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Write
for Publicity
By Shelley Lowery
If you're
looking for a powerful way to get free publicity and build
your credibility at the same time, then writing articles may
be your answer.
If you've been
on the Internet for a while, you've probably subscribed to a
few ezines. Many ezine publishers will include an article
written by a guest author. At the end of the article are a
few lines of text about the author referred to as bylines or
resource box. These lines of text are basically just an
advertisement for the writer. They usually contain a couple
of lines about the author and a web address.
The writer
gives the publisher permission to publish their article,
free of charge, in exchange for the publisher including the
author's bylines.
By writing
articles and allowing them to be freely published, 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
publishers to easily copy and paste your article into their
publication. By taking the time to properly format your
article, you will increase your chance of being published
significantly.
Most
publishers receive many article submissions each week and
only select a few to be published. Here are some basic
guidelines to assist you in getting published:
(1) Make sure
you follow the publishers' submission guidelines. Articles
submitted to publishers that don't follow the submission
guidelines will most likely be deleted.
(2) Make sure
your article is properly formatted. Publishers won't take
the time to format your article. They'll simply delete it
and move on to the next article submission.
(3) Keep your
bylines down to 6 lines or less. Publishers will not publish
articles that contain excessively long bylines.
(4) Select a
descriptive title to intrigue your readers. Use a powerful
headline that demands attention and try to keep it all on
one line.
(5) Use proper
grammar and spelling. Publishers will not take the time to
edit your article. Make sure you read your article several
times and use spellcheck.
(6) Avoid
articles that are nothing more than a sales letter.
Publishers want quality content and will simply delete an
article that is written like a sales letter.
(7) Avoid
referring readers to an affiliate URL. Articles containing
affiliate links may make your article appear to be biased
and untrustworthy.
(8) 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. The best
way to accomplish this is to display your articles on your
website. Place a subscription box on each of your article
pages to enable your visitors to subscribe. This list should
be used to send your new articles to your list of
publishers.
In addition,
you can visit some ezine sites to locate publishers who may
be interested in your articles. A good place to start is
eZINESearch. http://www.ezinesearch.com
Search through
the database for publications that may be interested in the
type of article you've written.
Another great
way to promote your articles is to submit them to article
announcement groups. These groups enable writers to submit
their articles to an entire group of publishers, completely
free.
Article
Announcement Lists:
Article
Announce
Subscribe:
mailto:article_announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
AABusiness
Subscribe:
mailto:aabusiness-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
AAInternet
Subscribe:
mailto:aainet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
PublishInYours
Subscribe:
mailto:PublishInYours-subscribe@egroups.com
Articles Archive
Subscribe:
mailto:articles_archives-subscribe@egroups.com
Free Content
Subscribe:
mailto:Free-Content-subscribe@egroups.com
Make sure you review the submission guidelines prior to
posting your article to an announcement group.
Here are some
additional promotional resources to help you get published:
http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm
http://www.web-source.net/syndicator_submit.htm
http://www.authorconnection.com/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.ezinearticles.com/
http://www.marketing-seek.com/
http://www.netterweb.com/articles/
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.
Copyright ©
2001, all rights reserved
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of Ebook Starter - A complete ebook design kit. Subscribe to Etips, for a wealth of
quality information to assist you in Web Design, Internet Marketing& Ecommerce. All new subscribers receive a free copy
of the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet
Marketing Strategies." http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1 | 