Why Write For Another Site?

Borrowing Credibility

However, the benefits of allowing a site the exclusive rights to publish my newer works extend beyond getting more people to my site. Often on larger, commercial sites, an editor reviews the articles published throughout their network. This precondition to publication means that the editor is in effect endorsing the content -- and the author who wrote it.

This review process gives the authors that are published -- and their sites -- more credibility with readers at the author's own site, as well as endorsement with readers of the commercial site's network. If these commercial sites allowed anyone to post new articles without them being checked and reviewed, they'd swiftly lose credibility with their audiences, as the quality of content would suffer.

Crowe, another site owner, tends to agree, "I like to submit to sites that have a nice editorial policy so that you know when you see your article online, paid or not, it met their standards. I'd much rather write articles for sites like this one [SitePoint] where they are in good company."

Benefits Now and Later

Too frequently, writing articles for other sites and ezines is seen as a short-term means of getting traffic to your site. The idea is that once the article is "old", you'll loose the trickle of traffic that follows your link from the article to your site, and you'll have to supply a steady stream of new content to maintain the traffic flow.

Short Term Traffic

This is partially true: if you choose your publication mediums carefully you will enjoy a burst of highly targeted traffic to your site. Even if this equates to nothing more than a handful of people, they are the people most likely to bookmark your site and return to read more of what you have to say in the future. If you happen to own an ecommerce site or sell Web services, this could mean an extra sale or new Web project. Can you really afford to forego that?

Long Term Traffic

The long-term benefits of publishing your work on other sites should be self-evident. Provided the publishing site maintains past article archives, your work will be available for readers long after the original publication date. While the stream of visitors will slow down, it shouldn't dry out completely.

Search Result Boost

Then of course there are the search engines, which will find links to your site wherever you are published (assuming you requested a link as a condition for republishing the piece). This can only help your link popularity, which in turn will help your search engine rankings.

The Domino Effect

Don't forget that "any publicity is good publicity", so if you're able to have your articles published in a popular print magazine, then you can tap into a whole new market. Steelsun, one site owner I spoke to, recommends you find publications that are suitable to your target audience and be flexible about how you are rewarded for your effort. He says that not all articles he's written have been paid for directly, but he's benefited from mentions of his site, free copies of publications that he's been featured in, and free classifieds for his business -- to name a few of the common perks.

The bonus of writing articles, in this, the age of content syndication, was explained to me by Robert Loch, deputy editor of Dotcom Scoop:

Of all the site owners I talked to who had written articles for other sites, none had ruled it out of their future site promotion efforts. Writing articles is certainly an effective way of getting attention on the Net, but there is no denying the fact that who you write for plays a big part in your success or failure.

Is it Worth it?

When deciding if writing content for someone else is worth your time and effort, remember that it can bring more than just new visitors to your site. Decide what your main motives for writing are and choose your publishing partners carefully. And remember: having your article approved by an editor for publication on a well known site means a lot to the regular visitors of that site -- and will, in turn, help improve your credibility.

The real challenge, though, is not writing the articles: it's getting them noticed by the right group of people! By finding out where all these people are and how to get your words in front of them, you'll be one step closer to getting the quality traffic you're looking for. Your target audience is out there now, looking for your opinions and advice, so why not give them what they want? If they like what you have to offer, there is a very good chance they will visit your site to learn more.

While the bulk of the rewards for sharing your content and knowledge may be short-lived, it's your opportunity to make an impression in wider circles. Surely the prospect of earning more respect in your profession or of developing new business or personal relationships is worth a few extra hours of your time...

So what are you waiting for? Get writing!