Client Spotlight: Kimberli Jeter is a social impact consultant and the founder of River Wolf Group, where she leverages the power of networks to help individuals, organizations, and communities thrive. A graduate of Pathway to Publication, she wrote “Put a Different Spin on Networking” for TD Magazine. 

Good morning, !

The other day I told one of my clients that publishing an article in a high-visibility publication was only the first step. Yes, it takes time and energy and effort to get published. But getting published, even in the fanciest of fancy publications, does not automatically result in hoards of humans knocking down your door.

The true value of published articles is realized over time if, and only if, you put those articles to work.

But how do you do that?

Read on, my friend.

Read on.

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Published Articles Are Business Assets. Put Them To Work.

Published articles are valuable business assets, especially for consultants, but few people use them to their advantage. Instead, most people write and publish an article, promote it on LinkedIn and through their email newsletter, and then let the piece sit in an obscure corner of the internet gathering dust. 

Writing for well-known publications like Harvard Business Review, Inc., or TD Magazine is a valuable and effective authority building tactic. But publication alone is unlikely to result in a flood of phone calls and inquiries. In the rare cases where an article does get a lot of attention, that attention is short-lived. 

The true value of published articles is realized over the long term. Published articles are tools that help you build awareness, increase visibility, establish trust, and differentiate yourself from your peers. But how you use those tools depends on the type of articles you’ve written and your business goals.

Categorize your articles by purpose.

Different types of articles serve different purposes. A mix of all three types of articles gives you access to a multipurpose toolbox designed to help you build your authority, differentiate yourself from your peers, and attract more of the right-fit clients. 

Every article you write should provide the reader with actionable insights, but how you use each article depends on which type it is. Before you make a plan for using your articles, review each one and put it into one of the following three categories:

1. General Articles. The purpose of general articles is to raise awareness about you and the work you do. These articles are informational, widely applicable, and stay relevant over time (evergreen). They explore topics that are frequently discussed in your field and offer practical advice.  

2. Foundational Articles. The purpose of foundational articles is to generate interest in working with you. These articles are narrow, deep, and evergreen — they offer the reader insights into the work you do, how you do that work, and the values that shape your work. They explore topics directly related to the reputation you are building and make your position crystal clear. These articles often allow readers to determine whether your worldview is aligned with their own.

3. Specialty Articles. The purpose of specialty articles is to nurture a particular lead. These articles are nuanced, deep, and situation-specific. Sometimes written in response to a conversation with a potential client, they demonstrate your understanding of the prospect’s industry by exploring a current challenge and offering keen insights to help address that challenge. 

After you categorize your articles, make a plan for each category. You will create an awareness plan that applies to every article you write. In addition, you will create an interest-generating plan for foundational articles and a lead-nurturing plan for each specialty article. In some cases, an article may be categorized as both a specialty article and a foundational article. That’s okay; the label you assign to a particular article is much less important than the way you use it. 

Build awareness with general articles. 

The vast majority of the pieces you write will be general articles. These are the bread and butter of your awareness, visibility, and authority-building initiatives. To make the most of these articles, create an awareness plan that includes a mix of promotion, repurposing, and syndication.

Debra Roberts does this quite well. A columnist for Inc.com, she regularly shares practical tips to help business leaders have more productive conversations. In "Master the Art of Definitive Communication," Debra demonstrates how leaders use ambiguous language and offers scripts to help them make more decisive statements. This practical, broadly applicable piece is a perfect example of a general article. Examining how she might use this piece offers insights into what your awareness plan might look like:

• Promoting articles allows you to expand your reach. In addition to promoting articles on social media, Debra can share links to her articles with her email subscribers and online communities. She might also keep a list of articles (with links) on her desktop so she can quickly share relevant pieces with people she speaks with at networking events and during speaking engagements. 

• Repurposing articles allows you to share your ideas in more ways. Every article can be repurposed to create additional marketing assets. For example, Debra might review this article and come up with a series of ambiguous statements and their more definitive counterparts and share that series as a carousel on LinkedIn.

• Syndicating articles allows you to republish your articles elsewhere. Because Inc.com allows contributing experts to syndicate their articles, Debra can republish the same piece (with a different headline) on her company blog. In fact, she can republish this piece on any platform that accepts syndicated content.

