The Ultimate Free Strategy to Boost Your Website's Visibility

The Power of Article Writing

Writing an article for the right ezine can expose your name and your URL to millions of readers. Even writing for ten smaller ezines can yield the same result. With over 100,000 ezines and newsletters published on the Internet, there is a vast market hungry for high-quality content. Master the art of article writing, and you can tap into this market.

Instant Credibility

Most online publications feature guest articles. These articles usually include a brief author bio at the end, providing the author's website URL, often with a live link. By allowing a publisher to publish your article, you get a short bio that essentially endorses you as an expert.

Tips and how-to articles are particularly popular. The key to getting published in ezines is to provide genuinely useful content, not a self-promotion piece. If your article convinces readers of your expertise, they'll seek you out.

What It Takes

High-circulation ezine editors receive numerous submissions each week and only select the best. Here are some guidelines to make your articles publishable:

• Write with a genuine desire to educate, inform, and share your expertise.
• Use a descriptive and intriguing headline, but avoid being overly cute.
• Ensure good grammar and correct spelling. Don't rely solely on spell check!
• Writing is about re-writing. Write your article, let it sit for a day or two, then edit and re-write. Reading your article aloud can help you spot areas for improvement.
• Keep your bio to 5 or 6 lines or less and avoid sounding like an ad, or it will be edited.
• Unless there is a "click here to submit articles" button, send a short email to the publisher describing your article and asking if they would like to see it. Always address the editor by name.
• Aim for an article length of 500 to 750 words.
• Most publishers prefer your article in text format. Some want the article in the body of an email because they won't open unsolicited attachments. Always ask their preference!
• Before contacting the editor, read several issues of the ezine to understand the type of content they publish.
• For tips on writing colloquially in the online environment, check out "Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age".

Where To Publish

There are two primary ways to get your articles published: General distribution and individual submissions. General distribution can be achieved through article announcement lists and sites that provide free content to ezine publishers.

Article announcement lists include:

• Article Announce
• AA Business
• Web Source
• Freezineweb

Websites that provide free content to ezine publishers include:

• Idea Marketers
• Ezine Articles
• E-Zinez

Becoming recognized as an expert takes time. Commit to writing one or two new articles every month. And don't worry about giving away your free advice. As Walt Disney once said, "Those were last year's ideas." If you're good at what you do, you'll always have plenty more ideas.