Do's and Don'ts for Getting Articles Published on the Web

by Janet Attard

Get found on the Internet. Drive hundreds or thousands of visitors to your site every day without spending money on advertising. Increase your search engine rankings by having dozens of high-quality web sites link to you.

How? By writing articles, of course... and distributing them to quality sites that accept articles and include brief contact information about the authors at the end of each article. That's what all those articles you've been reading say, right? And that's what the internet marketers and consultants will tell you… often as a preamble to pitching their own internet article writing and distribution services.

But does it work?
Not that often. Here's why.

The majority of articles that reach Internet editors' desks are unsuitable for publication. Either they address a subject the web site or newsletter doesn't cover, are poorly written, or read like advertorials, white papers, or direct mail copy.

Off-topic articles
Established web sites and online newsletters require a certain level of professionalism in the articles they publish, just as print publications do. That's because whether a publication is online or offline, the way to attract and keep an audience is to consistently provide readers with well-written articles that are accurate, timely, and provide practical tips or solutions to real life problems related to the subject matter of the publication.

So, just as you aren't likely to find articles telling you how to lose weight or learn Yoga in Entrepreneur magazine, you won't find articles like that on Business Know-How or on other popular business web sites or online publications. Nor will you find articles in business magazines about one man's experience when he had to take care of his kids one Sunday when his wife was sick.

But every week, publications like ours get -- and delete -- article submissions on such non-business subjects as health, nutrition, and yes, watching the kids when the wife is sick.

Promotions and advertorials
Mixed in with the off-topic articles are a slew of submissions that are really white papers or poorly disguised ads written primarily to promote buying a particular product or service from the author of the article. For instance, we get articles submitted at least once a week about how to choose a web host or web designer - submitted by web hosting companies or web designers. Most of those articles go straight to the deleted folder in Outlook because their sole purpose is to point people back to the authors' sites to buy web hosting or design services.

Sounds Like Sally
There are a number of individuals and small firms that offer article writing and submission services to web site owners who want to drive traffic to their site. A few of these services are good, but like anything else, you often get what you pay for. And there are some services that seem to rewrite the same tired articles slightly for each new client.

The result: editors quickly learn what email addresses apparently are associated with such writing and submission services. And here at Business Know-How, at least, we often delete those submissions without ever reading them.

"Loosing" their minds (and spell checkers)
Then there are the articles that sound interesting, but contain multiple common misspellings (such as loose instead of lose), or that contain factual inaccuracies. Good editors know the subject area their publications cover and know when something doesn't ring true. And while most editors realize it's easy for an occasional typo to slip through, the second time we read "You can avoid loosing customers by" will be the time when we click the X to send the open email to the trash.

How can you get published, then?
Not surprisingly, the secret to getting published by popular web sites and online newsletters, isn't much different than the "secret" to getting published in more traditional publications. If you want your article published by a web site or online newsletter that reaches a large audience, keep these tips in mind:

Learn what types of articles the web site or online newsletter publishes
Read back issues of newsletters and browse through articles visible on a web site to see if your subject matter and approach fits in with the type of articles they regularly publish. Keep in mind that while a site for home businesses might occasionally publish an article about home storage solutions, such an article would need to focus exclusively on storage solutions for home offices. If the article talks about hanging onto your furnishings for years or how to make more space in your clothes closet, a business publication isn't going to use it.

Don't regurgitate what other writers have already written
In high school and college you may have been encouraged to read numerous articles on an assigned topic and then write a paper based on what you've read. That's fine for school papers, but it doesn't work for either Internet or newsstand publications. Research is definitely important, but you need current, original research and real-life examples to give your article a chance at being published on popular web sites. Don't waste your time writing or submitting articles that deal in generalities. If your article reads like this recent submission to Business Know-How, it will quickly be deleted.

These days there are plenty of articles
on the troubling issue of …. The general
consensus seems to be …

Do use pertinent anecdotes and facts
Use specific examples to flesh out your articles. Instead of saying that many people are afraid to speak in public, give a real life example of someone who was stressed out by the thought of speaking in public, and what steps they took to conquer the problem.

Write about your area of expertise
But do so without overtly promoting your own product or service. Offer little known-facts, productivity tips, or other information that readers can use and benefit from regardless of whether they use your services or not.

Be careful with your resource box
Authors who distribute articles for free usually include a resource box at the end of their articles. Typically this includes their name, email address, brief credentials (just a couple of lines), and a link to their web site. However, some authors insist the entire resource box be included unchanged, and then include calls to action similar to what one would find in direct marketing campaigns. For instance "Subscribe to our free email newsletter today and save 10% on your next purchase." Here at Business Know-How, and on other sites as well, an ad in your resource box and a statement requiring the complete resource box to be included unchanged in the published article will get your submission deleted.

Follow up
If you are sure the article you submitted to a web site or online newsletter was appropriate and well written, and that the publication to which you submitted it uses material from its audience, follow up once to be sure the editor got the article. Sometimes articles get overlooked or accidentally deleted due to the large volume of email and spam editors receive