How To Get Published On Wikipedia [Part 2]

So, you have your company primed and prepared to appear on Wikipedia with a notable story to pass the zealous editorial board? Great, you are leagues ahead of a whole boatload of other businesses. Now you need to create your article for publishing – while sticking to the Manual of Style that governs the presentation of a Wikipedia article.

You need to get this right: wiki editors are no joke and will shut you down ASAP if you don’t. This might seem daunting, but it’s really not (and a good writer can take a lot of the sting out of this job).

Your draft should follow this rough succession of paragraphs: an eagle-eye view introduction to your company, followed by its history, and then a description of its services and products. Don’t blow your trumpet here – cover it in modesty to avoid charges of promotion!

You’ll also want to avoid clichés and write in a detached manner, and provide references and citations in full to show that your notable business is worthy of wikipedia’s editorial standards. One thing you should have done is researched how other company’s do it, particulary the high quality ones with plenty of media and interesting elements.

By creating an interesting page that is full of media, good-looking content, citations and references, and of course notable news, you’ll have something that looks great in draft mode. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to create an account.

Should you disclose? Yes. There are many reasons why, which I will go into tomorrow – but for now, keep crafting that article until it looks professional, and edit it until any hint of promotion is removed: remember, you’re here to claim the page 1 spot of Google – and that is more valuable than slipping in your promotional message!