Writing Articles to Boost Your Visibility
I own Barney and Associates, a technical, marketing writing, training and web design firm.
Over the past I have never advertised my company by placing ads or doing direct mailers. Instead, I've found that writing articles for a number of different websites and organizations has been an effective strategy for getting new customers and meeting some great people.
I’ve always been interested in technical subjects, and writing about them is a way to learn a new technical area, share my expertise, or write about events or companies for professional organizations. Writing articles for professional organizations is a great way to get involved and to meet people.
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 me if I could write for their company or their client.
If you enjoy writing, you, too, can build a virtual library of good articles on topics that reflect your expertise. Here’s a link to the articles page on my website that contains a samples of some of my articles. http://www.barneyassoc.com/articles.htm
I recommend writing articles in a web HTML format so that web browsers can catalog the article. It is also a good idea to make a PDF of the published article so that you can retain samples if the organization or company changes the URL associated with article. Remember to always add a byline with your name and company on each article. If possible, add a brief biography to the end of each article that links back to other articles or blogs that you have written.
I’ve found that writing articles – even pro bono – can win you great business, while helping you learn about a new industry whether or not you’re hoping to win business. I recommend that other business owners use this method to boost company visibility, learn new information, and meet other professionals.
Learn about my company.