I have just launched a new project. I have started my first paid subscription-based newsletter. It is called Be An Intrepid Marketer...Or Die. You can sign-up for it here.

The gist of this new newsletter is to continue the conversation about marketing...but to do it with an edge. NSFW, perhaps. To provide a forum where people can discuss the stupid things people do in marketing, but more importantly, have an honest, no holds barred conversation to talk about how to fix these things. In the end, we will all learn from one another. And have some fun along the way...

There is a growing list of people who believe that paid content is the wave of the future as far as online revenue is concerned. That remains to be seen, but I will tell you this: Many of the people I have followed for years are suddenly coming out with subscription-based content. So the future is here.

Now. The questions remains, how does this apply to marketing a business or organization?

I have recently subscribed to several sources of paid content. And I also subscribe to a bunch of (free) blogs on my RSS. And what I know is this. I read every word of the content I pay for. If I have time, and if the content seems meaningful, I will read a (free) blog post. Heck, I don't even always read the books I sometimes buy for myself.

The future of the web is secure. It will dominate our future. And the only problem will be to determine how best to wade through all the content that will be available. Paid content may be one way to break thru the clutter, and reach people who truly want your content. A smaller audience, yes. But perhaps the true dedicated audience we clamor for.

I have long been an advocate for distributing free content on the web, from sources like a company or personal blog. That won't change. At least anytime soon. And I will continue to publish free content.

But I am curious to see what happens with my personal experiment, and the whole notion of paid content (in this context, paid content via micropayments).

I see all kinds of chatter that blogging is dead. Namely, I suspect, from people who don't like the process of generating content.

I, for one, do NOT think blogging is dead. In fact, I think we are only just beginning with it's possibilities. I do think, however, how organizations leverage the content to move their constituencies to action will continue to evolve. And, I think we have only begun to see what's possible.

But that said, a quick survey on Twitter yesterday afternoon indicated that MOST people are not ready to start paying for content that is currently found for free. Will this change? I think it can. I assume it is fair to assume that not long ago people weren't willing to spend $1 on iTunes to buy one song. But will this micropayment acceptance for music translate to content? Especially content that is likely to be read ONE time? I could see a way where online news is delivered via micropayment (25 cents for a news story?). I don't know. We'll see.

I don't deny that I'd love to make a living simply sitting in a coffee shop writing content all day long. That might be possible someday. But, the fact remains, the world is slowly setting us up to build a living that way.

The bigger question for me is this: Is it possible that all the (free) blogging, Facebooking, Twittering that we do simply becomes a feeding system to move people into making the decision to purchase your paid content? I mean, it certainly can be. In fact, that's how a lot of people move people into buying e-books, or subscription-based products. Will it reach down to micropayments for single pieces of content?

I see so many possibilities down the road: really niched content about how to conduct B2B sales on social media, how to run a bricks + mortar retail establishment, how to fully leverage geolocation apps for retail, etc... The list goes on. I think this could work for really niched "how to" content.

So, I am curious how my experiment with paid content will work out. I will obviously keep you informed on how it plays out. But I don't think we can deny this is where the direction of content distribution is heading. The only question may be the pace it happens.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?