Writing as a Career: The Continuation of Promotion

   I have been writing for almost my entire life.  I can’t remember a period of time in my life that I didn’t write.  I have had numerous articles and poetry published in magazines and collections.

   I started publishing on-line for the sheer enjoyment of getting my work out there.  I then realized there were sites on line that would pay me to publish my work with them.  I didn’t start out making much money, cents per month, but I soon learned the more you have published the more money you will make.

   I then learned the importance of promoting my work.  Promotion on-line can take a lot of time, but it pays off in the end.  You have to build relationships and a reputation, but once your reputation is built it is not so time consuming.  You also have to take the time to write interesting reviews to make your links more click-able, but as you gain experience in doing so it comes more naturally.

   Have you ever tried to plant a garden but failed miserably because you did not take the time to nurture it.  Because you did not put the work that your garden needed into it, it became flooded with weeds and produced very little crop.  Your work is much like this garden.  If you do not put the work in that your content needs to grow it will wither and eventually die.  You may not be able to submit your links more than once to the sites you use for promotion but there are other ways you can go about getting those links viewed.

   Most submission sites offer a place for comments.  Strike up an interesting conversation about the link you submitted.  Make sure that you join in on the conversations.

   There are also many “ping” sites that allow you to “ping” your URL.  By “pinging” your content you send a little message to search engines that lets them know your content is out there ready for viewing.

   Join forums that are related to the topics you write about.  After building a reputation you can then offer your links to conversations that they would contribute to.  Make sure your link is relevant though, otherwise you will be viewed as a spammer.

   Take the time to nurture your garden and watch it grow.  Make sure nothing gets left behind.  If you follow these steps you are sure to have success.

   For more tips on being a successful writer please read Online Writing as Business: What You Need to Do to Earn a Living From Writing.  In it JIMMY SHILAHO gives some great pointers on what to do to be successful enough to earn a living from publishing on-line.