For professional service firms writing guest articles in consumer, business and trade publications your target audiences read is a stellar way to share your knowledge and expertise and, along the way, to establish yourself or you company as the go-to source for what you do.

It all begins with a good idea that will truly benefit the audience and, above all, that seeks to inform rather than to sell. A good idea recognizes the current climate and, hopefully, is a topic about which you are passionate. From there, assess interest in your article idea via a well-reasoned pitch to the editors. If you are given the greenlight to proceed to write, be sure to clarify the article length and deadline.

Use active voice and action verbs and, most importantly, don’t forget to lead with your main point, instead of building up to it. Once your writing is done, undertake a thorough proofreading. Your goal is to produce content that the editor will not have to spend a lot of time on … editing, proofreading, cutting in length.

Don’t forget to have a good quality photo ready and a very brief bio line ready to share, too.

Don Nokes, president of NetCenergy,  wrote a guest article for Providence Business News in July about how the company’s leadership team and staff came together to implement a cohesive plan to get its staff fully back to work in the office, eliminating remote work.  Read more about this initiative on NetCenergy’s website.  OR  Read the full article in PBN here.