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Article Syndication: Question on Choosing Topics and Targeting Syndication Partners

by greggor3
14 replies
I've been reading a lot of info on article syndication here, and it has absolutely won me over as a traffic generation technique. So much so that I have created a new site, written a handful of articles, set up my capture form, etc, and am ready to start some active syndication.

But there's one area I'm still not sure on.

I write on Teaching English abroad, and I want to get articles syndicated as widely as possible.

I'm pretty sure that my targets might be found on expat sites, general travel sites, volunteering abroad sites, etc, which might touch on the subject of teaching abroad even if they don't focus exclusively on teaching.

My problem is this: Whilst I imagine an expat site or volunteering site might want the odd article on teaching English because it might be relevant to some of their readers, would they really want to be on my list to receive a new article each week on teaching if this is not their main area?

I am thinking that rather than just writing on teaching English abroad, I could also branch out with my article topics. So, I might write one on planning a trip overseas, how to avoid getting ill, etc - topics which are more general, any may get syndicated further, but will still be relevant to someone teaching overseas.

Would you say that this is a good idea in that it may help me get syndicated in more places, or a bad idea in that I would be spreading myself too thin? Or should I have different lists for the different types of websites in my syndication network rather than just one list?

I really want to make a go of this and I'm sure I'll work all this out in time, but any advice from people who syndicate content in this way would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your time and I'm looking forward to your responses!
#article #choosing #partners #question #syndication #targeting #topics
  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    It depends on how you are monetizing your site. There's not a great deal of point in writing on subjects which will bring traffic for products/services that you don't actually offer.
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  • Profile picture of the author greggor3
    Thanks Rooze, I should have made that clearer. I'm going to be marketing affiliate products on teaching English, so although writing on the actual topic of teaching English will be more relevant, I'm wondering if by branching out in my topics I could get syndicated in more places on a regular basis where my target customers might be hanging out, and then direct them back to my site through a resource box which makes it clear that as well as offering travel tips, they can find info on teaching English as well.

    It will be easier for me to just focus on writing on teaching English, but them I'm worried I might miss out getting my articles in front of my targets on other sites which are not specifically related to teaching. Hope that makes sense!
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    Kinda makes sense

    I think the answer is more simple than the question - focus on writing content that will bring targeted traffic. The emphasis here is on targeted. If you're selling 'Teaching English', then that should be the main focus of your content.
    Now as far as where you submit it, that can be more broad. Obviously, in terms of numbers, you'll get more people to your sales page from sites which are closely related to your topic. But if there are other, less focused sites, and you believe that their visitors may have some interest in your products, then there's no reason why you shouldn't submit your content there too.

    In your situation, since you're just getting started, it's more an issue of prioritizing. Get your main targets covered first, then when you start to run out of highly targeted websites you can cast your net a little further afield and so on.
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  • Profile picture of the author greggor3
    That's great advice rooze, thanks a lot. You're right about prioritizing and I admit most of the sites on my list at the moment are specifically related to teaching English (as are the topics I am writing on).

    I guess what I'll end up doing is approaching other types of sites with articles I've written on my main topic, and then see what they say. I guess this is where the whole relationship building part comes in, and the process of trying to provide publishers with exactly what they want.

    The thing is, I've got this idea of building up one syndication list and sending out content on a weekly basis, and I'm just thinking that the less targeted sites might be less keen to be on this, which is where my idea of creating a number of different lists.

    Or perhaps I'm just overthinking everything and making life more complicated...
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by greggor3 View Post

    would they really want to be on my list to receive a new article each week on teaching if this is not their main area?
    Not each week, no.

    I have very few sites, in any niches, who'll take an article from me each week. I don't even (quite) manage to write one each week for any of my niches, to be honest - three per month is about where I am at the moment. (I did produce more when I was starting off with one or two niches, though).

    As long as there are (eventually) enough places syndicating them, this doesn't matter.

