As a freelance writer, I understand the problems small business bloggers face.
I tried the blogging route to promote my writing business and I’ve let two blogs just fade away because I don’t have time to blog and take care of my clients.
However, having an online presence for your business, no matter what it is, is almost a requirement these days, whether you want to compete locally or on a national level.
One of the problems with blogging is that you have to produce so much content over such a long period of time before anyone notices you’re out there. It’s a little bit easier in local marketplaces because you appear in local search results, but you still need to fill up that blog and you still need to rely on organic searches. Who has that kind of time?
My solution? I dumped my blog and I write for Examiner.com.
My results? Phenomenal! Here’s why…
Examiner.com has a connection with Google News
I don’t know how much online reading you do but start looking around and you’ll see world news articles and local news articles about everything under the sun. How did Joe Smith, a plumber in Podunk, Washington, get his name in an article that’s flashing around the world on Google News?
Your blog posts don’t go to Google News. If you’re lucky, in a day or two or three, they’ll hit the Google Index, but they’ll never make it to Google News – unless you’ve met all of Google’s requirements. And they’re not easy to meet. If you’re having a hard time maintaining your small business blog now you don’t even want to know what you’ll have to do to meet Google’s newsworthy requirements.
Now, once your blog posts are in the Index, then searchers can trip over your information, if they’re using the same keywords you used in your post. If not… well, they’ll just find your competitor. But once your articles hit Google News, here’s what happens…
People in your city or town who have “Podunk, Washington” marked on their Google News reader will automatically see every news article you publish – whether they know your blog exists or not. The same for people who’ve marked plumbing news, or legal news or accounting news or religious news or any of the unlimited number of topics available.
Now maybe you live in a small town and not many people use Google News but here’s the real benefit… there are lots of other blogs and websites out there that do. And when they see your article come across their Google News feed, they’ll pick it up and blast it out to their own followers. It’s called syndication and you’ll never see it happen with your blog posts, but it happens all the time with Examiner.com news articles.
Am I suggesting you ditch your blog like I did?
Not at all. What I am suggesting is this….
Learn more about the benefits of writing for Examiner.com, first. This Google News thing is just the tip of the iceberg. I have information on by blog at C2CWriter.com and I’ll be publishing a series of guest blog posts at GrowMap.com to give you some help getting started.
If you’re spending a lot of time blogging – and worse, if you’re spending a lot of time on article marketing and other promotional writing – I highly recommend you take a look at Examiner.com. I’ve been writing there for a little over two years with a 13-month break in the middle. Since June of 2012 when I picked it back up, my business has skyrocketed as a direct result of my news articles at Examiner.com.
You don’t have to pay for web hosting and it doesn’t cost anything, in fact you make money off of every page view – another benefit of writing for Examiner. You write your own bio, including your own links, and you can include your links inside your articles. You can write evergreen content and newsworthy content, just like you would on your blog.
The difference is – Examiner.com has that Google News connection that blasts your article all over the Web. Now when you sit down to write, you know somebody’s going to be reading it.
Related Articles:
- Examiner.com Tips: Choosing a Local vs. a National Title
- Forget About Article Marketing And Get Real Traffic With Examiner.com
- Can You Use Examiner.com To Promote Your Blog Or Business?
- My Personal Examiner.com Success Story
Bloggers have to be on their toes all the time to produce good content. Examiner.com looks like a great thing. Thanks for sharing your experience about it. Will surely give it a look.
Hey Donna,
It is very significant to create market presence for a small business. The examiner.com can indeed do a great work in this direction. Thanks for sharing this useful insight.
Hi Aayna,
Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I’m not seeing any notification of comments.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment check out Examiner.com when you get a chance. 🙂
Examiner.com is such a reliable article directory so I don’t see why not 🙂 This would definitely make a great alternative to ezine articles that I must say is quite saturated with low quality content. Thanks for the salutary share! More Power!
Hi Joy,
Ohhhhh, you don’t even want to know what I think about Ezine Articles LOL Definitely! Examiner is a much, much MUCH better resource!
This is definitely advantageous for all freelance writers out there. I’ve always referred to examiner.com if there is anything that puzzles me or if I want to take a break and look at the arts and entertainment section. Thanks for the informative share!
Hi Kristine,
If you’re a freelancer you should check out Examiner.com. I’ve used it to promote my own business and I’ve also had clients hire me to promote theirs. Nice way to pick up a few extra bucks. 🙂
I am a freelance writer on odesk. This examiner.com site sounds very promising. How do employers hire and pay you here? Are non native writers allowed here? Thanks for the share!
Hi Dipa,
I could never get the hang of odesk, so kudos to you! I’ve worked at Elance and Freelancer.com but something about odesk always bugged me. Probably just to busy to really learn the site.
Your English writing looks very good so you’d probably be fine with Examiner. I’m not sure about their payment system outside the country though so you’d have to check into that. You can get to Examiner through one of the links in my article. 🙂
I have been looking for such a solution and it seems like you have come to the rescue Donna 🙂 Thanks for the great share which would help all struggling bloggers like myself.
Great, Fatima – Glad to help! Let me know if I can help you in any way 🙂
Hi Donna, this is for the first time i have heard about Examiner.com and it looks interesting. I agree maintaining a blog along with serving clients can be a real tough task and may not be possible for a lot of us….looks like Examiner.com is something worth checking…
Examiner sounds like an excellent alternative to try. Getting in google news would have to help a lot with visibility.
Hi Lisa,
Your site sounds like one that would definitely benefit with Examiner.com. Let me know if you decide to check it out and you need help with anything 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful share! Examiner has always been my go-to site for articles. This sounds very effective. Thanks again, and more power to you!
Today I’m very happy for finding an excellent article regarding my favourite website, examiner.com. I’m well-acquainted with the site and have an account with it.
Thanks.
Do you think these ideas about using The Examiner website as a in to Google news could work for a niche website or blog? My site is about architectural facades, which is highly specialized with a lot of competition. It’s not easy to get news related stories in Google News. I would love to be able to use this idea. Thanks for the suggestion.