Article writing is popular right now as a way to get backlinks, visitors and buyers to your site. For many people it works brilliantly. For others it appears to be a complete dud.
So what's the difference?
Quality is a major issue. Many people just hack out article after article, hoping one will stick and do well. It's relatively easy and certainly doesn't take as much time as working on quality does, but it just doesn't produce the results. Serious webmasters won't pick up the article, it won't generate any discussion... there just isn't much to recommend with poorly written articles.
However, giving too much information is also a problem. You want to create a need for more information. You can't be so blatant as to end most articles with "To learn more...", but you can use your resource box to point out that your site has the solution or information the reader may now be looking for.
Think of your articles as having two targets. The first is the webmaster who you hope will select your article for use on his or her website or ezine. They're looking for high quality information that will impress their readers. They aren't going to use someone else's sales letter on their website. There isn't anything in it for them.
For the webmaster you want an article that will make them feel good about using it. To get the best webmasters using your articles you need to provide high quality information. Especially good are articles on hot topics but with a fresh twist. You don't want to be saying what everyone else is saying.
For the average readers, quality information is also key. On their end you want to provide just enough information that they want more from you. If you can manage this your articles can go from merely a source of backlinks to a source of visitors and sales.
Sure, all that sounds like a lot of work, and it is. Figuring out the right balance of information and temptation is not easy. You won't benefit as much if you give it all away, after all. However, you're just going to annoy people if you keep saying "I have the secret but I won't tell you yet!"
A simple article formula is to offer a tip or so in the article on the topic of your choice. This should be a solid tip, not just something everyone already knows. Then use your resource box to mention how your website or product is relevant to that tip.
Taking the time to produce quality articles really can make the difference in your article marketing strategies. Stop settling for mere backlinks and start focusing on making articles people will want to read and share. A solid article can do an excellent job as an advertising vehicle and a backlink generator.
Stephanie Foster accepts well written articles at http://www.brightarticles.com/ but finds she declines many as poorly done. You can submit articles for free at her site.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Article Writing for the Terrified
Writing and submitting articles is an effective marketing strategy to deliver targeted visitors, increase your rankings and boost sales. However, it is easy to equate article writing with onerous tasks such as writing high school or university essays. The memories of the pain involved in this form of writing can take time to fade away. The good news is that after learning a few simple steps, writing your own articles isn't as hard as it appears.
One of the biggest hurdles most new writers face is finding ideas to write about. The easiest way to begin is to write about things you are interested in and preferably passionate about. You already have knowledge in these areas which can be shared with others. It is easy to under-estimate your own abilities in areas you are experienced in. Talented people are often surprised by the level of questions novices ask (it is important to remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question - only stupid answers).
Once you have decided on a general area, a good way to narrow the topic down is to focus on the problems that people have. Typically, people read articles because they want to be entertained or they want information. Writing entertaining articles is a particular and more difficult skill. However, writing informative articles can be as simple as sharing tips that you have learned. A guiding principle is to expect the readers to be looking for "What's in it for me".
You may already know the common problems that people have in the particular field, but if not, a good source of information is to look at related online forums and note the most common questions asked. If you don't have all the answers a small bit of research can assist. Often the answers are readily available with a Google search which the readers could do themselves. However, you are adding value and convenience by providing a range of answers in a single document.
Most people don't like to read large documents from the Web, so unlike long essays, articles tend to be around 400 words long. If you break the article into an introduction, a small number of sub-headings and a conclusion you may only have to write about 50 words in each section. The sub-headings may be for authoring purposes only, but if they are relevant they can be left in the final article.
The first draft should be for your eyes only. Don't try to produce a final copy as you write. It tends to be much quicker to get your thoughts down and come back to edit later. The final step in the writing process is to proofread your article making sure that the writing flows and would be interesting to the reader. Ask yourself, 'does the article provide information the potential reader is looking for? It can also be helpful to have someone else proofread the article. This is also the time to remove spelling and grammatical errors.
If you still have problems writing you may want to do a search for 'article writing software'. There are many packages around which can make the process easier. Similarly, there are numerous e-books available on the topic and many of them are available for free.
Once you have written your article you may want to add it to your own website as an item that search engines love - a piece of original content. If you add an 'About the Author' section with a link to your website, you can also submit it to article directories. As other websites publish your article you receive another thing that search engines look for, one-way back links. Article submission can be a tedious process, but software and websites that can submit to multiple directories in one go exist to make the job much easier.
After writing your first few articles you will find it is not as daunting as it first appears. You never know, you may even want to offer your services as a freelance writer on the Internet as a way to make some extra income.
One of the biggest hurdles most new writers face is finding ideas to write about. The easiest way to begin is to write about things you are interested in and preferably passionate about. You already have knowledge in these areas which can be shared with others. It is easy to under-estimate your own abilities in areas you are experienced in. Talented people are often surprised by the level of questions novices ask (it is important to remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question - only stupid answers).
Once you have decided on a general area, a good way to narrow the topic down is to focus on the problems that people have. Typically, people read articles because they want to be entertained or they want information. Writing entertaining articles is a particular and more difficult skill. However, writing informative articles can be as simple as sharing tips that you have learned. A guiding principle is to expect the readers to be looking for "What's in it for me".
You may already know the common problems that people have in the particular field, but if not, a good source of information is to look at related online forums and note the most common questions asked. If you don't have all the answers a small bit of research can assist. Often the answers are readily available with a Google search which the readers could do themselves. However, you are adding value and convenience by providing a range of answers in a single document.
Most people don't like to read large documents from the Web, so unlike long essays, articles tend to be around 400 words long. If you break the article into an introduction, a small number of sub-headings and a conclusion you may only have to write about 50 words in each section. The sub-headings may be for authoring purposes only, but if they are relevant they can be left in the final article.
The first draft should be for your eyes only. Don't try to produce a final copy as you write. It tends to be much quicker to get your thoughts down and come back to edit later. The final step in the writing process is to proofread your article making sure that the writing flows and would be interesting to the reader. Ask yourself, 'does the article provide information the potential reader is looking for? It can also be helpful to have someone else proofread the article. This is also the time to remove spelling and grammatical errors.
If you still have problems writing you may want to do a search for 'article writing software'. There are many packages around which can make the process easier. Similarly, there are numerous e-books available on the topic and many of them are available for free.
Once you have written your article you may want to add it to your own website as an item that search engines love - a piece of original content. If you add an 'About the Author' section with a link to your website, you can also submit it to article directories. As other websites publish your article you receive another thing that search engines look for, one-way back links. Article submission can be a tedious process, but software and websites that can submit to multiple directories in one go exist to make the job much easier.
After writing your first few articles you will find it is not as daunting as it first appears. You never know, you may even want to offer your services as a freelance writer on the Internet as a way to make some extra income.
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