So you've heard that writing an article can be a great way to promote yourself, your website and your products, but you have no clue how to get started. You see hundreds of article directories that you are just dying to submit an article to, but you just have even one article to submit. Where do you start?
First, lets understand what parts of an article are needed before submitting to article directories. Your article should usually have five sections:
1. Title. Your title should indicate to the reader what the article is about. Try using a catchy title to make the reader curious to find out more about your topic. Look through various article directories and make note of the headlines that capture your attention. Try to model your own headlines after those that you found interesting and made you want to hurry and click to read the article.
2. Introduction. You should dedicate one paragraph for the introduction. Use the introduction to build upon the headline and explain the content of the article without giving it all away. Try to use your introduction as a roadmap through your article so the read will know what to expect. Also, use the introduction to build rapport with your reader - use it let them know you understand their problem and that you are about to offer them a solution.
3. Main Content. Your main content should breakdown and elaborate upon your introduction. Instead of giving an overview as you did in the introduction, begin developing each of your points. Support your points with examples, anecdotes and resources to create variety for the reader.
4. Conclusion. The conclusion of your article should be one or two paragraphs that sum up information presented in the main content. Learn to create a conclusion that sticks in the mind of the reader. For example, in how-to articles, point out the benefits of following your directions and let them know how to proceed next.
5. Author Resource Box - Always give yourself credit for being the author of the article. Use the author resource box as you business card. Include your name, your expertise and your website address. Double-check that your website address is properly linked and try to keep track of where you post articles so you can update your links if your website address changes.
Now let's look a simple article that anyone can write. One of the easiest articles to write is a "Top 10 Tips..." type article.
1. You will start off with a catchy title to gain attention such as "The Top Ten Tips for Making Extra Cash".
2. Next will be your introduction perhaps explaining to the reader that you understand their need for extra cash, and how you plan to help them.
3. The ten tips with their detailed explanations will form the main content.
4. The brief summary recaps the information and gives them an action item - tell them to immediately apply these ten tips so they can start earning extra cash!
5. Include your author resource box information. At the minimum include your name and website address.
So now you understand how you can jumpstart your way into article writing for self-promotion. Now go and start writing!
There are many people out there who want to get into article marketing but are not able to do so because they simply do not know how. Writing articles is a very easy and effective way of marketing and it can be a method that can save you quite a bit of money not having to hire other internet marketers to promote your site/product for you.
Although writing articles are very easy to do once you know how, getting someone to show you the tricks can be the hard part. The reason I have decided to share these tips is just for the fact that I had to learn this process the hard way, all by myself. It actually took a lot of trials and error before I was finally able to get it right and for directories to finally start to accept the articles I submitted.
The first mistake many make when writing an article is that they figure that they are writing the article in order to promote their site and therefore they should include their link or URL in the article as many times as possible. That is not acceptable since most article directories do not allow links and URL's within the article. They have a resource box on the submission page specifically for that. So, no links and URL's in the article.
Second of all when writing your article, do not advertise for your site just write informative information regarding what your site is about or the product you are promoting. No one wants to read an advertisement; they want to learn something new. For example if you are selling dog products on your site pick one or two of the products and explain the benefits of those products and what they are along with why this would be good to have. That's how simple it is.
Another thing when writing the article is to use a lot of keywords. Let's say you are writing about the benefits of nutritional dog bones you would like to include words such as dog, dog bones, nutrition and pets as much as possible throughout the whole article. Do not forget to include keywords in the title of the article too. Keywords will make it easier for people to find when searching these keywords.
There is no need to make an article several pages long as a matter of fact, if it gets too long many people tend not to read it. A perfect length of an article (in my opinion) is around 600 to 700 words. Most directories have a minimum of how short an article can be and it is normally around 350 words, so if you keep in mind to keep an article at least 400 words you should be ok.
By following these few tips you should be able to write an article that will meet the standards of most article directories out there. You will only learn if you try and if an article was to be declined by some of the directories all you have to do is re-write it a little and submit it again. Don't give up because you will get it right.
Both Gwen Tanner & Hege Crowton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Gwen Tanner has sinced written about articles on various topics from Blood Pressure, Writing and Pets. Gwen Tanner is the owner of - a directory of informative and educational articles. For more guides and information on a variety of topics visit. Gwen Tanner's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.