Getting big bursts of free, targeted traffic is easy - but first
you've got to understand a few simple rules.
One of the best ways to get a huge surge in visitors to your
site is to have an article written by you appear in a
highly-respected publication. It can be a nice
credibility-booster, as well.
Let me tell you about Michael Pastore...
As the Managing Editor of internet.com's InternetDay,
CyberAtlas, and InternetPRGuide sites, Michael is one busy guy.
(A little background info: InternetDay is a daily newsletter
which has been around since the mid-1990s. With nearly 100,000
faithful subscribers, it is one of the net's most established
and reputable publications.)
I've submitted two articles to Michael in the past month, both
of which made the cut and appeared in InternetDay. (No, this
doesn't mean he's desperate. He is actually quite swamped with
submissions, thank you.) I decided to ask him what he looks for
in a submission. I'm two for two so far, but I wanted to improve
my chances. In addition, I figured his requirements can't be all
that different from the other big publishers.
Please, listen to this before you submit. His advice here is
literally as good as gold:
Begin Quote >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Make the article as professional as possible. The thing to
remember is that you're likely competing with other articles,
and if there's an article that doesn't need much editing, next
to one that does, which article do you think the editor is going
to choose?
Stay away from gimmicks that belong in ad copy. Forget the ALL
CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation points!!
Don't write like you talk. Sure, a casual style is OK, but don't
open up a new paragraph with: "Do you understand that? Good,
let's move on."
a) You're not going to get an answer,
b) It's not a lecture, and
c) it's a little condescending to the reader.
It's OK to ask editors to run major changes by you for approval,
but editors are usually professionals. Most of the changes they
make will improve the article and make you look better don't
argue over commas.
Ask about style and submission guidelines. This serves two
purposes:
1) it makes for "cleaner" copy (less work for the editor), and
2) it shows that you are taking an interest in making your
article appropriate for that specific site, as opposed to
writing an article and sending it out to 1,000 sites.
If you ask for style and submission guidelines, follow them.
Follow basic grammar rules. You'd be surprised how often Words
just Start with Capital letters in some articles that are
submitted. It's probably been awhile, but capitals are reserved
for the start of sentences and for proper nouns ("Internet," by
the way, is a proper noun). [Despite the fact that
"internet.com" is never capitalized. Those rebels. - Joe]
and finally,
Use a spell checker, and have someone else read your article
before you send it.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< End Quote
Thanks, Mike - great stuff.
Here are a few other tips to keep in mind:
Read the fine print on the submission pages. For example, by
submitting to InternetDay
,
you're promising that "the Content has not been published
before, in whole or in part, in any form."
Don't make the editor weed through too much fluff at the top to
get to your article. Put your byline or bio information at the
bottom (the important stuff about you), as well as any re-print
terms and conditions. Also, you may not want to be too
particular about these terms. Your goal is to get published. If
you place excessive restrictions on your article (e.g. "You must
do this and that... blah... blah..."), then you're just begging
to have the editor hit "delete".
Try to make the editor's job easier. I usually include something
like this at the top of the submission:
Title: "This is your catchy headline / title"
#Words: 400
Creation Date: June 20, 2001
Written and Copyrighted 2001 by: Your Name
Bio: Directly after article
Reprint conditions: Bottom of this page
Formatting: Text / No word wrap
Author's Picture: http://LinkToPicture.com/picture.jpg
You may not always know the length requirements for any given
publication before you submit. Therefore, you may want to
include the following line with submissions to the big boys:
"Article can be edited for length upon request." Mike asked me
to chop off 250 words from one of my articles because it was too
long. It got published (and ended up being better) because I
offered to edit it beforehand.
Remember, your article is competing with many others for the
attention of an information-overloaded editor with a deadline.
You need to think of your title as a headline. Any good copy
writer will tell you the headline is the most important part of
the ad. If your title is weak, why would the editor read the
article? For that matter, why would any one else read it,
either? But remember what Mike said: "Stay away from gimmicks
that belong in ad copy."
When you're ready to go for the big time, here are a few
high-visibility newsletters (along with subscription claims)
that accept ebiz/marketing articles:
DEMC - 260,000 - http://www.demc.com/Writers/writers.html
GazetteWorld - 250,000 - http://gazetteworld.com
InternetDay - 100,000 - http://www.internetday.com/submit/
Clickz - 50,000 - http://www.clickz.com/submission/
If you don't think your expertise will appeal to these
publications, you can list your articles with these free
"general content" web sites:
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.egroups.com/group/Free-Content
Now don't just sit there - get writing! Good luck.
Wishing you much success...
About the Author
Joe Chapuis is a self-employed internet
business consultant and online publisher who swears he'll
never work for someone else again. His free report:
The 10 Commandments of Online Success™ and
free email newsletter will show you how to
get "amazing results online, fast."
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