Marketing Your Business By Becoming a Published Author

Marketing Your Business By Becoming a Published Author
Writing articles or a regular column is one excellent way
to grow awareness of your expertise and reinforce your
credibility. Your articles showcase your knowledge and can
bring prospects knocking on your door. Once an article
you've written is published, you become an author. This
status can do wonders for your business. Even if you are
not an experienced writer, you can still implement these
strategies with the help of a professional copywriter.

With more than 10,000 publications in print and
who-knows-how-many websites and ezines on the Internet,
your opportunities are almost limitless to become a
published author. From fillers to features, publications
need your content to feed their ever-hungry readers. There
are thousands of business, trade, and Internet publications
that cover every type of industry and audience. So, there
are definitely opportunities for you - no matter what your
industry.

When you write an article, write about what you know. Make
sure it's related to your industry. In your article, solve
the problems that are a struggle for your target audience.
Easy-to-write articles focus on explaining how to do
something, top-ten tips, or industry trends. Look to your
own experiences as well as those of colleagues and clients.

Get your articles published everywhere you can. Try your
alumni newsletter, your daily paper, or your favorite
association magazine. When writing articles, don't expect
to get paid, but always ask to have a byline with your
name, website, and photo. Once an article has been
published, leverage it by reprinting it and sending it to
your prospects and clients. Include it in your newsletter,
ezine, and on your website. Remember, your name in print
spells E-X-P-E-R-T.

If you want to build your Internet presence, you can submit
content-rich articles to various websites and ezines. Many
website owners and ezine publishers are looking for
content. They NEED your articles. For online articles, I
have found between 400 - 800 words to be the most popular,
although longer can be appropriate in some cases depending
on the content. Avoid going any shorter. Once you've
written your article, submit it to an article directory
site. Helpful, well-written articles are snapped up by
thousands of publishers all around the world. In exchange
for your content, publishers agree to include a resource
box linking back to your site. If 175 publishers use your
article on their websites, you get 175 links to your
website, building a steady stream of traffic to your site.
Submitting articles is more effective than advertising
because when your target audience begins reading multiple
articles you have authored, you gain credibility.

Maven Action Item: List 5 topics that you could write
about. Where could you get your ideas published? Begin a
folder to keep your topic ideas and your publisher contact
info.

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Wendy Maynard publishes MAVEN MARKETING, a weekly marketing
ezine for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.
If you're ready to skyrocket your sales, easily attract
customers, and have more fun, subscribe at
http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/ezine_3.html