Write Articles for Business Exposure

One of the easiest, least expensive, and most effective ways to gain exposure for your business is by writing articles, for both print and web. This method is also ideal for people who really dislike marketing, especially the shameless self-promotion type. Although networking is essential to the success of your business, writing articles is an excellent way to spend your time on those days when you just want to hole yourself up in solitude.

Even those who enjoy marketing and are experienced in it sometimes get burned out. Marketing is a very high-energy task, and it requires you to put on a happy face all the time. I don't know about you, but some days I just don't feel like putting on a happy face in public! Rather than sit at home and waste precious time when you feel like doing something useful that doesn't require a lot of face-to-face interaction with others, you can write several quality articles in one day that can bring attention to your business for a long time to come.

Think about your area of expertise or the product or service that your business offers. What do many people ask you that most people do not understand about your business but would be useful for them to know? Is there a topic related to your business, an event coming up that is applicable, or industry information that would help your customers decide that they need your services?

Once you have identified your topic and written your article, there are several ways to gain publicity for your business. If you have a website, it is the prime location for placement of your article. What about your local newspaper? Sometimes local papers will highlight local businesses with press releases, somtimes even free of charge. You can also shop your article around to any trade publications related to your industry. There are also many, many article directories on the internet that you can submit your article to, free of charge. This will gain widespread publicity for your business, because your article could be viewed by anyone around the world. It is best if you do have a website, because you can include a link directly to your website in the profile box or author resource box that usually accompanies your article in these directories. Some directories allow you (or even require you to) allow your article to be reprinted by anyone on another website. This is sometimes referred to as "viral marketing" because it could spread like a virus and reappear many times throughout the web. If you have a client contact list, you could email your article to them for information, gaining repeat customers. Make sure you have their permission to send them emails, you don't want to be accused of spam!

Okay, so what if all that sounds really good, except for the fact that you are an awful writer? First of all, that's probably not true, and second, if you are writing on a topic that you are knowledgeable about, even if your writing skills are less than superior, no one will know, because you will still sound like the expert that you are. Be sure to use the spelling and grammar check available with most word processing programs, and you'll be just fine. The more articles you write, the better your writing skills will become.