Time to Write That Article
Share your success in the places where prospects and referral sources look for insights.
I hope that you, your family and your team are managing these times well.
During this interim period of uncertainty (April 2020), you may find that your projects have stalled until a client or colleague responds to your most recent draft or email.
As you await their feedback, take a look at those Marketing initiatives sitting on the back burner. If you’ve been meaning to write an article, now is the time to put your ideas on paper and move that project up to the front.
This is the fourth in a series of tips that help you to continue promoting your services.
Past performance may not be indicative of future results, but it sure does persuade people that you know what you’re talking about.
One of the best ways to demonstrate your expertise is to write an article that explores work completed with a prior client, pointing to lessons learned and best practices.
Another topic is forecasting developments in the year ahead. You might even outline the business impact of a new trend or regulation. These meaty subjects will demonstrate that you are forward-thinking and enhance your credibility. (Don’t worry; no one will check up months from now to see whether you were correct.)
Consider the magazines where your prospective clients, past customers and referral sources are looking for guidance and up-to-date information to SAVE TIME, SAVE MONEY and MAKE MORE MONEY.
Those industry newsletters are where you want to publish your insightful perspective.
These discussions will help you get started with ideas for content, once you have secured permission from the client:
Are You Too Busy to Write? Then Crowdsource Your Content
Client Success Becomes a Case Study and Article
Write Your Case Study with P A R I
Your Co-Authored Article Reaches Influencers of Your Target Market
Here are all the resources on one sheet.
Tips
Don’t write the article; instead write a letter that proposes the article. Let’s say you’ve penned a discussion that is 600 words. You send it to the editor of Marketing to Managers Monthly. The editor likes the article, but she only has room for 500 words. Or maybe the editor likes what you’ve submitted, and asks you to mention another topic, which will bring the word count to 750. In either case, you have to perform major surgery to bring the article into line with the publication’s requirements. Effectively, you write the article twice.
There is a better way. Compose an email to the editor in advance, before preparing your draft. Describe the theme or topic of the article in three to five sentences, adding a few bullet points that develop the subject. Ask for the word count and send your note. When the editor responds, giving you the signal to go ahead, you will write the article to the prescribed length, as discussed here: Sample Letter to Propose an Article.
Here’s the list of the 10 articles in this series.
Contact
Are you stumped for inspiration to get started? I love to brainstorm ideas for articles, plus I can identify the relevant industry magazine that would welcome your submission. Contact me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com, set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s get your ideas and name in print, so others will see you as a solution to their problem.
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