I have lost the counter of how many times while browsing the pages of Nigerian newspapers I find articles and informational material that have been collected from blogs and websites. I know this easily because the newspaper trusts the source of this article or news.
When a Nigerian newspaper publishes a news article or blog post, it increases the credibility of the blogs and makes them more popular. And since the newspaper will likely also publish the article on its website, a massive flow of traffic will be directed to the blog. It will be a sufficient reward for me for the consent given by the author of the article or press article.
If you are a Nigerian blogger, there is a good chance that you want to get huge traffic to your blog. You want your blog to be popular. And you want people to see this as one of the trusted sources of information. A smart way to do all of this is to publish news and articles that Nigerian newspapers find interesting and get published.
How to write news and articles that can be compiled and reprinted by major Nigerian newspapers ? Here are five tips to help you achieve that goal:
How to write articles picked up by major newspapers
1. Write powerful headlines
Whether an article or news item will grab the attention of readers or major newspapers will depend on its title. While a powerful headline will grab the attention of your readers and immediately spark interest in that article, a poorly written headline will cause them to ignore your article or news, no matter how powerful the content is.
So, to attract newspapers to your article you need to work on the headlines and make them as powerful and compelling as possible.
2. Write on topics of general interest
Because newspapers appeal to a wide range of people, they always prefer to publish general news and articles. It is no surprise that most of the articles and news I have seen in the newspapers have been published on topics such as politics and current affairs.
So if you want newspapers to show interest and republish the articles and news that you post on your website or blog, you need to write about topics that are of interest to most Nigerians. at.
If you blog on technical topics like law, medicine, etc., only a few people will understand and be interested in your articles. And newspapers will not publish articles on these topics.
3. Share your content on social networks
If your blog isn’t very popular, chances are good that only a few will be able to read your recently published news and articles. And, most likely, the newspapers don’t even know your blog exists.
To increase the chances that your articles will be picked up and republished by major Nigerian newspapers, you should actively promote them after they are published. Social media is a powerful and effective tool for this. So if you haven’t created accounts for your blog on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other popular social networks yet, do so now. And start using them to publicize every new post or news you post on your blog.
When people find your content interesting, they share it on social media with other people who also share it. So your content goes viral and grabs the attention of newspapers, who may simply decide to repost it.
4. Be unique
No one will be interested in your articles if they are about topics people are already familiar with. People are in constant need of new ideas, new information, new advice and new opinions. And only if you suggest that they show interest in your reviews.
Even if you’re not the first to write about a particular topic, you need to add a unique twist to it to make people think it’s different from what they’ve read before. If you regularly publish unique articles and blog posts, chances are the major Nigerian newspapers are interested in republishing them.
5. Contact newspapers
If you want newspapers to find out about your content and publish it, you can simply contact them to let them know about the new article and your intention to republish it in your dailies. If they feel that your news article or blog post is worth posting in their daily posts, they’ll post it easily.
Sometimes it takes proactive steps to get things done the way we want them to. This is one of the many cases where being proactive can help you get what you want.
