After participating in Suzanne Lieurance and Kristin King's article challenge with 60 other writers this summer, I made a lot of new acquaintances. Not only did I meet some terrific writers who were participating in the challenge, I also virtually "met" some of the people who picked up my articles and used them on their blog or Web site. I did this by going to the user's site and leaving a comment thanking them for using my article and inviting them to participate in my next blog chain. How do I know who picked up my articles? Read on.
How to determine who is using your articles
I set a Google alert for each of my articles by typing in the full name of my article on the Google alerts site. Google then sends me an email with a link to the site(s) that have my article posted. Be sure to spell and punctuate the title of your article exactly as you posted it on the article directory. Also be sure to use quotation marks around the title to refine the search criteria and avoid getting email alerts that are not related to your article.
Google alerts are also a great way to be sure that those who are picking up your articles are including your resource box on their site. I found that several folks failed to do that in despite the fact that they agreed to abide by the rules listed on the article directory which makes this mandatory. Whenever I found a site that wasn't including my resource box with my article, I posted a comment asking them to modify their post and comply with the rules. Some changed the post, some didn't. The article directory owners will/can not do anything to enforce the rules, so be aware that this is a chance you take when you utilize article directories. Still, the benefits outweigh the cons.
What is a Blog Chain? I mentioned that I invited my article users to participate in a blog chain. A blog chain involves about a dozen people who have a blog and want to participate in a fun group activity. Each participant visits the blog of each person on the chain within one week of being sent the list of URLs. When visiting each blog, participants read and comment on posts they find interesting. When you leave a comment on eleven blogs you will in turn receive eleven comments on your blog. And, the search engines smile upon you because this kind of activity increases your blog's popularity and raises its ranks in search engines.
By leaving your name and the URL of your blog in the comment, you have established a link back to your blog. This works like a link exchange on Web sites, but you do not have to permanently feature a site in the valuable space needed for promoting your own goods or services. The comment is usually hidden on a blog, but the link is there indefinitely. The link helps you; the comment helps the other blogger.
Someone on a recent blog chain mentioned that it is an acceptable practice and poor etiquette to leave your URL in the signature when you post a comment. I don't know who wrote the etiquette book on blog commenting or how many wet noodle cyber lashes you might receive for doing this. However, when we agree to participate in a blog chain, we agree to allow each blogger to mutually benefit.
I host a blog chain at least once a month. You may sign up for my next blog chain by sending an email to writer at YvonnePerry dot net. Notice how I posted my email address here. You'll have to use your imagination to put the pieces together, but that makes you smarter than the spamming software that normally grabs exposed email addresses.
Happy blogging!
P.S.: If you are interested in participating in the next Lieurance King article challenge, you may sign up at http://www.lkarticlechallenge.com/
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