There's no sense writing an article if no one wants to read it. Before you launch into an article, think about your target market and what their wants and needs are. If you're not sure, go hang out in some forums and see what they are discussing.
If you are writing for an audience larger than your target market, I recommend you visit some article directories (such as Ezine Articles) to see what the most read topics are.
2. Choose your title wisely.
Once you've written a good, strong article, don't ruin it by giving it a weak title. The title is your headline - this is the first thing people will read and, in this day of instant decision making, could easily turn people away if they are not hooked.
3. Think bite-size.
Online readers have very little patience for long paragraphs, so break your article down into various sections. Notice how this article is broken down into small paragraphs with subheadings. It's easier for your reader to digest.
4. Write for your audience, not for yourself.
If you want people to read your article, write it in a way that is easy for your readers to understand - don't use acronyms without explaining them, keep the techno jargon out unless you are writing for an audience that understands it and keep the vocabulary simple. There's no sense writing an article if no one is going to understand it.
5. Read, review and then read again.
You MUST proofread your work. Do it once, go do something else and then do it again. If possible, ask someone else to read it for you - he will undoubtedly pick up things that you miss.
6. Tell them who you are.
You want your readers to know who you are and how to reach you. Include a great resource box at the end so potential clients and other e-zine publishers know how to get in touch with you. You want them to visit your website to learn more about you and what you do.
7. Get it out there.
Now that you've done all the work to write a great article, parcel it into pieces, proofread it and write a compelling resource box, you need to get your article out there. I recommend Ezine Articles yet again as well as Submit Your Article as great article directories to submit your article to. If you prefer to build relationships with e-zine publishers personally, then I highly recommend Charlie Page's Director of Ezines for a wealth of information on e-zine publishers.
So what are you waiting for? Get writing!
1) Skip Research - Write Only What You Know One huge trap for folks who are new to article writing for distribution to article directories is that they spend WAY too much time researching their articles. You should only choose as a topic the subjects that you're intimately familiar with and that will flow off the tips of your fingers when you sit to write. This should absolutely influence your choice of affiliate products to market through article marketing as you're liable to be pounding those keys yourself... so write what you know and save yourself hours of research headaches and lengthy trips down interesting but fruitless paths of inquiry.
2) Create an Outline You probably have heard this if you've gotten past the third grade in grammar school. It's one of the article marketer's best secrets though and an absolute must for anyone who wants to crank out articles in the interest of developing thousands of website links. If you start to write with a blank page then you're instantly adding hours and hours to your process. Take ten minutes and list all the primary points you're going to make. Organize these points or tips into an outline and then flesh out the ideas as you write.
3) Write "Ten Tips" Style Articles Ten tips style articles are easy to write because if you follow the outline-first advice then you've basically done all the hard work up front and won't have to rethink yourself once you enter the writing stage of your process. You have to protect this stage from incursions from other stages such as the editing stage and the organization stage. If you find yourself reorganizing once you've begun writing then you need to stop and restart your process over again.
4) Getting in the Flow - the Power of Setting Unreasonable Deadlines The fastest way to get things done is to set ridiculously unreasonable deadlines for yourself. If you only have one hour to write your 750 word article from start to finish then it's far easier to see results than it would be if you gave yourself a day to get your first article done. You will feel far more productive and besides - you're writing for article directories here, not for the Pulitzer Prize. Let your conversational style flow.
5) Editing Tips For one thing you should only be deleting during the editing phase. If you find yourself rewriting sentences, deleting and then pondering your word choice then you're spending too much time in editing. Remember that getting this done in an hour is your goal and you can get to editing in the 5 minutes before your article is due. Also you should be writing with your spell check turned off. There's nothing that stops the flow like those little red lines under your words. Spell check ONLY during your editing phase and get it done quickly!
6) the Right Writing Environment Because you're creating unreasonable deadlines for yourself you're going to be more intense and able to focus. Still, you're going to want to have an environment that's conducive to writing for you. Many writers prefer to minimize distractions. Some prefer the hustle and bustle of a cafe. Consider experimenting for yourself, and be sure to communicate clearly to those around you if you're writing and would appreciate that they leave you to concentrate.
7) Choose the Right Writing Program Some people prefer the writing program that comes with the world's most popular operating system. Fast writers know and love the simple "text pad" application that has absolutely no frills. This is because other programs are attention hogs and give you little reminders in their attempts to be helpful. If you've never written with the spartan text pad, or text editor that comes standard on most computers then give it a shot. It's likely to be a refreshing alternative to the intrusive word processing programs that try to correct your every sentence.
8) Know Your After Writing Rewards If you love watching videos online then let yourself. Once you've gotten your article written. If you have to use the bathroom then hold it - until you've gotten your article written. If you're starving or thirsty then wait - until you've gotten your article written. There are hundreds of things that are likely to come up when you're writing your article. Let them come up and set these needs as your reward for finishing. You will love the results.
9) Know When to Bend Your Rules If you set out to write 10 tips but can only think of 9 then just write 9 and be done with it. If you take an hour and ten minutes instead of an hour then so be it - you're done, right? And you're that much closer to getting hundreds of links to your website. You decided to get a snack before finishing your article? Well, shame on you for lack of self discipline but hey, if you still got the article done in an hour then who cares?
Note: the author of this article finished it in exactly 30 minutes. Now that's the power of setting unreasonable deadlines for yourself!
Both Sandra P. Martini & Ravinderjit 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.
Sandra P. Martini has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Shopping and Marketing. For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at. Sandra P. Martini's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Ravinderjit has sinced written about articles on various topics from E Books, Internet Marketing and Credit Cards. ?>www.articlemarketing.infozabout.com. Ravinderjit's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.