User talk:TEC2012

Managing a conflict of interest
Hello, TEC2012. We welcome your contributions, but if you have an external relationship with the people, places or things you have written about on Wikipedia, you may have a conflict of interest (COI). Editors with a conflict of interest may be unduly influenced by their connection to the topic. See the conflict of interest guideline and FAQ for organizations for more information. We ask that you:


 * avoid editing or creating articles about yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, company, organization or competitors;
 * propose changes on the talk pages of affected articles (you can use the request edit template);
 * disclose your conflict of interest when discussing affected articles (see Conflict of interest);
 * avoid linking to your organization's website in other articles (see WP:Spam);
 * do your best to comply with Wikipedia's content policies.

In addition, you are required by the Wikimedia Foundation's terms of use to disclose your employer, client, and affiliation with respect to any contribution which forms all or part of work for which you receive, or expect to receive, compensation. See Paid-contribution disclosure.

Also, editing for the purpose of advertising, publicising, or promoting anyone or anything is not permitted. Thank you. 331dot (talk) 13:17, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks so much for your quick response! I definitely appreciate the concerns with the COI and have read up on that a bit. The purpose of putting the company on Wikipedia isn't for promotional purposes at all. They would just like for their company to have an article in this space. They've been around for nearly ten years, are among the Top 100 Roofing Companies in the US, they've been featured in newscasts in several states on the East Coast and the owner of the company has authored a book on roofing. I know there is a major backlog in getting an article published by someone else and that is why I was hoping to create the article myself. I write content for them only and am not on their staff. Not sure if that helps. What would be your best suggestion for me to try and move this forward? I appreciate your feedback!

TEC2012 (talk) 13:37, 24 August 2020 (UTC)
 * If they are your client, it is no different than if you were on their staff, so that's a distinction without a difference as far as Wikipedia is concerned. You still need to declare as a paid editor, as it is not just for staff of a subject, but for any paid relationship(and the payment does not need to be in money).  When you say that the company would "like" to have an article, that sounds to me like they want to tell the world about themselves- that's considered promotional on Wikipedia.  They don't have to solicit customers or actively sell something, and Wikipedia has no interest in enhancing search engine results or helping potential customers.  Wikipedia is not a place for businesses to tell the world about themselves.  This is an encyclopedia, where article subjects(in this case, businesses) must be shown with significant coverage in independent reliable sources to meet the Wikipedia definition of a notable business.  "Significant coverage" does not include name drops, announcements of routine business transactions, press releases, staff interviews, the company website, or any primary sources.  Inclusion in a subjective "top 100" list rarely qualifies as notable unless it is something on the same level as an Academy Award or Forbes magazine, in other words, if done by someone or something that merits an article itself.
 * If you have reviewed Your First Article and truly feel that your client's company merits a Wikipedia article(whether they "want" one or not is immaterial, and there are actually good reasons to not want one), you may use Articles for Creation to create and submit a draft for review by another editor who, if accepted, will formally place it in the encyclopedia. If you were to place it in the encyclopedia yourself, it will be treated more harshly. 331dot (talk) 14:00, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Creating new articles
Creating new articles from a blank start is one of the harder tasks on Wikipedia, perhaps the hardest an inexperienced user is likely to face. In future I urge you to use the Article Wizard to create a draft under the Articles for Creation project. There, an experienced editor will review your draft once you think it is ready. Only when a reviewer approves will the draft be moved to the main article space. This avoids the situation where a deletion is requested soon after the initial version of an article is posted. Also, please read Wikipedia's Golden Rule and Your First Article, if you have not already done so. The advice there can be very helpful, in my view. DES (talk)DESiegel Contribs 15:13, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Here are some steps which, when followed, often lead to success, but only if the topic is in fact notable:

Congratulations, you have now created a valid Wikipedia article. DES (talk)DESiegel Contribs 15:13, 24 August 2020 (UTC)
 * First, review our guideline on notability, our policy on Verifiability, and our specific guideline on the notability of businesses. Consider whether your  subject  clearly meets the standards listed there. Also, check  if the topic is already covered, perhaps under a different spelling or in a section of an article about a wider topic. You will waste a lot of time, if you create a new article, and then find that the encyclopedia already has an article about that.
 * Second, read how to create Your First Article and referencing for beginners and again consider if you want to go ahead.
 * Third,  This is absolutely required; omitting it can result in you being blocked from further editing. 
 * Fourth, gather sources. You want independent, professionally published, reliable sources with each discussing the subject in some detail. If you can't find several such sources, stop; an article will not be created! Sources do NOT need to be online, or in English, although it is helpful if at least some are. The "independent" part is vital. Wikipedia does not consider as independent sources such as press releases, or news stories based on press releases, or anything published by the subject itself or an affiliate of the subject. Strictly local coverage is also not preferred. Regional or national newspapers or magazines, books published by mainstream publishers (not self-published), or scholarly journals are usually good. So are online equivalents of these. (Additional sources may verify particular statements but not discuss the subject in detail. But those significant detailed sources are needed first.)
 * Fifth, use the article wizard to create a draft under the articles for creation project. This is always a good idea for an inexperienced editor, but in the case of an editor with a conflict of interest it is essential.
 * Sixth, use the sources gathered before (and other sources you may find along the way) to write the article. Cite all significant statements to sources. Do not express opinions or judgements, unless they are explicitly attributed to named people or entities, preferably in a direct quotation, and cited to a source. Do not use puffery or marketing-speak. Provide page numbers, dates, authors and titles for sources to the extent these are available. A title is always needed. Submit the draft when you think it is ready for review. Be prepared to wait a while for a review (several weeks or more).
 * Seventh, when (well perhaps if) your draft is declined, pay attention to the comments of the reviewer, and correct the draft and resubmit it. During this whole process, if you face any unresolvable editing hurdles, or cannot comprehend any editing issue, feel free to post a request and ask the regulars. Repeat this until the draft passes review.