We are in the midst of a user-generated content explosion which has massive implications - and represents a massive opportunity. Eric Schmidt, previous CEO of Google has pointed out that we are currently uploading more information every 48 hours than existed in the entire world prior to 2003!

There has also been a related explosion in 'free sharing platforms' for user-generated content, such as Youtube, Kewego, etc. However - until now - no platform has enabled users to easily and quickly monetize their content or others content.
In fact, most content creators are effectively blocked from selling their content by the complexity of "creating cross-platform systems" - for example: stringing together a free video-sharing platform with websites, landing pages, shopping carts, affiliate tracking, social media, and so on. Even for experienced internet marketers, it is a complex, time-consuming, low-efficiency way of doing business.

Not quite! The search results on the major search engines are ordered by relevance and linking factors, not by quality of content. In other words, content placed on 'big' sites with a lot of inbound links is automatically ranked as more relevant than lesser-trafficked content. Search engine optimization experts also employ techniques to boost the relevance of a page. And with paid search listings, anyone with a big advertising budget can jump to the front of the line. There are many factors that contribute to relevance, but the quality of the content is not one of them!

When you search for content on uQast, the search results are ranked according to their quality. Our Review Rank algorithm weighs the user ratings and reviews according to the helpfulness of the review and the expertise of the reviewer, so the highest quality content comes out on top.

You can share it, sell it, or do both. Here's how it works...

When you sign up for a uQast account, you get a free digital media store. When you upload digital media to your store, you get to choose which media you want to offer for free, and which media you want to sell. The free media brings in potential customers, and when the free media is compelling, it drives sales of your paid products. We call this Pushing the Free Line, and here's an example:

Let's say you have a DVD series that you'd like to sell. As you upload the content, you can designate the first part of the series as free, and set prices for the rest of the series (anywhere from 5 cents to $5000!). When a customer finds your free media and watches it (or listens to it, or reads it . remember, uQast is for any digital product!) they get prompted at specific times (which you set) to buy other parts of the series.

If the customer decides to buy the product, they simply click the Add to Shopping Cart button right in the player and check out using their credit card or paypal. It's a 2-click checkout, right from the player!

If you could produce them regularly, why not offer one per month on a subscription basis? We think micro-continuity is the wave of the future, but before uQast, micro-payments just weren't economically feasible. Now, you have a platform that delivers the video and collects the recurring micro-payments from your members. And if your members are getting valuable content at a small monthly price, why would they cancel?

Imagine having 1000 members paying $5/month to receive your monthly video!

And uQast helps authors connect with fans and customers in many ways that other media platforms don't. It's great to have five thousand subscribers to your youtube channel, but wouldn't it be better if you could send them an email?

With uQast, you can collect opt-ins to your own mailing list from right inside the player. At any time that you specify, you can have a window pop up in the player that allows viewers to enter their name and email address. Any email opt-ins that you collect from the player (or from your digital media store on uQast.com) go directly to your own mailing list, or to your account with aWeber or iContact. You can even choose to show them a portion of your content, and prompt them to opt-in in order to view the rest of the content - a great way to collect opt-ins to your list!

Yes, you should. But that doesn't mean you can't start making money with uQast right now. You can put any free media or digital products in your store, not just your own content. You can sell any digital media that is hosted on uQast, and earn affiliate commissions from every sale!

Yes, it's called affiliate marketing, and uQast makes it easy. Simply visit the marketplace, search for products that interest you and put them in your store. Then you can make a custom link to the product (or free media) and start promoting the link on the internet. If you have a blog or a website, and you find digital content on uQast that would appeal to your audience, you can embed the content right in your page.

Whenever anyone buys the product, you earn an affiliate commission, from 25-75% of the price! Other affiliate programs pay you a commission for the first thing that your customer buys, but if that person comes back and buys 10 more, you don't earn any more commissions. But uQast gives you so much more - you also earn affiliate commissions on everything that person buys on the entire site for a whole year!