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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
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