How to Get Your Work Published on Your Favorite Yahoo! Sites

Are you constantly browsing Yahoo! Voices, Yahoo! News, Shine, or omg!, hoping your name will be featured there someday? If you're a part of Yahoo! Contributor Network, it can be! As someone who has been featured across multiple Yahoo! destinations, I can say for a fact that it's possible and attainable. Perhaps my experience will help you get your work featured on Yahoo! sites as well.

Use a professional byline. This is extremely important when being considered for feature. It's also vital in your writing career as a whole. Your pen name should not be "bunnywiggles420" or something equivalent. Stick with a first and last name - your real one or a real-sounding one - if you want to be taken seriously as a journalist.

Upload a professional avatar and keep it updated. While your pets are cute and your car may be awesome, your avatar should instead be of you. This helps readers connect with you. That picture is being displayed with every piece of content you publish. Do you want people to think of you as a cute little puppy or a career professional? Take your pick. The latter is more likely to get you featured on Yahoo! sites. Post the fuzzy bunny on your personal (non-career-related) blog, unless you write pet-related content and you're also in the avatar picture.

Fill in your bio completely. A blank bio tells the readers nothing about you. It also keeps Yahoo! staff from knowing who you are and what you may be able to accomplish. Fill out every section fully and completely for the best results. Use the interests section to highlight the topics you not only have an interest for but are skilled at writing. Also, be sure to fill in any education or skills relevant to your work. Tell a little about yourself, but mainly focus on the aspects that accent your journalistic abilities.

Avoid unnecessary info in your bio. While you should definitely share some aspects of your life with readers for personalization, you don't want to go overboard. It's not necessary (or professional) to tell your life story or what you did last night in your bio. Also, avoid complimenting yourself. Be straight to the point. Talk about the aspects of life that fit in with your writing and briefly touch on your family, your goals, and your geographical location. These things also tell Yahoo! staff about you so that they know your background. This is likely helpful when they are figuring out which contributors to target with assignments.

Write often and do your best work. This seems like common sense. But there are days when you may feel rushed or tired and not do your best job. My philosophy has always been to give my all in every piece of content, no matter where it will end up or who it's for. No matter what you write, someone is going to read it. If it's going to the Yahoo! Contributor Network, staff is going to read it as well. Don't you want readers and staff to see the best of you? This attitude is likely to help get you featured around the Yahoo! network of sites. Quality is first and foremost but don't forget to write often and be seen.

Study the sites you are interested in and write for their audience. If your goal is to be featured on Shine, Yahoo! Voices, omg!, Yahoo! News, or any other Yahoo! destinations, take some time out each day to see what's being published there and what readers react to. If you're interested, you may already visit. But take a closer examination to see what's working, what they feature, and what appeals to the audience.

I can't guarantee you 100% that these actions will get you featured. But I can say they are working for me. The main idea, regardless of your situation, is to be professional and write quality content on a consistent basis. Yahoo! editors are always looking for great content to be featured and yours could be next!