Increase Your Visibility: Getting The Word Out!

This article isn’t so much for my fellow bloggers and freelance writers as it is for the many people who are trying to get their information in front of my eyes. On most weekdays I receive several requests to publish business or personal information on any one of my sites, averaging between 20-30 of these requests each week.

I’m not your average blogger nor am I your typical freelance writer. I maintain six active blogs, four of which are updated daily, with the remaining two updated once or twice a week; I’m also currently serving as the automotive columnist for a pair of print publications.

Most particularly as when the news has something to do with cars, I’m often the recipient of requests to review a product, make an announcement, tell a story or share something else with my readers.  Admittedly, I can’t respond to every request personally and I sometimes miss the announcement completely.

To that end, I want to share some tips with those of you whose responsibility it is to disseminate news, particularly when you’re trying to see if I will follow up with what you have.

Not all news is equal, but not all press releases and announcements are either.  This means that you have a better chance of getting a “read” and an eventual article placement if you follow my advice:

Contact me carefully — I no longer publish a phone number where people can contact me. My current clients have that number and I also give that information out to people who are part of my trusted circle of news providers. For everyone else, contacting me via my on site contact forms or direct email address is the best way to go.

I put a lot of weight on those contacts who provide all of the information I need from the get go including at least one related photograph. I just don’t have time to play email tag — be thorough and I’ll have a clearer understanding of what you want and can make my decision based on the information you supplied.

Please be patient — I don’t always respond to contact requests as quickly as I probably should. No excuses, but life does happen to get in the way. Juggling a number of responsibilities means that some tasks get pushed to the side. Plus, there are times I am on deadline and absolutely nothing will get me to stop what I’m doing to focus on your news.

More often then not, I’ll go through my inbox several times during the week to catch up on my messages. Yes, if I detect that something is spammy or isn’t relevant, I’ll simply delete it and move on.

Follow up with me — If someone has something that is very interesting or truly believes that what would benefit my readers, I have no problems with receiving a follow up note. Pushy people are usually ignored while polite folks get moved to the head of the line.

Just to let you know that I’m from the old school: I value personal relationships and I enjoy long term business dealings. I’ve been online steadily since 1995 and have managed my own sites since 2002. I like to think that what I do now will be something that I’ll be doing the rest of my life. I love my job!

I need your people — Got people? I hope so. From time to time I’ll rewrite a press release and add my thoughts to the conversation. However, I prefer the human contact (remember, I’m old school) and am much more likely to go with your story if I can speak to the name behind the story.

This means the person who designed the automobile, runs the division, created the concept or is heading up the ad campaign is of interest to me. I won’t take up a lot of their time (we’re all very busy these days) but if I can have ten to fifteen minutes, that will certainly help your cause. In some cases I’m satisfied with a brief quote sent to me via email.

The bonus round — Last of all, you can increase your chances of having your news published by writing a jam up press release in the first place (I toss away anything smacking of self promotion) and by offering to cite my article somewhere on your website or blog.

I’m not looking for a “pay to play” exchange but if I’m publishing something newsworthy about your organization, product or personnel you can bet that I’m providing a valuable path to your site, one that my readers will likely travel frequently over the weeks, months and, yes, the years ahead.

Photo Credit: Sanja Gjenero

You Must Brand Yourself Or You Will Perish

Are you a writer? Do you aspire to expand your presence far beyond your personal blog or web pages?

I believe that mostly everyone who writes for a living understands that visibility is essential to being successful in this craft, but we aren’t necessarily good when it comes to our personal marketing.

In the competitive world of writing, standing head and shoulders above the crowd will soon establish a brand for yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can attract the business you deserve through your ongoing personal marketing campaign.

What Is Your Brand? — Is your brand your name, your person, your product, or something else? Well, it could be all of the above. For example, I am Matt Keegan and I am also The Article Writer. In addition, I am Matthew C Keegan, LLC and my writing qualifications extend well beyond articles to include: press releases, web content, blogging, copywriting, SEO, and more.

Sure, being The Article Writer can seem a bit limiting, but it really helps me out with the SERPs! Overall, I would prefer to be known as a freelance writer, a catch-all term with few limits.

Beyond blogging, which is a very important way for me to showcase my talents, there are other ways I can market my brand and so can you:

• Attending conferences and seminars as a guest speaker.
• Write a book, collaborate on a report, publish an exhaustive product review, etc.
• Submit articles to print publications including newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. Online versions work quite well too.
• Write personal press releases and seek out media attention.
• Hold seminars where you are the lead speaker. Leverage key guest speakers as needed — let some of their visibility rub off on you!
• Appear as a guest on a television or radio program. Podcasts are very cool and a terrific way to get exposure today.
• Network, network, network — social communities are a fantastic tool for marketing your personal brand. If you can only join a few, become highly visible in at least one.

Of course, appearing everywhere is one thing, but offering something of value (especially for free) is another thing. Contest giveaways, advice or assistance, and mostly any other service you offer for no charge will raise your visibility in no time. Friends will remember the good you did for them and talk about you on their blogs, mention you in their newspaper columns, and invite you as a guest for their upcoming seminar or conference.

Personal branding never ends, it is constantly changing, and it is the one task you must do or you will perish as the implementers step over the slackers. Marketing yourself isn’t always an easy task, but the benefits will positively impact your business and your bottom line.