Writing Articles Online to Build Your Digital Influence

You have developed a personal brand and started to promote yourself online, but you need an outlet for your content. If you have thought leadership content to share but don’t want to create a blog yourself or aren’t ready to invest, article sites are a great place to start. Article sites are websites online that allow you to create an account and contribute an article. For example, on LinkedIn, you can write an article that is hosted on LinkedIn and publicly available. On sites like Medium, you can also create an account and write articles. Here are the benefits and drawbacks of writing articles online to build your digital influence. 

Benefits of Online Digital Influence Articles

There are multiple advantages to writing articles:

• Flexibility: You don’t have to create a regular content stream or invest in creating your platform. You can contribute when you have an idea. 
• Audience: Another advantage is that these sites usually have some built-in followers, so your articles can generate some initial views without much effort. 
• Organic Reach: Some platforms, such as LinkedIn, will show your article via the newsfeed to some of your contacts, even if you don’t try to promote your content.  

Drawbacks of Online Digital Influence Articles

The drawback of article sites is that you have little control over your content. It’s on a site you don’t own, and it won’t work well if your goal is to use it for lead generation or drive people to your site. For example, with a blog, people can explore my site, learn about me and my products, and sign up for my newsletter or a free resource. If I publish the article on another platform, I lose the opportunity to promote my business to my article readers. 

Article sites are becoming increasingly popular as many people struggle to maintain and create their blogs. If you are new to blogging and want to experiment, article sites are a great starting point. Once you feel you can create content regularly, you can switch to creating and promoting your blog. 

This information was taken from an excerpt of “Launch Yourself” by Krista Neher. For your free action planner and bonus resources, visit www.LaunchYourself.com/book.