Home
>
Article Writing
>
Publishing: changing realities (IV)

Publishing: changing realities (IV)

How does a writing agency market itself effectively in a cyber reality that's bursting with free content? Writers these days are having a tough time competing for business. The game is complicated and the rules are changing.

The mini culture of ezine publishing is quite representative of the wider internet; if you write an article about your very own writing boutique, you generally are expected to submit it in the category labeled 'writing'. But the difference between this and other categories is that writers selling their skills as a product are virtually talking into empty space. Where other categories have a tangible target market directly at hand, writers submit articles about writing.

Writing about writing in order to purposefully market yourself is okay if you want to give advice to newcomers to the trade, but you don't attract any immediate clients this way.

In contrast to all the other categories that have real, often tangible, goods to sell to people who need them, writers market themselves to website developers by directly addressing the issues that concern them, and tend to just ramble on and on about the art of writing instead. A rather pointless exercise unless you've already missed your vocation and confuse sound writing with teaching.

A writer likes just to write about reality in all its facets and I can hardly imagine there's anything more tedious than to write about writing. Unless you have a psychological defect which forces you to continue to talk in metacommunicative terms ad infinitum, but there are not many such people around. I wonder what the defect is and am already itching to research the topic, and write something about it and ? yes, what? Publish it for free, hoping someone will read the byline and say; 'one more please', or, in a wilder dream: 'We'll put you on a monthly retainer if you write a few?' It happens this way, but you have to be lucky. Yet, our traffic numbers simply dictate we flush the 'net with more free articles we believe is an illogical waste-your-brain exercise.

What is the right path for someone to still sell writing skills?

These are the options:

a- Create RSS, XML feeds and syndicate to news services;

b- Prop up the output by including extra resources on existing topics that get good traffic;

c- Regard incoming links as search engine rank boosters rather than direct mega traffic generators;

d- Expand the online presence to include direct marketing, job bulletin boards, forums;

e- Invent something ludicrously insane to get attention and then capitalise on it like crazy.

Ad a- In the time frame of the last six months, I have cringed, bit my teeth and published articles for free on real topics including politics, culture, features, health. They have been posted in a host of freebie ezines, a few highly reputable professional special interest publications and our own ezine which is already RSS compatible. We also publish a ranting and raving blog which is a highly contrarian piece of mostly political fabric that is truly optimised for all outlets in the blogosphere too. It's worked miracles for our traffic.

Ad b- The output is however still too low to attract continuous traffic. It makes sense to see what the most popular topics have been and expand the coverage by including RSS feeds from other sources and create boutique style news packages out of them that are so specialised they beat the news aggregators. Read our other article The Grassroots of Publishing ? And the Beyond.

Ad c- Targeting the market for content writing by producing solid examples honing the trade remains key, especially because it creates incoming backlinks. These are the so-called non reciprical backlinks which are famous for propping up your rankings in search engines.

Ad d- Small agencies can mimick the news industry without too much trouble and provide better, tailormade, products. They have to ride a fine line however by not abandoning their natural target market (for tailor made hand crafted content, someone's gotta do it) or by excluding the outside world that's exploiting the same turf.

Ad e- Instead, making your weak point your strongest is best. If in the jungle, the life saving maxim is 'if you are not strong, be quick', in today's internet jungle the writer's should be 'if you are not big, be different'. Strong conceptual thinking is key in getting visitors to come back. Casting a human eye over aggregator news output and including extra sources as well as some home made articles are the ingredients to create content that's different and better.

Angelique van Engelen is a freelance writer based in Amsterdam the Netherlands. She runs http://www.contentclix.com and writes tailormade articles and content.

affordable house cleaning Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

Publishing: changing realities (IV)

Article Writing