relationship a step
further and doing business with
your brand? Is your content
successful in guiding audiences
through the sales funnel?
— Return visits
— Social media shares across channels including
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and
Pinterest
— Subscriber count
— Subscriber count
— Aggregate growth of leads
— Visits to “contact us” page from articles,
videos, or webinars
— Proportion of consumers who make their
way to the next stage of the conversion funnel
— Conversely, % drop-off
— Deals closed
— Monthly recurring revenue
— Long-term value of all customers
— Long-term value as a proportion of
customer acquisition cost
Are prospects moving through the
sales conversion funnel? Are you
connecting with audiences
What is the overall efficacy of your
content program?
— Growth in overall traffic to website across
multiple channels including email, SEO, and
social media
— Growth in traffic to blog, videos, e-books
and other resources across multiple channels
including email, SEO, and social media
— Time spent on individual pieces of content
— Pages consumed per visit

© 2014 NewsCred 12
Know Your Sources
There are currently 4,500 publisher partners
in NewsCred’s publisher network. These
include major news portals including The
Washington Post to niche finance experts like
Investopedia.
However, expensive does not always mean
better. For instance, publishers The Chicago
Tribune, Business Insider, and The Huffington
Post all license content via NewsCred. These
blogs may not be as big as The New York
Times, but they are experts in their field with
a highly engaged audience.
When you share unique content, your
audience will notice. Great reads come in
all shapes and sizes and are ever-present in
the deepest corners on the Internet. That’s
why it’s so important to expand your content
licensing portfolio beyond what your website
visitors are reading on mainstream media.
Content from mainstream media, may
also surprise you. When you think of The
Washington Post, you probably think of
them from their news content. What may be
interesting to learn is that The Washington
Post also maintains a top of the line grilling
blog. Through content licensing, your brand
can bring these treasures to light. Your
audiences will love you for it.
02 Getting Started with Licensed Content Time Inc. & Land Rover
Watercooler Case Study
Time Inc. came to NewsCred to support their native advertising efforts. With a large
in-house ad sales team and a growing desire to launch branded experiences, Time Inc.
needed both a technology solution for their advertisers, as well as access to original,
licensed and social content.
The Land Rover Watercooler was the first of many branded experiences that Time Inc.
and NewsCred built together. Original content, licensed articles from CNN Money
and Sports Illustrated, as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter streams, were fed in
to create a brand-enhancing experience for visitors to the Land Rover main page.
The site drove 19,000 unique visitors to the Land Rover homepage, 80% of which were new
visitors. It was also written up in and was written up in Reuters, AdWeek and Luxury Daily.

© 2014 NewsCred 13
Attribution
Content licensing terms will typically require
you to cite your sources. Many times, brands
will wonder if they’ll be looked down upon
for licensing content instead of producing
original material.
Brands shouldn’t worry. Citing your sources
will actually make you look good.
The more that you can align your brand with
expert content, the more that consumers will
trust what you have to say. Journalists are
trained to write for the world’s most skeptical
readers -- individuals who are more likely to
trust information from The New York Times
over a company-sponsored blog.
Attribution is not a chore, and it is far from
obtrusive. Think of it as a detail that makes
your content strategy even more engaging.
Here is an example of how Monster.com’s content portal contributes content from carefully
curated sources. Their diverse content offering showcases handpicked stories from some of the
Internet’s most reputable media brands.
SOURCE: Forbes Ad Age The Next Web Forbes

© 2014 NewsCred 14
The most important step to success with content licensing
is to understand the value of content marketing. Good
marketing is about people and stories.
It’s different from traditional PR, in which you’re talking
about yourself. It’s about shifting mindsets and influencing
the culture related to your brand. It’s not about tooting your
horn. It’s about building a community around your most
foundational pieces of marketing collateral — content.
In addition to promoting what everybody is reading, a
powerful way to stand out is to promote the diamonds in the
rough. Everybody knows what they are reading, but what
should they be reading?
That’s where content licensing comes in. You’re curating
amazing content related to your brand and sharing it with your
website visitors. It’s engaging, enlightening and entertaining --
it makes audiences want to stay on your website longer.
Don’t try to sell. Focus on distributing valuable information,
and the sales will take care of themselves.
Conclusion.

Ultimate Guide to Licensed Content

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