 |
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.
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. I manually update my own syndicated content as indicated in this
article. You can see how it looks here.
Because it takes some time to update your content for syndication, you may want to
consider using the Master Syndicator. This is an excellent program to automate the
process.
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. A short text
link such as "Click here to put this column on your site" will suffice.
Lastly, get listed in syndicated article directories such as Freesticky.com. Traffic from directories
is highly targeted and more likely to result in a syndication arrangement.
 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:
* mnot
RSS Tutorial
* Technology
at Harvard Law
* O'Reilly XML.com
* WebReference.com
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.
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 provides how-to advice on small business and home-based work issues. His
site, http://www.HomeBizTools.com, helps small
businesses reach their fullest potential. He is also the publisher of Straight Talk, a
fresh and original newsletter that offers a unique perspective on today's business issues.
Do you know someone who would benefit from this article? We can
send your friend a strictly confidential, one-time email telling them about this article.
Your privacy and your friend's privacy is your business... no spam! Click here and tell a friend!
Reprint this article in your ezine, ebook, website, or through
print publication.
REPRINT TERMS:
- You may re-format article for your publication. However, the
content must remain unedited and author's resource text at bottom of article must be
included with publication.
- Article may not be used in Unsolicited Commercial Email.
- Distribution to email lists MUST be opt-in only.
- Please set URL's and/or email addresses as hyperlinks.
|
|
| Real-world, common sense strategies for small and
home based business success. Your issues... real answers. |
|
|
