Image by AngelaShupe.com via Flickr

If you are a writer, (and I assume you are since you are reading this blog), the most beneficial reason to write articles is to promote yourself and your writing.

Articles can expand your presence on the internet and bring you new readers and fans. Seeing your name and your articles on many websites can build your credibility and build your name recognition.

Of course the most important place to use articles is on your own blog or website. One of the main reasons that search engines rank blog above websites is that the content of blog changes more often. (That’s a reason you need to post to your blog frequently.)

I have a client who once told me, “I write fiction. I can’t write articles, and no one is using search engines to find me.”

Was that really true? Readers had seen her speak at a conferences and workshops. They wanted to read her books. She also wanted to reach more readers and boost her book sales. She was active in several writing forums. Other members read her comments, agreed with them and wanted to read more about what she had written.

I pointed out that the speeches she wrote for conferences and the lessons she wrote for workshops were really works of non-fiction and can easily be turned into articles.

Even fiction writers do research into a variety of subjects. You learn all sorts of strange facts about many different things. Rather than use those pieces of information as cocktail party chatter, why not turn them into articles that bring you and your writing to the attention of new readers.

If you can write fiction, you can write articles. Fiction authors know how to engage readers, use story to get their point across, and structure pieces with a clear beginning, middle, and end. They know how to write in a voice that draws readers in and keeps them reading.

Non-fiction authors would do well to study the craft of fiction writing in order to improve their articles.

Where do you place your articles?

• Your blog
• Your newsletter
• Writing organization newsletters
• Article directories
• Guest posts on other author’s blogs
• Print newspapers
• Print magazines

If you need a little help in starting to write articles to promote yourself, check out The Article Factory for a set of templates. Also, Jeff Herring provides some free templates as well as some great training.

Do you write articles? If you do, where do you publish your articles? Which venues give you the most promotional benefit?

If you don’t write articles, why not? What’s stopping you?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts on using articles to promote yourself and your writing.

Write on,

Lynn