Separating Fact From Fiction in Reprint Articles

When I first began to research the Virtual Assistant (VA) industry a few years ago, I came across a reprinted article, written by an expert, which contradicted everything I had learned so far about starting a Virtual Assistant business.

I showed the article to some experienced VAs who were quick to express their displeasure with the article and assured me the writer was not the expert she espoused to be. No credible VA would say those things.

Needless to say, I didn’t read anymore of those writer’s articles, nor did I revisit the website where I had found it. How could I trust someone who would reprint an article without first checking if its content was valid?

If you’re using reprint articles in your own publications, or if you’re reading online articles to learn something new, it can be difficult to decide if an article author is credible and the information true.

Here are some of the things I look at when deciding if an author and her article are to be believed.

One of the first things to check is the author’s name. A reputable writer will want to receive proper credit for the article by having her full name associated with it. It can be hard to believe an author who writes articles under a nickname or who doesn’t give a last name. Why should I believe someone who won’t tell me who they really are?

There are some good reasons to use different pen names. Authors who write about various subject areas often use a different name for each subject they write about. For example, if I write about home business issues and about how to care for your horse, I might confuse my audience if I write for both fields under the same name. A reader could read one my horse articles thinking it was about her home business and end up feeling confused. In that case, it would be a good idea for me to publish my home business articles under one name, like "Denise Willms" and my horse articles under another, such as "D. L. Willms," to avoid possible confusion.

But no matter how many pen names an author has, each one should be a person’s name - not a business name or a nickname - and should always have a first name (or initial) and a last name.

Another important thing to look at when you're looking for an article to publish is the resource box at the end of the article. This is where the article's author has hopefully told you a bit about herself and included a link to her website.

I usually look for articles with an informative resource box that helps you get to know the writer. A reputable writer will want to tell you about herself and her business.

I have a hard time trusting a writer whose resource box reads like this:

"So-and-so sells blue widgets. To learn more about blue widgets, visit such-and-such.com."

Then when I follow the hyperlink, I'm taken to a page that's all about blue widgets, and why I need one... but tells me nothing about the author or why I should buy a blue widget from this particular company. While the article may be perfectly sound, the author hasn’t given me a reason to believe what she says.

I feel much more comfortable reprinting an article with a resource box that reads like this:

"So-and-so is a (insert description here) who sells blue widgets. To learn more about blue widgets/ how blue widgets can help you, visit such-and-such.com."

When I follow the link, I am taken to a website or sales page that tells me about the person behind the article as well as the product she's selling. Although it's not foolproof, this makes it easier for me to believe this is a real business, with a real person behind it, and it's easier to trust the article.

The third, and perhaps most important, thing to look at in any article you want to reprint, is the author's motive for writing it. When you're examining an author's motivation for writing an article, there are two important questions to ask yourself about the article and the author.

First, does the article and/or resource box use keywords as anchor text, or around the anchor text? If it does, this isn't all bad. Article writing is one way to get the right keywords in, or around, your links. The danger comes when the author focuses more on the getting the right keywords than on developing quality information in the article.

Secondly, is the writer promoting an affiliate's product? Again, this isn't all bad. Affiliate Marketing is an excellent source of revenue for work-at-home-moms, and we encourage affiliates to write and submit articles. The danger here lies in how it's done.

Direct links to affiliate products should have no place in a credible article, but affiliates are can include a resource box that directs the reader to a website that links to the product.

Does the article sound like a sales pitch for the affiliate product? If it does, don't reprint it. A well-written, informative article will offer different perspectives and will suggest alternatives to the affiliate product as a possible solution.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is the article author really an expert, or does she just think she is?
Are you sure the information in your reprint article is correct? If you're not familiar enough with the subject matter to know for sure, ask someone who is. If that's not possible, read other articles on the subject to see how this one measures up.

A small amount of background research or knowledge is necessary when reprinting articles, so you can be sure you're not spreading misinformation.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Denise Willms is a www.wahm-articles.com/originalarticles.htm”>professional article writer who specializes in creating content for moms. Visit www.WAHM-Articles.com to download her free ebook, Get Started!! Making Money by Writing WAHM Articles and learn how you can tap into this lucrative market.

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