    If you can get them in the right places (and it sounds like you already have several good ideas for that?), then it really is all about quality: "how many articles" and "how often" are way less important.
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  • Profile picture of the author greggor3
    Hi Alexa, thanks a lot for your reply, I've found a lot of your previous posts to be incredibly valuable and, dare I say it, I might not even have believed article syndication was a viable business model had I not read some of the things you have posted on the subject.

    So based on what you've said, do you have some contacts on your syndication list who you contact once a month, some once every fortnight, etc, rather than just sending out to a big list of all your contacts whenever you write a new article?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by greggor3 View Post

      So based on what you've said, do you have some contacts on your syndication list who you contact once a month, some once every fortnight, etc, rather than just sending out to a big list of all your contacts whenever you write a new article?
      I have some of each of those three groups, to be honest. Which sounds unnecessarily complicated and probably is, really. I'm trying to unify them a little better, to get as many as possible to whom I can just "send out new articles as written/indexed". The more you can streamline/simplify it, the better really (I'm not altogether speaking from successful experience on this point!). :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    And don't forget that the person to whom you submit the content will be the final arbiter on whether or not it's a good fit for their website. Whilst you're at the learning stage, you'll no doubt submit to some places too often, or some places which are not a good fit etc. Their webmasters will help you make the necessary corrections and you'll just basically update your records for each specific site.
    It's first about writing quality and second about organization.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      greggor, I think you may want to consider a different perspective.

      Is the attraction of teaching English abroad "teaching", or is it more along the line of "being able to spend an extended time someplace exotic without having to be rich?"

      Your products may be about teaching English, but what you are selling is a lifestyle. Which opens up all kinds of opportunities for articles. Destination articles, describing what people traveling to a region and integrating into the local community might face. Articles on staying in touch with home. Maintaining health overseas. Staying out of trouble. Food. Parties and local festivals. Whatever...

      And at the end, your resource box teases a way to make such a lifestyle possible without being some kind of oil prince. All they have to do is click for more info...
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    I agree with alexa, and in our testing Google is really becoming more of our friend as we are now posting 900 - 1200 WORD high quality articles.

    It seems google does not like those 400 word articles anymore. I might be wrong, but in our testing posting and syndicating these on high traffic blogs, forums, ezines is working a treat.
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    • Profile picture of the author MidlandsMarketer
      Originally Posted by celente View Post

      I agree with alexa, and in our testing Google is really becoming more of our friend as we are now posting 900 - 1200 WORD high quality articles.

      It seems google does not like those 400 word articles anymore. I might be wrong, but in our testing posting and syndicating these on high traffic blogs, forums, ezines is working a treat.
      I agree with the point that G values quality articles and is increasing the extent to which it does.

      However... my philosophy is always to write for my readers, not for the search engines, and if what I have to say only takes 400/500 words (or less!) then I'll say it in that amount.

      As a reader, I don't think there's anything more irritating or likely to make me leave a page than an article filled with padding that spends ages either dancing round a point or repeating itself just to boost the wordcount.
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  • Profile picture of the author greggor3
    John, you've hit the nail on the head there. That's exactly what I'm trying to do, to sell a particular lifestyle and a way to do it. Thinking of it in that way, I think it will allow me to reach out to those people who are to be found on websites and ezines which may not be focused exclusively on teaching English, then lead them back to my site with a 'here's how you can enjoy this lifestyle too...' in the resource box.

    I guess what I was trying to find out is whether this sort of syndication works best when you have a very specific focus for your articles, or whether there is leeway to branch out a bit, so thanks for the help.

    Alexa, thanks for clarifying that for me, it was something that's been bothering me for a while. I think I'll just go for it, start contacting people and see how they react, then base how often I send them articles on the feedback I receive.

    Thanks again for all the responses!
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  • Profile picture of the author adamstuart07
    Friend i submit article about my ideas and i am doing Article Syndication for my article but some one please tell me what is the benefit of article Syndication ..

    Please Thanks in advanced
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