Help:Drawing attention to new pages

There are a number of good reasons why you would want a new article you create to get noticed by others. These include:

1. Sharing your knowledge: The new article you create has some useful information, and you want others around the world to learn what you know.
2. Cleanup: No one is perfect, and all of us make errors from time to time in typing, spelling, grammar, and other aspects of writing style. Even the best editors and proofreaders may let a few mistakes slip through the cracks. The quality of an article improves in direct proportion to the number of people who read it.
3. Improvement by others: You may have created a short article, even a stub, on a topic that you know little about, and would like to know more. By bringing the article into existence, you open the door for others with greater expertise in the topic to add their knowledge, making it more useful for all readers.

There are some other reasons why you may feel motivated to get the page you created noticed, but even so, these are not always the best:

1. Showing off your work: Your writing on Wikipedia may feel like your crown jewel that you want others to see, and you may pride yourself in showing off your writing skills, your hard work, and knowledge. You may see it as something you can share with other Wikipedians, your family, your friends, someone you want to date, your employer, or an elected official. Your contributions are very much appreciated, and anything you do to better Wikipedia will improve your standing. But no matter what you write, you do not "own" your work. The page you create does not belong to you, and you have no more power over it than any other Wikipedian. You are merely the one who had the idea for it, who decided to start it. But this does not make you any greater than anyone else who has made useful contributions toward the page. The very best contributions come from idealistic editors whose goal is to improve the encyclopedia rather than the promotion of themselves.
2. Promoting your interests: Obviously, if you created a page, you must have some interest in its topic. Most likely, the topic is perfectly legitimate in an encyclopedia. But keep in mind, it must be written from a neutral point of view and not advocate for a cause. Also, Wikipedia is not an advertising space, and any blatant spam will be speedily deleted upon discovery.

Here are some tips to enable an article to get noticed:

1. Place it in some categories: Attempt to determine at least several categories where the page may fit. First, identify one or more parent categories. Then, see if the parent categories contain any subcategories that are more appropriate. Only assign the article to the parent category if there are no subcategories that are more appropriate for it. You may wish to instead create a new subcategory if you find that the article fits along with many others in one that does not yet exist. Categorizing the article will make it visible to those viewing the page of that category. (see also WikiProject Categories)
2. Provide internal links to the article from other pages: Attempt to identify other articles that use the title of the new article or descriptions in other words to refer to the subject of the new article. On those other pages, change the plain text to a wikilink to the new article (The best way to do this is with http://edwardbetts.com/find_link). If the new article was split from another, larger article, or if another article has a section summarizing the content of your article, you may want to add the template {{main}} at the beginning of the section containing the summary. Otherwise, you can find relevant articles by entering the article's title in quotes into a search query (though not all results will be worth linking, nor do all occurrences of the article title in other pages necessarily refer to the article's subject), by looking at other articles in common categories, or just by using common sense. If you cannot find any other places to link, you can add the article's name to a "see also" list in one or more articles on a related topic. (see also WikiProject Orphanage)
3. Provide links within the new article: Link words or terms on the page itself to other Wikipedia articles. This way, anyone clicking on "What links here" from that page will learn about the new article. Remember, link only in moderation; do not link unnecessary terms, even if an articles of the same name exist. (see also WikiProject Wikify)
4. Add the article to a navbox: Many templates called "navboxes" exist, which include a list all or many of the articles within a particular topic and are displayed on all the articles that they list. You may be able to identify a navbox where the new page will fit and add it to the listings in the navbox. This will instantly link all articles already in the navbox (in many cases, upwards of dozens) to the newly created page, which you should then add the navbox to. If no such navbox exists, and you can identify a series of articles that can fit together in one, you may create a new navbox, but before doing so, you should familiarize yourself with the process of creating templates. (see Help:Template)
5. Inform others: As you edit, you may get to "know" other editors who have made major contributions to one or more of the same articles you have (though you may not know their actual identities). If you become aware of someone who you think may have an interest in helping to build the new page, you may send them a friendly message informing them you have just created a new article to their interest. Of course, it is up to each individual if they want to help. (see Wikipedians)
6. Nominate the article for "Did you know ...?": New articles which meet the criteria can have interesting facts from them displayed on the Main Page.
7. Involve relevant WikiProjects: Tag the article's talk page with the templates of appropriate WikiProjects.

In addition, the article might receive notice for the following reasons without requiring any action:

1. New page patrol: All newly created pages get checked by a new page patroller. The new page patroller may or may not be interested in making any further improvements.
2. Red links: Some pages may already contain existing red links to the title of the new article. It is a good idea to ensure that the term is used in the same sense on the pages with those links as the title of the new article by visiting "What links here" from the new article and correcting or removing any irrelevant links.
3. Search engines: Soon after a page is created, it will be indexed by search engines, including Google, and will to begin to appear in search results to anyone using a search engine to look up the title (or sometimes an unrelated term with similar words), often as one of the first results, and sometimes as the first hit.

Remember:

1. Use good judgment: Make intelligent decisions on what to link, and don't overdo it!
2. Be patient! With all that you've done, it may take a long time before the article is found by those who can improve it.

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