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Getting Syndicated
Over the years IÂ’ve spoken to a number of authors who say they aspire to write a syndicated column. Getting syndicated is a great idea, albeit a challenging one. If youÂ’ve thought of this no doubt most (if not all) of your competition has too. But donÂ’t let this discourage you; while syndication may take a while, itÂ’s still worth pursuing.
There are a number of tried and true ways you can enter this market, there are also a few “back door” methods that might work equally as good. The first thing you’ll need to do however is get to know your competition. For this I recommend that you get a copy of The Editor & Publisher Annual Directory of Syndication. Sometimes you can get this in bookstores but I’d recommend just ordering it online at http://www.editorandpublisher.com. Explore this book carefully and you’ll find that syndicated columns are listed by both the syndicated service that offers them as well as their topic. This will give you a good starting point in your research and since most newspapers now have on-line archives, you’ll be able to explore past articles and see how these topics differ from your own.
Once you’ve explored this, define for yourself how your topic/angle is different from the ones you found during your research. Then once you’ve defined this, you can start targeting papers or syndication services with your query letter and sample articles. This is the traditional way of entering this market. For most it can be long and tedious and you might find that without prior “clippings” to offer them, the process takes even longer. In that vein, I’d recommend that you try offering your column locally first or to one paper at a time but not in a “syndication deal” but as a filler; newspapers will be a lot quicker to take filler items than to explore syndication options with you. By offering them consistent filler content (and saving those valuable clippings) you’ll start to grow your level of experience, you’ll build a reputation with the editor or editorial staff and you’ll begin to get a sense of what does and doesn’t work with printed media. An associate of mine did this, not with a local paper but with a paper she’d been offering her articles to, and after about two years of consistent submission she may be in line to fill the shoes of their in-house syndicated columnist who is retiring.
Once you have built some exposure for yourself and gathered clippings of your work, then itÂ’s time to start pitching your topic to syndicated services (some of them are listed below) or regional newspapers. For this youÂ’ll need a great query letter establishing your credentials and explaining why your idea is different from the others they might be considering, youÂ’ll need some sample articles (other than your clippings) and perhaps some letters of reference from some papers youÂ’ve worked for. Submit this packet to newspapers or syndicated services that might be appropriate to your topic and then keep good records and do your follow-up just like you would if you were pitching the media on anything else. The same rules apply really, pitch and follow-up and stay on their radar screen.
So, at the end of the day when you find yourself successfully syndicated will you get paid for all your hard work – absolutely! What you’ll get paid varies depending on how many papers feature you and whether you are working through a syndication service. Syndication services are great but they will typically take 40 to 50 percent of your sales. If you self-syndicate you get all the proceeds. While it’s great to do this, keep in mind that you’ll need to have good tracking systems in place once your column takes off.
As an already published author, syndication can be another great way to promote you and your book. Your book will lend you the credibility you need to get that column and from this ongoing printed exposure some lucrative publishing deals could follow suit. Syndication may not be an easy road but if tackled correctly, can be a great way to boost your promotion, expand your platform and get the kind of exposure you only ever dreamed of!
Major syndicates – check online for their submission guidelines
Copley News Service
http://www.copleynews.com
King Features
http://www.kingfeatures.com
Universal Press Syndicate
http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/index.htm
BONUS TIP: If you’re trying to follow the comings and goings of syndicated writers, Editor and Publisher (http://www.editorandpublisher) is a great resource for that. Check out the “Departments” tab on their web site for the latest news on columns that might be coming available!
BONUS : Getting The Most From Your Article Submitter Software
If you are serious about Ezine article writing you do need an article submitter. It is, in fact, an articles writers most important tool. The latest generation are faster, have more automatic features, and continually update their databases. Article writing has continued to increase in popularity because the once dreaded time consuming submittal chore has been made so easy. Some of the latest generation article submitters not only submit the articles, but actually provide software to help you write the article! This almost sounds too good to be true, but current reviews praise article creator software.
If you are reading this article you have made a choice on how to drive traffic to your website. There are three ways to get targeted traffic, buy it, borrow it, or create it. Without a doubt, Ezine article writing does drive targeted traffic to your site. Just as true is the fact that Ezine article writing takes more work than the other options.
Enter the article submitter software program. Without this valuable tool it would be physically impossible to submit the number of required articles to the hundreds of article submit sites for the needed exposure. You enter your article details into the software once, and then select the directories you would like to submit to. The software will automatically fill in all of the submission criteria saving you an incredible amount of time. Another time saver is the fact that most article submitters come with a database of article submit sites, that is continually updated for you. If you have ever tried to compile a list on your own, you know that the database alone is worth much more than the cost of the submitter program!
A word of caution here. Do not get involved in robot spam type submitter programs or companies that do this. This type of sloppy submittal is frowned upon, a nuisance to the submit sites, and can get you banned from the best article sites, and even the search engines. The article submit site provides a tremendous exposure for your article, and free. You owe it to them to be professional, login properly, submit your article to the correct category, and logout. A proper article submitter will do just that, saving you the tedious manual cut and paste time, and saving the site server time.
Let us look more closely at "Quality articles quickly submitted to hundreds of submit sites is the key to being a successful Ezine article writer". Your Ezine article has a short life span. Once published, it has 24 hours on the "most recent articles" page of a particular article submit directory. The directories main page is the only page scanned by the search engines, that increases your SEO. Sadly, the next day your article has been replaced by many newer articles on the same subject. After its moment of fame has passed it will still get read by the sites readers, and if good picked up by other directories and sources needing articles. Recently I wrote a travel article that was picked up by several major International tour companies and enjoyed a month of exposure as their featured article of the month. Some sites accept and publish your article within hours, others days, weeks, or even months. Actually this is good, as during the time you are submitting to several hundred sites, your article is "the most recent" on some site. However, at some point your article will become stale, and your website stats will show a drop-off in visitors. Have your next new article submitted well before this happens.
An article submitter is the most important tool an article writer can have. Why then, do article submitter programs draw the "penny wise pound foolish" crowd like a magnet. Some amusing examples for you. One submitter gives a 3 day free trial. Stories abound about the users who download the program and stay up day and night drinking coffee and making submittals for the 3 free days. Another good submitter program gives a free trial version with a database of 85 sites. The full version with hundreds of sites is reasonably priced, but most users just stick with the free version. I am not a gifted psychic, but I can guarantee you that none of these users are making any money from writing and publishing Ezine articles. How do I know that? Quite simple, "Quality articles quickly submitted to hundreds of submit sites is the key to being a successful Ezine article writer". Sure, not buying the article submitter program is a loss for the company, but a far worse loss for the writer by limiting their article exposure, the very thing that has the potential to make them money.
As you can see, the two things go hand in hand, many articles submitted to hundreds of submit sites. Do not cut corners with your article submitter program, it is the key to your success. And, be sure to look into the new article creator programs that speed up your article writing. To your success!