Not doing what, you ask.

Writing and submitting articles.

Writing articles is a cost- effective way of promoting your business. It exposes you to potential customers in a way that few other marketing vehicles do.

Writing and submitting your work to online sites gives you fr*ee marketing opportunities. It also increases your credibility in the eyes of potential customers.

Have you taken advantage of this very effective marketing strategy?

If not, why not?

~*~'What If I Can't Write?'~*~

Common question, common excuse with a simple answer: if you can talk, you can write.

You don't need to be a professional writer before you can write as a way of marketing your business.

All you do need to do is

• Want to write
  

• Decide to write
  

• Write
  

~*~'What Should I Write~*~

A few ideas are:

• Articles
  

• Tips (eg top ten or top five ways to....)
  

• Letters to editors
  

• Reports (yes, reports!)
  

think of some more and add them to this list.

~*~What Topics Should I Write About?~*~

Here, your only limitation is in your imagination. So be creative and let these questions serve as guidelines in helping you decide what to write about:

• What information will potential customers find useful?
  

• What are you interested in? Find a way to make it relevant to your business and write about it.
  

• If you were in your potential customers' shoes, what topics (related to your business) would interest you?
  

• In what ways have you solved problems for people in the past? Write them down. Chances are, other people would benefit from the solution you provided.
  

• What are your experiences as a business owner? Write about them.
  

• Fill in the blanks :
  
  
  
  1. How To .......
     

  2. Top 5 Ways to......
     

  3. What Many People Don't Know About......
     

  4. My Favourite Pastime is....
     

  
  

What you've got now is a bunch of potential headings for your articles, tips, reports or whatever. If you think about it, there's a lot for you to write about.

All you have to do now is actually put pen to paper (hand to computer).

~*~What Should I Do With What I've Written?~*~

Submit, submit, submit!

Newsletter editors and webmasters all over the 'net are looking for fr*ee content for their subscribers and visitors.

Imagine the exposure you get by submitting an article to an ezine with thousands of opt-in subscribers. Fr*ee of charge, too! It'd be more expensive (and not always as effective in pulling in prospects) to advertise in the same publication.

Here is a brief list of places that accept articles for publication or announcement:

• PromoteYourArticle@yahoogroups (you need to subscribe fr*ee)
  

• article_announce@yahoogroups.com (subscribe first. Fr*ee)
  

• http://www.articleblaster.com/submit-articles.htm
  

• http://www.family-content.com/articles/submit.shtml
  

• http://ezinearticles.com/add_url.html
  

To receive a list of 50 groups and sites that accept submissions send an email to submissionlist@daysofsuccess.com.

Here's how it works. The key is to have a system that you use. An example is below:

• Write at least one article each month.
  

• Include a resource box at the end of it.
  

• Include permission to fr*eely distribute it at the top.
  

• Submit it to at least 5 sites each day.
  

~*~To make your writing easily acceptable and profitable~*~

• Provide useful information. No sales letters or pitches.
  

• Include some way to get readers to contact you: you could offer a fre*ebie or a link to your website. This info goes into your resource box.
  

• Make your resource box about 4 - 6 lines long. I've included mine at the end of this article to give you an idea.
  

• Write it using a text editor like Notepad - that's how many editors prefer to receive submissions.
  

• Format it to be 65 characters long per line. Press the 'enter' key each time you get to 65 characters (unless your text editor has word-wrap in which case you'd set it to wrap at 65 characters).
  

• Always obey submission guidelines to the letter.
  

• Follow the writing tips below.
  

~*~Writing Tips~*~

• Write like you talk. Be conversational in your writing. If you can hold a conversation, you can write.
  

• After writing your first draft, leave it to 'fallow' then start on your next article.
  

• Never submit your first draft. Rewrite it after a day or two.
  

• Spell check thoroughly. Check for grammar errors too. Get someone else to read through it if you can - they may pick up something you've missed.
  

• Obey submission guidelines (it's so important, hence my repeating it here)
  

• Write something everyday. Even if it's just a personal journal entry, just write. It'll get you into the habit, and keep you creative.
  

Practice what this article says and write something today.

DR Kem Thompson is a Business Writer and Business Coach. Visit www.daysofsuccess.com/bizwriter.htm to find out how she can help you promote your business through writing articles and other business material. For a fr*ee list of 50 submission venues, send an email to submissionlist@daysofsuccess.com.

kem@daysofsuccess.com

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