Write for Publicity

By Shelley Lowery
Copyright © 2000

Designing a great website is only the first step towards
creating a successful web presence. In order to succeed,
you must develop a steady stream of traffic to your site.
The first and most important step is getting your website
listed in the search engines. Keeping your website ranked
in the top 30 positions is a never ending battle and
shouldn't be solely relied upon for developing traffic.

If you've been on the Internet for a while you've probably
subscribed to a few ezines (newsletters). Most ezines
will include a feature article written by the editor or a
guest author. If you've ever read an article written by a
guest author then you've probably noticed, at the end of
the article, a few lines of text about the author, referred
to as "bylines" or "resource box."

The writer gives the publisher permission to publish their
article free of charge in exchange for the publisher
including the author's bylines. The bylines are basically
just an advertisement for the writer. They usually contain
a couple of lines about the author and a web address.

By writing articles and allowing them to be published free
of charge, your articles will have the potential to be
viewed by millions of Internet users. They may be
published by several ezines with subscriber bases of a
few hundred to several thousand. In addition, they may
be displayed in ezine archives or on high traffic websites.

Most ezine publishers prefer short articles between 500
and 750 words. Short "tip" articles of just a couple of
paragraphs are also very popular. Articles should be
formatted to 65 characters per line or less including
spaces and written in short paragraph sections.

When you begin writing your article, avoid using your
standard word processing programs, as they do not allow
for proper formatting. Instead, use a text editor such
as NotePad. It should already be installed on your desktop.

When you begin typing your article, use a hard carriage
return (hit enter) when your text reaches 65 characters,
including spaces, and leave a space between your
paragraphs. This will enable the publisher to easily
copy and paste your article into their publication and
significantly increase your chances of being published.

Most publishers receive many article submissions each
week and only select a few to be published. Here are
some basic guidelines to help you increase your chances
of being published:

     - Your article must be properly formatted. Publishers
       won't take the time to format your article, they'll
       simply use another article that is properly formatted

     - Keep your bylines down to 6 lines or less

     - Select a descriptive title to intrigue your readers

     - Use proper grammar and spelling

     - Avoid articles that are nothing more than a sales
       pitch, as your chances of being published will be
       minimal

     - Avoid referring readers to an affiliate URL as this
       will make your article appear to be biased and
       untrustworthy

     - Write your articles with a sincere desire to teach
       and inform. Talk to your readers and share your
       expertise

Once you've written your article, you'll need to develop a
list of publishers that may be interested in publishing it.
Visit the following site to help you locate ezine publishers:

http://www.meer.net/~johnl/e-zine-list/

Search through the database for publications that may
be interested in the type of article you've written.
Contact the publisher and ask them if they accept
article submissions.

Here are some additional promotional resources to help
you get published:

http://www.web-source.net/article-announce
http://www.web-source.net/links
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.e-zinez.com/writers.htm

Writing and distributing free articles on the Internet
will be one of the best promotional decisions you'll
ever make. Not only will it provide you with free
publicity, but if your articles are good, you'll become
a trusted professional in your area of expertise.

-----------------------------

Shelley Lowery is the Webmaster of Web-Source.net -
A complete resource portal for the Internet entrepreneur.
The site assists the entrepreneur in developing a serious
Web presence by providing a wealth of free information,
resources, tools and content.
http://www.web-source.net