10 Things You Should Know About Content Provision Sites

Content provision sites are becoming increasingly important in any comprehensive online public-relations campaign. Here are a few tips to help provide a beneficial experience for all involved.

1. Content provision sites offer articles of interest to their visitors.

Content provision sites serve as a holding station for interesting articles about a wide variety of topics. Usually, visitors can find engaging material for many purposes.

2. Content provision articles should be vendor-neutral.

Content provision editors are looking for informative pieces, not advertising. The best writing style uses a vendor-neutral tone, with copy of general interest without referring to any specific company.

3. Content provision sites provide useful inbound links for the author’s web page.

Authors can include their company’s web site URL in a special profile section or an “author resource box.” They can also stipulate that anyone re-printing their article must give credit to them by including their URL.

4. Be careful to follow the submission requirements listed on each content provision web site.

These requirements vary. For example, some content provision sites demand exclusive material while others do not.

5. Article headlines starting with a number attract more readers.

As a rule, titles such as 10 Ways to Do Something, or 10 Tips About a Topic, receive more visitors than standard headlines.

6. Keep the length of a content provision article relatively short.

Generally, about 500 words is sufficient. Content provision sites are not suitable places for a technical white paper, intricate analyses or long, complex topics.

7. Reinforce publicity from content provision sites with online press releases and a blog.

Inbound links to your web site from content provision sites tend to last a long time, but they should be supplemented with short-lived, stronger links provided by distributing an online press release through well-known organizations such as PR Newswire. Blogs also provide a stream of links from each entry.

8. Draft and submit a content provision article once a month, or at least once a quarter.

As you continue to submit articles to a content provision site, you are generally awarded a higher status, and your articles appear on more prominent pages.

9. Include a headshot in your content provision profile.

Some content provision sites include the photo with each article. In any case, people still like to see what the authors look like, especially if they become interested in doing business with them.

10. If possible, try to find industry-specific content provision sites.

Inbound links from sites containing articles about public relations, for example, are especially powerful if you run a public relations firm.

The key to using content provision sites is consistency. Interesting articles submitted at a regular interval, with useful information and an engaging writing style, will build your reputation and establish you as an expert in your field.

By: Willy Gissen

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A Harvard graduate, Willy Gissen founded Cut-It-Out Communications, a full-service public relations agency, in 2003. For related articles, visit public relations instruction.