Why Write For Another Site?

Interested in writing articles for publicity?

I started asking people this question when I realised that I was going to have my first article published at SitePoint. I knew some of them certainly had the experience to produce content for publication online, and while some people thought it was a great idea, others were too busy or thought it was a waste of their time to write content for another site.

This got me thinking. Why would it be a waste of time to write for another site?

Why Write?

To help answer this question, we really need to understand why anyone would write an article in the first place:

• To inform
• To promote (yourself, your site or your company)
• To profit (from selling the information)

As we've all heard, the two main reasons why people use the Internet are to be entertained or for information. Accordingly, most content available on the Internet is written with the intent to inform people, even if this is not the main reason why it was created. An example might be a Web host offering advice on particular hosting solutions that they happen to offer themselves.

Some people like to make their work available to anyone wishing to publish it with the aim of promoting their presence on the Web or that of their site or company. Rabbitdog, who owns and runs her own Website, finds writing new material a strain at times, but feels it's worth the effort at the end of the day. Once her article's online, she has something to add to her resume -- and she's helped others by explaining things in a more straightforward way.

Other people are write articles simply for the fame and prestige that comes with it. It doesn't matter to most that this ego boost is short lived: being able to say they've written for a well-known site or publication is enough to earn them a bit of extra respect and credibility, particularly if they can prove it with a link to the archives. Find the right place to publish your work and you'll find people will begin to recognise you, your site and your company.

If you want to write for profit, it would be a good idea to offer samples of what you produce for free, either in the form of quick tips, or an extensive article on your specialised subject. Why? Because Web users expect to find information online for free. However, if you can convince your visitors that you really know what you're talking about, and they know they're unlikely to find the information elsewhere, then they may be prepared to pay.

But regardless of your motive for writing an article, you will want to make sure that your work gets seen by as many people interested in your topic as possible. Even if you have a large Website, you'll enjoy greater exposure if you publish your work (or references to it) across a range of different sites.

Your attitude to sharing your time and work with another site or ezine will depend on:

• your motivation for writing a piece and
• any restrictions placed on its distribution once it's published.

Consider:

• Do you already have content you can share with other sites and ezines?
• Do you regularly create your own fresh content?
• Are you, your site or your company relatively unknown?
• Are there sites or ezines out there willing to publish your already published work?
• Do the sites or ezines looking for unpublished work want the "exclusive" if they agree to publish your work? If so, how long for?
• What is the reach of the site or ezine you want to work with?

To decide whether publishing your work on other sites really is worth it, you'll have to take into consideration the extra effort of the work, along with the potential rewards.

In my particular case, I decided to write a few articles to help get myself noticed in wider Webmaster circles. While I did take the time to write content with the intention of it being published on specific sites, I didn't feel as if this were as waste of time. I'm always looking to expand my own Webmaster related site, so would have used the articles on my own site anyway, even if they were rejected.