In a recent post about where to submit your articles, I talked about submitting to both general and targeted article directories or newsletters.
Here’s another distinction that may be helpful, and that is to consider which are your “stock” articles, and which are your “specialty” articles.
This actually came out of a conversation I had with a prospective article writer for the IAC VOICE. She wanted to submit what she considers one of her “stock articles,” which wasn’t really appropriate because:
(a) Once published in the VOICE, we own the copyright of all articles, which means she wouldn’t be able to use it as a stock article anymore.
(b) We prefer original articles, or articles that have been adapted or expanded to offer something unique to our VOICE readers.
Here are some of my initial thoughts about stock articles and specialty articles:
| Stock Articles | Specialty Articles |
|---|---|
| Submit to general directories | Submit to targeted directories |
| Your take on established ideas | Your core content or curriculum – original ideas and theories |
| May be more appropriate for a wider audience | Very targeted to your niche audience and/or the readers of a specific site |
| Straightforward, matter-of-fact | Creative and quirky |
| Sometimes involve research of outside sources | Purely your own creation |
| May need proofreading/editing | May need ghostwriting |
So as you work on creating your article empire, aim for a balance of these two types of articles. That way you will always have the right kind of article for the right location.