User:Gryllida/BiographyNotability

Superceded by User:Gryllida/WPWIZ, User:Gryllida/WPRA

= How to write about people and companies =

A biography or a page about a business needs to have coverage in independent sources.

To write about yourself you need to perform well, to inspire others to write about you, without you prompting them to do so.

Examples
Examples of primary sources (they are not independent and must not be included into the draft):
 * A personal or company web site.
 * Your profile page at IMDB or Facebook.
 * Someone interviews you.
 * Someone leaves a testimonial on your personal web site.

Examples of secondary sources (they are not independent and must not be included into the draft):
 * A narrow, highly topical news organisation reports on the success of your performance or your business.

Examples of independent sources (they are required for notability assessment):
 * A general purpose news organisation reports on the success of your performance or your business.
 * A general purpose news organisation reports on a highly prestigious award that you or your business received.
 * A large (over a hundred) number of independent reviews on a number of independent (not specialized) sites, allowing to draw conclusions about general public 'reception'.
 * Someone writes about you in their book.

Wikipedia makes me easier to find on the web. Is it a good advertising technique?
No. Do not use Wikipedia as a search optimization platform. It is poorly designed for this.

Targeted advertising has been shown to be an efficient technique. Even though Wikipedia shows next to search results neatly, it does not draw local clients to you or your business.

Your personal web site is better, for the following reasons:
 * It allows you to highlight upcoming events and available services to the customer. Wikipedia does not.
 * It allows you to do search engine optimization and rank higher than Wikipedia.
 * It is listed in local directories, such as Google Maps, which people use to find a business near them.
 * Wikipedia plays very little role in targeted advertising, it does not target the local audience.

How does one get coverage in such independent sources?
(for example)
 * 1) Use marketing, promotion, and advertising techniques.  not sufficient for Wikipedia
 * 2) Win awards and competitions. Get recognised in your local area.  Only sufficient for Wikipedia if there are multiple awards that have their own Wikipedia articles
 * 3) After getting recognised in your local area, get recognised on national and international level.  Possibly useful, it depends on the level and nature of the coverage
 * 4) Once you're popular, recognized, and successful, third parties will start writing about you themselves, on their own initiative.  Third party independent coverage, commentary not descriptions and facts, is what Wikipedia requires