HAS ANYONE WRITTEN FOR THE EXAMINER?

[DANA]

There are so many online magazines and social networks to submit articles and earn some extra income. A few months ago, I had five articles accepted for publication by TotallyHer.com, which is for women. I have been checking into a variety of opportunities to submit more articles and to continue having my work published.

Recently, a girlfriend of mine who lives in CA told me about writing opportunities for the Examiner.com, which is located in most states across the USA. The cool thing about writing for the Examiner is that individuals have the opportunity to write about the city in which they live and write about the topic that they are an expert with much knowledge.

For me, my experience is working for over 22 years in the beauty industry as a Licensed Cosmetologist specializing in esthetic skin care and makeup artistry. In addition, I truly do have a passion for writing and it has been a positive way for me to express myself and share my professional experience.

A representative of the Examiner, sent me an email stating that he thought that I would be a great candidate to write about makeup artistry for the Pittsburgh Examiner. He said that my title would be called the Pittsburgh Makeup Scene Examiner. I was amazed that he had checked out my beauty blog, articles of mine and was interested in having me write for the Examiner.

This representative from the Examiner had sent me a list of what I needed to do to start writing for the Pittsburgh Examiner, such as submit a photograph of myself, submit my bio and literally apply for the position. I did everything that I was suppose to do and then I did not hear back from him.

Oddly, this week, the same exact individual from the Examiner sent me another email practically REPEATING what he had previously wrote from a few weeks ago. It is as if he TOTALLY FORGOT that he had already contacted me. He never even acknowledged that I had sent him my photograph and bio. Weird!

Perhaps, this individual is very busy, he has ADHD that is undiagnosed and he is completely unaware that he had already contacted me? I want to give him the "benefit of the doubt" because I do understand all about forgetting and experiencing "ADD moments!" On the same token, I do NOT have time for ridiculous gimmicks, especially if it entails an extreme amount of my time WITHOUT monetary benefits.

However, I am interested in learning more about the Examiner.com to find out if it is even worth my time, energy and creativity. Has anyone ever submitted articles to them? What is your opinion of this situation and possible writing opportunity?

[Bryan Hutchinson]

Hi Dana,

I don't know much about the examiner; however, the little that I do know is that they are okay. I don't think they are too into checking out facts though. That means you could get away with writing about what you want, right or wrong and that's a good thing and a bad thing. Sure, bloggers on their own blog can do that anyway, but with a newspaper site there should be more fact checking, I would think. Yes, it's a good way to get your stuff published, but anywhere that you post your articles they are then in fact published. Just because a site or print is a 'magazine' or 'newspaper' or whatever doesn't take away from what you have already published anywhere. The prestige is what you are looking for, I think.

Now, there is another factor. Do you have a blog or website of your own? Are you trying to build a certain kind of reputation or build traffic to your site? If so, writing for other online publications can be good and bad, if it is a large site, with lots of traffic already, your name in a Google search will show up there first and not your own website. There’s the argument that you could build readers elsewhere and attract them to your site, but few people actually click links to other blogs or websites. That’s kind of why online advertising isn’t that lucrative anymore. To use myself as an example, I am frequently asked to write for health sites, online newspapers, magazines etc… I usually turn them down for the simple reason that once I start doing that any Google search for me will start leading to those sites. On the other hand I have written articles for major magazines ‘off-line’ in print form. That’s quite different when it comes to online searches.

It really depends what you want and what you define as ‘published’. ‘Publishers’ no longer define the meaning of ‘published’. If you’re after prestige or making a living from it, that’s also different, or being noticed to become a columnist, journalist etc… define what you really want, create substance from your definition and you WILL get there.

Just my two cents….

B.

[DANA]

Hi Bryan! I appreciate your feedback and is does help me to narrow down what my goals are and what I am looking to achieve. My short term goal is to have my articles published in magazines and online to start building my credibility as a writer.

Yes, I already do have a several blogs and websites for three different purposes and subjects. (Beauty, wellness & alternative medicine as well as inspirational/faith-based blogs.) I do have a following on each one of my websites and my following is still in the beginning stages of growth. I am not selling or retailing anything so perhaps that may negatively effect the traffic?

I have "googled" my own name to see what shows up on the computer and several of my blogspots turn up. It is an interesting way to discover what others are finding out about me. That is a good point about ALL of my articles being considered published, whether on my own blogspot or with an online magazine/column.

I do want my name to get noticed and to establish positive credibility as an expert in the beauty industry. I am trying to determine if I can do this simply by having my beauty blog or if I would create more of a following by writing about beauty for the examiner?