Writing Articles to Boost Your Visibility
By Linda Barney on July 6, 2010
Linda Barney has been creating marketing strategies and materials for technology companies since 1990. Her deep expertise in many areas of technology has brought her firm, Barney and Associates, clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the newest startups in high tech, energy and sustainability, medical technologies and science. Linda's firm offers a full range of services, including technical writing, marketing materials creation, training, web design and optimizing for search engines. Linda has authored scores of articles for professional associations, including the Software Association of Oregon and Clean Technology Alliance, and for companies in diverse tech industries.
I own Barney and Associates, a technical, marketing writing, training and web design firm.
Over the past 20 years, I have never advertised my company by placing ads or doing direct mailers. Instead, I've relied on writing articles for professional organizations to spread the word about what I know and what I can do.
I’ve always been interested in technical subjects, and writing about them is a good way to learn about technologies that are new to me. Writing for technical conferences and professional organizations has also helped me meet people in different industries. Many of these new acquaintances have become clients, or have referred clients to me.
I started writing about open source, for example, because I found it fascinating and it was a way to contribute without writing code. Pretty soon I was hearing from people who said things like, “Loved your article about XYZ,” and they’d ask if I could write for their company or their client.
If you enjoy writing, you, too, can build an online library of good articles on topics that reflect your expertise. On my website, you can see the broad range of topics I've written about.
I recommend writing articles in a format that search engines can index. Using HTML lets you hyperlink to your website or other sources of information, and it's easier for search engines to find than files rendered in Flash or PDF format.
That said, it's a good idea to make a PDF of the published article. That makes it easier for interested readers to print the article. It's also a good way to make the piece available on your own website even if the organization that originally posted it changes the URL associated with the article.
Remember to always add a byline with your name and company name. If possible, add a brief biography at the end of each article, linking to other articles or blogs that you have written, and to your website.
Publishing well-written, informative articles is a great way for a business owner to boost her company’s visibility while learning something new and meeting other professionals. And it’s fun!
Read more about growing your business on the web.
