8 things to do with an article

If you're going to take the time and trouble to write an article, I'm a big believer that you should try to re-use it as many times as you possibly can. Apart from the reason you've written it in the first place, which presumably one of the reasons is to help your build your credibility as an expert, here are eight other things you can do once you've completed your article:

• 1. Put it into your blog

Blogs or on-line diaries are a great place for you to express your opinion or publish views and news. You can set one up for free using Blogger or Wordpress and then once you've got one, you'll be able to copy and paste your article in here to help you build your credibility throughout the internet.

• 2. Publish it on-line

If you type "free article websites" into Google, you'll come up with thousands of sites where you can publish your article for free. Not only does this help build your credibility on the internet, but if you include a link back to your site, it will help bring new visitors to your website.

• 3. Use it in your newsletter

If you have a newsletter, you can use the article you've written in there to save you having to come up with something new.

• 4. Send it out as tips to your contacts

If you don't have a newsletter, you could just use the article to send to your contacts. Giving your contacts free tips and items of value is a great way to build a relationship with them and convince them that they might want to work with you in the future.

• 5. Use your article in other people's newsletters

I'm sure you've got several contacts that already publish a newsletter. Why not ask them if they'd be willing to use your article in their newsletter? Not only does it save them a job (they don't have to think of something to write that week), it also strengthens your relationship and gives you an opportunity to work together.

• 6. Record your article

Once you've written your article, you could record it onto an audio recording and give it or sell it as a CD, send it out to your contacts or even send it into to your local radio station to see if they want to work with you in the future.

• 7. Publish it in a magazine or a newspaper

Once you've written an article, why not send it out to magazines and newspapers that your customers are likely to read. Many are looking for good quality articles that they can just use in their publication.

• 8. Write a book

Once you've written a few articles, all you need to do is edit and format them and you've got your first book!

Whatever you choose to do with your article, it's such a shame if you spend a lot of time writing and putting it together to use it just the once. Make sure you use your article as much as possible and you'll be well on your way to establishing yourself as an expert in your field.