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Why Should I?

Why Should I?
By Marilyn Mackenzie

You want me to promote Writing.Com? Why should I? What’s in it for me? Lots, folks. Read on.

Just what benefits might each of us derive from promoting Writing.Com? Well...

More visitors to the site means more chances that our works will be read. Isn’t that important? We do want people to read what we’ve written, don’t we?

More readers means the possibility of more signing up as members. More members means the possibility of more paying and upgraded members. Is that important to us? I think so! Having more paying members should mean that the cost of being an upgraded member is kept at a low cost. That’s important!

Storing my writings here is so much easier than maintaining my own web site. I have a web site, but keeping it updated takes time, time that I feel is better spent on writing. Being able to point a prospective employer or publisher here to check out my portfolio makes sense. The site is much more professional than I’ve been able to create on my own.

Editors I’ve dealt with have not cared that my writings first appeared here. But if there are editors who care, one can always sell reprints, which also pays well.

Speaking of editors, although many would like to have you believe otherwise, they do check writer’s sites for possible "discoveries" of new writers, as do some agents. That being the case, wouldn’t it be to my benefit to promote and publicize Writing.Com as the answer to writers, would-be writers, and readers? An active writer’s site will definitely get the attention of more editors. The more people who wonder into Writing.Com, the better the chance that someone will discover my writings and want to talk with me about writing for them.

One fellow stopped by Writing.Com and found my poem about 9/11. He asked if he could use it on a special site he was doing. I said yes, as long as a brief bio and my email address were included. From that site, I received three requests to use my poem for remembrance services being held in three different states. That one poem will be read in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. Each of the programs for these services will have my Writing.Com portfolio URL on them, leading folks right back here. I won’t receive pay for the use of my poem, but I know that the cause is worthy. Besides, the more places my writings appear, the more people who see my name and recognize my writings, the better chances I have for writing for pay later. Right?

For some, the reason for being here and for writing is not to ever earn an income at writing. For some, the reason for writing is that the words just tumble out, just seem to have a life of their own, rushing from the pen to the page. But if something is worth being written, doesn’t if follow that it should be worth being read? Some have one particular piece of poetry or prose art about which they’d love to shout from the mountaintops. So, why not do so?

Promoting one’s own writings is rather simple. One of the easiest ways to promote your writings is to visit www.ineedhits.com. In just a few minutes, your portfolio or your specific story or poem URL can be entered into 25 search engines. Or just open your own browser and check the bottom of the page for "submit URL." Start there!

Do you write Christian testimonies and want the world to read about Jesus? Type "Christian search engines" into the search window of your browser. A list of Christian search engines will appear. Visiting each of them and entering the information about your portfolio or specific stories is a simple task.

Do you write about animal rights? About domestic abuse? About crafts or cooking? Search the Internet for newsletters about those topics. Offer your writings to them. Many newsletters cannot pay for articles and stories, but some do. At the bottom of anything you submit to newsletters, make sure you’ve included your Writing.Com address, leading folks back to the rest of your writings.

Have you been involved in certain clubs or groups? I home schooled my son from 4th through 12th grade. How I wish there had been a site like Writing.Com for us back then. Although I never worried about grading my son’s science and math tests, especially when they were multiple choice or true and false tests, grading his book reports, essays, and creative writing assignments was a different story. In fact, we stayed a part of an umbrella school, even when we moved, for that very reason. I knew that as my son’s mom, and as one who loves to write that I might be too hard on his creative writing efforts, or I might be much too easy on him. Had we had a writer’s site like this one, he could have submitted his writings for other writers to critique and "grade" for us.

Because I’ve had the home schooling experience, I was able to write to many home school groups suggesting that they check out Writing.Com as an addition to their home school adventure. What will having some of these home schoolers join our group do for me? See the top of the page. The more folks, the more my writings will be read. The more my writings are read, the better the chance that I might be discovered. The more upgraded and paying members there are, the better the chance that the cost of that membership will be kept to a minimum.

I know a few pastors who send out weekly newsletters. I’ve suggested to them that they park their newsletters at Writing.Com. It’s a great "storage system" for them. Besides, Writing.Com offers an even better chance that someone needing a bit of encouragement, someone seeking something when they know not what they seek, might just be touched and inspired by something these pastors have written.

Why should I help promote Writing.Com? Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

Many remind us that Writing.Com is a community, a group of friends. Ralph Waldo Emerson also said about friends, "the only way to have a friend is to be one." Be a friend – to yourself and to everyone at Writing.Com. Think of some way you can promote your writings or the entire site. Pass out business cards with your Writing.Com portfolio address on them. Join a writer’s group at Yahoo.com. Find a writer’s group in your town, or start one. Step out of your comfort zone and read your poetry at a coffeehouse. The sky’s the limit!

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