If you do not have strong writing skills, or do not have time to write articles, David M. Freedman will help you with any or all of the following: concept development, research, structure, composition, editing, illustration, formatting, querying editors, placement, and negotiating rights.

Once you get an article published under your byline, Freedman can help you:

• Revise, adapt, and update it for other publications.
• “Repurpose” it as a speech, website content, or seminar handout.
• Expand it (or aggregate more than one) into a white paper or book.

Step 2: Distribution
When your article is published, some of your clients, prospects, and referral sources will see your byline at the beginning and your bio (with contact info) at the end. A few readers will contact you to ask a question or request more information.

But chances are that not all, or even most, of your target audience will see the article in its original publication. So you need to take action to ensure that they do, by distributing reprints or photocopies of it to that specific audience by mail, if it is printed; or via e-mail if it is published electronically.

When you distribute a reprinted or photocopied article in an envelope, it must be accompanied by a concise cover letter with a personalized message. Without a cover letter, recipients are likely to ignore the article. Freedman will help you compose a cover letter, which should occupy no more than a single page of your letterhead, and should accomplish the following:

• Introduce the article by its title and the media outlet where it appeared (and the date, if it is timely).
• Tell readers how the article will benefit them if they read it.
• Provide an “executive summary” for people who don’t have the time to read the whole piece.
• Include a customized call to action: "Please call me to discuss how this issue will affect your [business, estate plan, tax status, etc.], or to request more information." Offering a free white paper or consultation will give them an incentive to contact you.

If the article is published online in PDF, HTML, ePub, or other electronic format, you can (a) print and mail it, (b) e-mail it as an attachment if the recipients know you well, or (c) post it to your website and e-mail a link to it. When you distribute by e-mail, the body of the e-mail message should be similar to the cover letter described above, but somewhat condensed and less formal.

Step 3: Web Optimization
The third step, optimization, should be executed concurrently with the second step, distribution, while your published article is still fresh. The objective of optimization is to generate traffic to the online version of your article, which you post to your website. Once there, if visitors find your article valuable, they will “click through” to your website’s home page.

Search engines and social media
Web optimization involves two parts: search engine optimization (SEO) and social media optimization (SMO). Freedman and his associates can help you with both processes, and/or train your staff to handle optimization.

The objective of SEO is to get your article ranked high in search engine results so that people find it quickly when they search for information on the topic.

The objective of SMO is to spread the word through various online communities that your article has been posted, how it can help people who read it (its benefits), and where to find it (via a hyperlink).

Search engine optimization
Each page of your website, including your bylined articles, should be optimized for search engine ranking. Search engines rank web pages primarily on the basis of (a) their relevance to the search terms, (b) their popularity in terms of visitor traffic and inbound links, (c) the depth of their content in terms of drill-down and outbound links, and (d) the effectiveness of their metatags, among other criteria.

One hard and fast rule for optimizing bylined articles: Write articles for readers, not for search engines.

Social media optimization
There are many ways to use social media to spread the word virally about your article. Freedman will work with you to select the methods that work best for your practice, and manage SMO on an ongoing basis, among the following: