Well-written, tightly-focused articles are in high demand by
thousands of online publishers. Why? Because publishers view
good content as a value-added asset, enhancing their own brand
awareness and deepening relationships with clients and customers.
As a content provider, you can attract a substantial and
continuous flow of new prospects from online venues that might
otherwise be inaccessible. And unlike other promotional methods,
you get this traffic without spending a penny on advertising.
The three techniques below make it easy for publishers --your
willing and enthusiastic partners-- to find and publish your
material.
1. Syndicate Your Articles
Syndicating your articles makes it easy for site owners to put
your content on their website. It's a real time-saver and
totally hands-off for webmasters.
Automation is a big selling point of online syndication. The
syndicating site simply inserts 2 lines of code on their web
page, and your articles are distributed from your server to
their web page automatically. You have total control over
content and style, while the webmaster never lifts a finger
again.
It's an ideal situation for you. Once a site agrees to accept
your articles through syndication, you are freed from the job of
marketing each article individually to the site owner. A
marketer's dream!
For details on setting up your syndicated feed, read this
article by William Bontrager:
http://www.homebiztools.com/syndication.htm
One of the first places to start marketing your syndicated feed
is on your website. Post a sample article so others can see the
quality of your work, and show them how to set up their web page
to accept your articles.
For additional marketing muscle, solicit webmasters from the
resource box of your article. Include a line to let them know
your column is available for syndication.
Lastly, get listed in syndicated article directories such as
those found at Freesticky.com and StickySuace.com. Traffic from
directories is highly targeted and more likely to result in a
syndication arrangement.
2. Publish Your Own News Channel
Your own news channel allows you to broadcast your content to
the Web with one text file. The protocol to accomplish this is
called RSS. This stands for Really Simple Syndication (or Rich
Site Summary, depending on who you talk to). Weblogs are an
example of content commonly available in RSS.
Once created, your RSS content file can be read by news
aggregator programs. By registering with aggregator sites, your
feed is indexed and made available for sites interested in
receiving your feed. You can see my own news feed in action at
NetBizHelpers.com.
Here are some excellent sites with articles on setting up and
registering your news channel:
Mark Nottingham's RSS Tutorial http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/
Technology at Harvard Law http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
O'Reilly XML.com
http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html
3. Submit To Article Directories and Announcement Lists
Many publishers subscribe to announcement lists and browse
article directories for content. High-quality articles are
regularly picked up from these sources. It's not uncommon for a
good article to be published in several ezines with combined
readerships in the tens of thousands.
Here is a listing of popular spots to submit your articles
online: http://www.homebiztools.com/article-dir.htm
To begin posting your articles on announcement lists:
http://www.homebiztools.com/article-lists.htm
There you have it! Three great ways to market your articles and
give publishers what they need, while you enjoy no-cost
advertising.
About the author:
Brett Krkosska is a freelance writer and syndicated columnist.
He is the owner and founder of http://www.HomeBizTools.com, an
idea center for small/home-based business owners.