Once an article is published and your repurposed assets are created, plan to promote your articles again and again, for as long as they are relevant. Start with a three-month rotation schedule and expand it to six and then twelve months as you build your library.

Generate interest with foundational articles.

Foundational articles are workhorses that offer the reader a deep dive into the work you do and how you do it. To get the most value from these pieces, write your foundational articles after you test and refine your ideas because you will cite them frequently. You only need a handful of foundational articles, so expect to invest extra time to enhance the editorial quality of each one.  

Chloé Nwangwu’s first foundational article appears in Harvard Business Review. "Why We Should Stop Saying 'Underrepresented'" makes the case for abandoning the oft-used but imprecise term “underrepresented” in favor of a more accurate term: underrecognized. She sites this article as often as possible — in her blog posts, newsletters, and when she appears as a guest expert on podcasts.  

Incorporate your foundational articles into the awareness plan you create for your general articles. Make sure at least one asset from one foundational article is in the rotation schedule every month. These articles provide your audience with the context they need to understand the work you do and how you can serve them. You want to share that message repeatedly because repetition is your reputation.

In addition to incorporating your foundational articles into your awareness plan, create an interest-generating plan. These articles are valuable business assets and should be used to generate interest from prospective clients and partners. 

Chloé shares her foundational article anytime she introduces herself to a new contact and references the piece in her professional bio, proposals, and pitches. When her friends and colleagues introduce her to a prospective client or speaking opportunity, they also include a link to this article. 

Foundational articles give people a sense of who you are, how you think, and what you do. And that helps you build trust with others before you even meet them. 

If a foundational article is gated or only available in print, make sure you have a digital copy you can share with others. Many publications will provide you with a PDF of your article, making it easy to share with prospective clients and partners. Just make sure you double-check the terms of your copyright transfer agreement to make sure you aren’t violating the publication’s copyrights.  

Nurture leads with specialty articles. 

Specialty articles are often written in response to a conversation with a client, prospective client, or colleague about a specific situation. These pieces aren’t applicable at all times to all clients, but they are still incredibly valuable. Not only do specialty articles build your relationship with the individual who inspired the piece, but they speak to anyone who has grappled with the issue in the past. 

When Raman Shah wrote "Starting Simple in Performance Measurement" for the International City/County Management Association, he was responding to an oft-repeated rebuttal to his recommendation that a prospective client implement operational reporting as a management tool. It is a compelling piece that makes the case for measuring output, not just impact. 

Like all the other articles you write, specialty articles should be incorporated into the awareness plan you create for your general articles. You will also want to create a lead-nurturing plan for each specialty article. Who was this piece written in response to? How and when will you share it with them? Who else might benefit from reading this piece? Would any past clients see a past version of themselves in the piece?

Raman’s article was written in response to objections brought up by prospective clients, so it is a specialty article. It is also core to his work as a consultant on performance measurement and operational improvement for local governments. So, it may well be both a specialty article and a foundational article.

Your articles are assets. Don’t let them gather dust. 

Published articles are appreciating business assets, but those assets only increase in value if you use them as such. While you may worry that you’re promoting your articles too often, the truth is that nobody is paying as much attention to your content as you are, and repeating your message over and over again helps people remember you. 

While it is possible for a published article to result in a great deal of attention, leads, and even new opportunities, that possibility is the exception, not the rule. The true value of your published articles is realized over time. 

When shared with the right people and in the right ways, published articles not only help you build awareness and increase visibility, but they also help you establish trust with prospective clients and partners.

And that opens the door to new opportunities.    

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"The best investment is in the tools of one's own trade."

~ Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac

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Upcoming Events

Pitched to Published™ 

Interested in learning how to write, pitch, and publish articles for high-visibility publications? Wednesday, February 12, at 11:55 AM Eastern, for a mini-training on identifying the right publication for your audience, followed by a Q+A. I host this free, public event every month. Register here.

Master Class: How to Write for High-Visibility Publications

In this free 60-minute master class, I will share the SILVA Method™ and walk you step-by-step through the process I use to help my clients secure bylines in publications like Harvard Business Review, Inc., and TD Magazine. I host these events every other month. Join me for the next master class on February 12, at 2 PM Eastern. Register here.

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Drop me an email or book a call if you'd like to explore working together. I'd love to learn more about you and your business and how I might be of service.

Take good care,