How to Build Your Reputation on DZone

As a DZone contributor, you're an expert in your field and have been "in the trenches" of the software development profession. You have unique knowledge to share with your fellow devs, but it can be hard to get them to find and read your content. This is especially true if you're new to writing for DZone. 

So, how do you encrouage DZone's audience of devs to recognize your expertise and check out your content? Below, we share some tips for building your reputation as a thought leader and topic expert on DZone.

Be an Active Community Member

There are plenty of ways to do this, but the most effective one is to WRITE! The more frequently your content appears, the more familiar your name will become to the DZone audience. 

Of course, your content needs to go through moderation and editing before being published to the site, even if you're an MVB. Luckily, there are steps you can take to up your chances of publication:

1. Submit only your best content

2. Write an awesome headline

3. Format your article correctly

4. Follow our Submission Guidelines

Want to write more, but struggling to come up with ideas? Our editorial team consistently updates this list of writing prompts and hot topics, so feel free to check it out and get those creative juices following.  

In addition to writing regularly, active community members respond to readers' comments on their posts and comment on other contributors' content. They also share, upvote, and save articles.

Tell us About Yourself

The DZone audience likes to put a name to a face! Our most popular contributors have complete DZone profiles, including a photo, a brief bio, and a link to their website or blog. Speaking of photos, your profile pic should be an actual photo of you, not a company logo. Articles submitted through a profile with a company logo or without a profile run the risk of being deleted.

We also recommend including your Twitter handle in your bio so we (and our readers) can follow you on social media. 

Take Advantage of Additional Writing Opportunities

Articles aren't the only thing you can write for DZone! We offer paid writing opportunities for our two main publication types: Refcardz and Guides. Refcardz are released about once a week and can be described as a technical "cheat sheet" on a very specific and highly-technical topic. Guides come out around once a month, and offer more of an overview on a general topic such as Cloud, Performance, or Java. Guide articles are typically around  1200 words. Since our Guides and Refcardz are downloaded by millions of developers around the globe, authoring a publication is a great way to gain thought leadership on a particular topic. If you're interested in writing for one of our publications, email us at [email protected] and pitch us your article. 

Another way to build your reputation is by submitting your content to our contributor contests! We already ran one this year, and another is on the way. Having your name atop the DZone Contest Leaderboard is an awesome way to get our audience to read your articles. 

Share Your Publications With Your Networks

Get more eyes on your content by sharing your posts on your social media channels. Promote your status as a DZone contributor, MVB, or publication author on your blog or website and link to your content on DZone.

Send a weekly or monthly newsletter to your followers? Include your latest DZone publication.

To promote our contributors, we share their content on our social networks, include their posts in our newsletters, and feature their articles in our "Zone Spotlight" sections. Working together, we'll get more eyes on your awesome content!