Seven Steps to More Lucrative Online Leads

If you were expecting some "off the wall" scheme, you may be surprised. All I have been doing is writing compelling informational articles in my field of expertise and publishing them, en masse, online. Writing never goes out of style, and intelligent people who are prolific Web writers will, eventually, see a significant measure of success (assuming they have something worth selling) by writing their way to notoriety. 

If people read it in an article they instantly see the information as more credible and the author as more knowledgable than his competition. This is true for all professions, from plumbing to astrophysics. For thousands of years our minds have been trained to respect the written word. 

Bear in mind, writing professional articles is not for everyone, but if you like writing then you're probably good at it. It's easier (and cheaper) now than ever before to publish professional articles. All you need is your own blog with an interesting theme, a couple of memberships to social networking sites geared toward business that let you publish articles - Biznik is a great one - and you're on your way.

Like with any sort of public relations or marketing activity, there is no magic pill. You must throw a wide canvas while maintaining a laser focus on the area of your field that you know best. You can get a lot of mileage out of one well placed article, if you know what to write about and where to publish.

Below are 7 easy tips to get started:

1. Do your research. Read several online articles and blogs in your area of expertise, and think of ways you can bring a different perspective or broach a little discussed topic that you feel is relevant. Look for an unmet niche in the online article realm that focuses on your area of expertise.
2. Don't start right out with your own blog. Publish on ezines.com and other online article submission sites, on other blogs, and join biznik.com and one or two other social networking sites that let you publish.
3. Once you have thought of a theme and catchy title for your blog, you can have a nice, easily editable blog built in Wordpress for a modest fee.
4. Once you get started you must maintain momentum. Don't get discouraged. It takes a while to get a following.
5. Get friends and co-workers you trust (and who you know will be brutally honest) to critique your work. Read up on how to improve your writing technique. 
6. Make sure to have a goal of publishing at least one article a month. It's not as time consuming at it sounds once you get in practice. I can now whip up a good article in under an hour, in most cases.
7. NEVER use your article to directly sell your services. Make suggestions. Let people know what you do. Offer a free service, but be subtle and coy when it comes to pushing your product or service. No one wants to feel like they're reading an ad.

The online leads I've gotten in this manner have resulted in some of the most lucrative sales I've ever brought to the table, even though it took about a year of laying groundwork to see them begin to roll in.

Remember, your goal is to bill yourself as an expert in the industry, to engender trust. People will actually seek you out and ask to do business with you if they trust you, which, of course, is the lead that is most likely to close. 

Does anyone have online publishing tips they would like to add to this list, or would you like to share some of your favorite online publishing resources (sites where you publish)?