| Content provision sites are becoming increasingly | | | | 6. Keep the length of your article relatively short. |
| important in any comprehensive online public-relations | | | | Generally, about 500 words is sufficient. These sites |
| campaign. Here are a few tips to help provide a | | | | are not suitable places for a technical white paper, |
| beneficial experience for all involved. | | | | intricate analyses or long, complex topics. |
| 1. Content provision sites offer articles of interest to | | | | 7. Reinforce publicity from these sites with online press |
| their visitors. | | | | releases and a blog. |
| They serve as a holding station for interesting articles | | | | Inbound links to your web site from content provision |
| about a wide variety of topics. Usually, visitors can find | | | | sites tend to last a long time, but they should be |
| engaging material for many purposes. | | | | supplemented with short-lived, stronger links provided |
| 2. Content provision articles should be vendor-neutral. | | | | by distributing an online press release through |
| Their editors are looking for informative pieces, not | | | | well-known organizations such as PR Newswire. Blogs |
| advertising. The best writing style uses a | | | | also provide a stream of links from each entry. |
| vendor-neutral tone, with copy of general interest | | | | 8. Draft and submit an article once a month, or at least |
| without referring to any specific company. | | | | once a quarter. |
| 3. The sites provide useful inbound links for the author's | | | | As you continue to submit articles, you are generally |
| web page. | | | | awarded a higher status, and your articles appear on |
| Authors can include their company's web site URL in a | | | | more prominent pages. |
| special profile section or an "author resource box." | | | | 9. Include a headshot in your profile. |
| They can also stipulate that anyone re-printing their | | | | Some sites include the photo with each article. In any |
| article must give credit to them by including their URL. | | | | case, people still like to see what the authors look like, |
| 4. Be careful to follow the submission requirements | | | | especially if they become interested in doing business |
| listed on each web site. | | | | with them. |
| These requirements vary. For example, some content | | | | 10. If possible, try to find industry-specific sites. |
| provision sites demand exclusive material while others | | | | Inbound links from sites containing articles about public |
| do not. | | | | relations, for example, are especially powerful if you |
| 5. Article headlines starting with a number attract more | | | | run a public relations firm. |
| readers. | | | | The key to using these sites is consistency. Interesting |
| As a rule, titles such as 10 Ways to Do Something, or | | | | articles submitted at a regular interval, with useful |
| 10 Tips About a Topic, receive more visitors than | | | | information and an engaging writing style, will build your |
| standard headlines. | | | | reputation and establish you as an expert in your field. |