Gaining Name Recognition

As Sis. Widad mentions in A Muslim's Guide to Publishing and Marketing, gaining name recognition is a vital part of marketing your book successfully. One way to do this is to write articles for magazines and web sites, especially those that allow you to mention your book or link back to your web site at the end of the article.

I have listed a number of Muslim magazines, web sites and newspapers here. This is certainly a good place to get started with your marketing efforts.

In addition, there are numerous web sites that allow you to post articles on various topics. For the most part, these are non-paying markets, and there are many of them. When submitting to these web sites, always consider the quality of the web site and what your name will be associated with. Also realize that some web sites are there for the sake of dawah, while others are businesses and have the goal of drawing more traffic to their sites through your articles. There is nothing inherently "wrong" with the second model, but do make sure that you are not inadvertently giving away rights to your article - and always make sure that your by-line is there, preferrably with a 2-4 sentence bio. at the end that helps you with your marketing goals. Also make sure that your articles are not being sold or compiled into an e-book (unless you are okay with that).

Every now and then, I will list some sites that accept article submissions. Here are five for now:

Hilal Plaza
General articles on Islam, culture, and Middle East affairs.
Businss-oriented.
No payment.
Guidelines for Writers

Islam For Today
Conversion stories are particularly welcome.
Dawah-oriented.
No payment.
Guidelines for Writers

IslamWay
General articles on Islam.
Dawah-oriented.
No payment.
Submit Articles Here

IslamWay Sisters
Articles of interest to Muslim women.
Dawah-oriented.
No payment.
Submit Articles Here

Muslims Internet Directory
Accepts articles and e-books on various Islamic topics.
Business-oriented.
No payment.
Submit Articles Here