After Doing This I Had to Turn New Clients Away
Imagine doing just one thing that is so powerful you
actually have to turn away new business. Whether
you’re an independent consultant or represent a
Fortune 500 company this short article will show you how to
do just that.

There are several different ways to accomplish what
I’ve described so I’ll start with the method
that shows results quickest; publishing top-quality
articles and whitepapers. If you’ve tried this in the
past without seeing dramatic results, keep reading. There
are a few tips here that will help put all previous results
to shame.

First and most importantly, remember that an article is
news. So of course, it needs to be newsworthy. Not a
fast-breaking story. But it has to be informative or
instructive or both to be of any real value to the reader.
Don’t forget, the publisher kind enough to present
your work is not doing this for you. They’re doing it
for their readers. They have a responsibility to the reader
to provide good, fresh content. And for every great article
they receive, there are 50 pieces of junk that get trashed.

Best of all, the better your article, the better your
reputation will become. And your calendar will fill with
new business meetings and speaking engagements before you
know it. It happens fast once you get the right piece
published!

Second, write in a natural voice as if you were speaking to
a good friend. You can go back after and edit all the
grammar. For now, just focus on telling the story that will
best assist the reader.

To recap – Write and submit only top-quality pieces
that are informative, instructive or both. And do it as if
you’re talking to your best friend.

Third, use the format the publisher likes best. If
you’re using a time/effort saver such as a
specialized mass distribution service like
http://www.SubmitYourArticle.us or software like
http://www.ArticleSubmit.us use a standard format. Although
there is no exact science – here are some good
general guidelines:

Keep your length to between 500 and 750 words (or less).
Don’t include more than six links – Including
the resource box (author bio area.) Don’t put any
hyperlinks within the first three paragraphs. When adding a
link you want clickable, prefix it with http://

Again, there’s no guarantee the above format will be
accepted by all article directories. However it works well
for a good many and presents itself well to offering
quality information in a reader-friendly format, which is
why directories have such guidelines in the first place.

Next – Tell your readers who you are with your
resource box. This is the author bio section you always see
at the bottom of home theater furniture articles. A good rule of thumb is to write
only what you can fit on the back of a business card. Here
are some slightly better guidelines:

Make this no longer than 450 characters, including spaces.
The fewer; the better. Show the reader, briefly, why you
are qualified as an expert in your field. Include up to two
personal links – Only. By the way, I never use an
email address anymore. It’s too easy to be hijacked
into a spamming app by someone who finds it posted on the
Web.

I won’t waste your time with telling you how to come
up with cute or catchy headlines. Just treat a headline
like any other piece of your writing – use fact ONLY.
In the case of this article, I tried to make it interesting
but used only cold, hard facts. From one article published
on a Friday, I received 204 requests for proposal, over the
course of two weeks. Of these I was able to accept only
twelve, which booked me solid for nearly four months.

To summarize…

Write good, solid articles that will benefit your readers
and the publishers. Write what you know. Write naturally,
as if you are talking to your best friend. Verify all facts
before submitting to a publisher. Use the format your
publisher suggests. If you use a distribution program or
service, use the standard format above or similar. Never
mislead the reader, even for one minute. Use interesting
titles and headlines based on fact only. Spend some time
writing your resource box copy and let the reader know why
they should trust you.

That’s all there is to it. In no time, you can be a
recognized industry guru and sought after spokesperson.
Good luck!

—————————————————-
Mike Small has published more than 250 articles and five
books since 2002. He teaches writing seminars and guest
lectures for marketing agencies from Boston to Richmond. In
his spare time he maintains a simple entrepreneur’s
self-help site at http://www.iMakeMore.com