Lesson 4: Raise Your Profile by Writing

Lesson 4
Raise Your Profile by Writing

Many online teachers get very nervous about the idea of writing for wide audiences.

But there’s no reason to feel anxious.

After all, you prove your skills with the written word every single day:

You use written communication to explain complicated concepts to students
You use words to reassure your learners, and help them engage with your course
You grade student work all the time – you know what a good sentence looks like
You may also be doing academic research, so writing is not an alien process.

When you start writing for a wider audience, you’re simply using your existing skills to achieve a new goal:

To raise your profile using the written word.

Here’s how to get started.

How to Write Articles to Increase Your Visibility

1. Choose your target publication

It’s wildly inefficient to invest your precious time crafting sparkling articles that languish in a bottom drawer because you don’t know where to send them.

Before you start to write, think about where you want your work to appear.
Make a short-list of 5 target publications that would be a good match for your preferred topics.

Think about the publications or websites you currently read, or Google your intended subject area, and see where relevant content in your field of expertise is appearing.

2. Know your target audience

This a fundamental rule is too often overlooked.

You must write for a specific audience – one that will be receptive to your message.

Visit the website of the publication you want to write for, and take a quick look at the recent and most popular articles published there.

Who are they written for?
How much technical knowledge or background knowledge do the readers have?
Is the tone formal, or more conversational?
What kinds of titles are used to grab reader attention – engaging teasers, or authoritative statements?

Questions like these help you create a clear picture of your future readers, and what kind of material they find useful.
When you have a good grasp of what your target audience likes to read, you can keep those preferences in mind as you start to write.

3. Write for smaller sites and publications at first

If you’re worried about writing for a mass audience, try approaching smaller publications to begin with.

As your work starts to appear regularly online or in print, you’ll become more comfortable with attracting positive feedback. And your confidence as a published expert will quickly increase.

You can use that newfound confidence (and your growing publication track record!) to approach more mainstream outlets next.

4. Find out where your peers publish

Do you have any higher profile colleagues or managers who have an established publication presence?
Google them, or visit their staff web pages, and take note of where their work appears.

These outlets could work well for you, too.

An added bonus is that this can be a short-cut to increased visibility within your organization. You’re more likely to be noticed if your work appears in publications that are already on your network’s radar.

5. Adhere to the submission guidelines

Most publications provide submission guidelines for contributors.
Follow the guidelines closely, and you make it much easier for editors to accept your article.

But what if you can’t find any submission guidelines?
No problem.
Compile your own list of what this target publication expects.

Scan a few recent articles published there, and take note of key elements like:

The average word length of articles
How many sources are used
Whether a bibliography is expected
Are footnotes or links to external sources included?

Now you’ve uncovered the unwritten rules, simply follow those conventions when you write your own article.

6. Check in with the editor

So: you’ve crafted a quality article that will perfectly meet the needs of your well-defined target audience.

You’ve polished it until it shines, and sent it directly to the right editor.

You wait expectantly.
Weeks go by, and there’s not a even murmur from the editor.

So you jump to the natural conclusion:
Either your email is broken – or your article has been rejected.

In fact, probably neither scenario is true.

Your email’s working fine.
And the editor is simply overwhelmed.

If you’ve heard nothing after 2 weeks, send a polite – not demanding – email to the silent editor.
Ask if they received your work, and whether they’ve had a chance to review it.

Chances are good that you’ll receive a positive response.
And in the meantime, start planning your next article.

You know your work is high quality.
Just keep quietly believing that other people deserve to see it.

Take Action

When your articles are accepted, editors will ask you for an Author Byline.

This will appear at the bottom of your article.
It needs to be short, and convey the Unique Selling Proposition you defined in Lesson 1.

2-3 sentences are ideal.

Here’s an example to get you started:

Suzanne McTeacher works at XYZ College, and has been teaching English to adults for 12 years. She specializes in finding innovative ways to use technology to help her students overcome their fear-based barriers to learning.

Believe me, writing 2 sentences about why your work is important won’t be the hardest thing you’ll do this week!

There Are Many Places to Get Published

Once you’re focused on finding appropriate avenues to showcase your work, you’ll start noticing them everywhere.

Keep a list of potential outlets for your work as you come across them.

That’ll save you time in future when you’re ready to send another article out into the world.

Because there are many, many options for using the media to raise your profile!

Here’s a quick list of the kinds of publishing outlets that may be a perfect fit for you:

Your organization’s internal journal
Your departmental, or school newsletter
Key organizations in your industry
End-users of your training (what do your students read?)
National and local newspapers
Websites and blogs in your field
Relevant lifestyle publications which cover your topic
Professional development publications
Your own website!

Take Action

A great place to start using words for effortless self-promotion is with your Teacher Biography on your organization’s website. Here’s how to do it right:

How to Write a Magic Online Teacher Bio

Media Attention Can Skyrocket Your Professional Profile

Media coverage is definitely not reserved for the rich and famous.
It’s available to anyone with a well-crafted message aimed directly at a target outlet.

And now that you know how to approach the media – via interviews and articles – you’re perfectly positioned to enjoy increased professional attention.

So far, we’ve talked about how you get your work in front of audiences that other people have established.

Next we’re going to look at how to create your own audience – with a vested interest in you!

Lesson 5: Building Your Network