I was busiy submitting some articles I ghost wrote for a client to some
web portals late one night, when I was struck by a message a web site
editor left for visitors. I wont tell you the actual site name, or mention the company that they are targeting with their message in order to protect their privacy. But the message went something like this. STOP! If you are submitting articles from article factory, we do NOT publish them on this site.
Hire a Professional Writer to Make Work Publishable
This made me pause. Im a writer by trade and I was submitting original
material. I would never even dream of doing otherwise. Many
professionals, even the most seasoned in their respective fields, cannot
write well. So, they usually hire somebody like me to polish their
thoughts, and edit their material to make their work publishable and
syndicate it on the internet.
Dont Buy Unoriginal Material
Then there are the other crop of professionals, who pay large sums of
money to article factories who sell them mass produced material.
Obviously, article factories sold these same articles to others as well.
Professionals are eager to purchase articles such as these, because
they are not experienced writers and feel they cannot do it themselves.
Search engines are text based. So, keyword rich articles syndicated on
the internet and published on a company home page is one of the most
effective strategies of driving the right kind of traffic to a web site.
Site Editors Know Quality Material
Web portal editors who regularly recruit original articles are getting wise
to article factories. Editors are enraged by the massive repetitive
submissions they receive because it wastes their time to have to weed
through the crap. Many are just beginning to fight back. If you are guilty
of purchasing articles that are sold to large numbers of individuals
stop it now. It wont get you anywhere. Editors know when they are
being dumped on. And they wont publish this work on the world wide
web. They will remember who sent it to them, and not in a positive way,
either.
The Creative Idea is Currency
I tell my writing students at University of North Carolina Asheville, that
we live in a world starved for creative ideas. Ten years ago, the phrase
that swept through corporate America was: thinking out of the box.
Now its the idea person who has the most currency in a company.
But you cant just be an idea person -- you have to know how to
execute, too.
The Expert Interview
In my company, http://www.sidhecommunications.com, we take an
original approach to article writing and syndication. Weve developed a
tried and true method of working with professionals who do not have the
time, or the expertise to write well. I call it the expert interview. This is a
technique that writers all over the world use everyday.
Syndicate Original Ideas
Heres how the expert interview goes. I telephone the mortgage
company I work for and ask the gentleman who is a partner in the
company what strikes his fancy for topics this month. He replies, Id like
to write an article about stated income and no doc loans. I know
nothing about mortgages, or this type of loan, but Im about to learn a
great deal. I ask him questions and take copious notes. Sometimes, he
will e-mail or fax more information to me. I develop an article based on
this interview. The client then approves or edits the article. Then I post it
to 20 sites which editors regularly visit for free content for their web sites,
e-zines, or print publications. In 3-6 months, this article is all over the
internet. In one years time the article is still alive and being published
even more widely on the world wide web, because it is professionally
written and communicates valuable ideas.
Receive the Accolades and Qualified Leads
The client receives the byline. He or she also basks in the glory and
accolades from this educational writing. The client has admirers on-line,
and he or she answers the telephone or e-mails coming from qualified
individuals interested in purchasing his or her product or services.
When the client answers the telephone, he or she has to have some
idea about the topic thats been written on. Its not something that can
easily be faked. The expert interview ensures that he or she does have
this knowledge.
Its the clients expertise and their idea that made the story. Because of
this, I feel the client does deserve the byline. They also deserve the
stream of new business they receive from geographical areas they
could not otherwise afford to penetrate.
If youre buying articles from places like article factory: stop it. Its better
to proceed with original ideas. This way you can earn yourself a great
virtual reputation.
Elizabeth Kirwin has published work in national magazines and
newspapers. She is co-owner of Sidhe Communications http://www.sidhecommunications.com in Asheville NC. She develops web
sites, newsletters, brochures, and internet marketing plans for
businesses, non-profits, and health care ogranizations nationally. For
more information, e-mail ekirwin@bellsouth.net.