Most Internet marketers worth their salt know how effective articles can be to generate promotion for their web sites. The major problem for many is simply writing the article.
This article shows you the exact steps I usually take to construct an article to achieve maximum publicity for my web site. By following this model you will be able to do the same quickly and easily.
1. The Big Idea
The very first stage is to get the basic theme of your article. The inspiration for my own articles often comes to me when I am 'switched off' and doing something completely different.
The theme for your article should be closely linked to the theme of your web site, in order to attract targeted prospects.
2. Write The Title And Introduction
At first this is only a rough introductory paragraph or two, and I do not worry too much about the exact wording at this stage. My introductory paragraph(s) simply tell the reader what the article is about. I usually write my first idea of a title for the article at this point too.
3. Sketch Out The Content
I brainstorm the major points I want to cover, and write them down, one after the other. I do not worry about their order, my major concern is getting the ideas in my head down on paper. I may even write down the odd sentence or paragraph to back up each point.
Once I've got the basic outline, I look at the order of the points I am making, switch them around if necessary, and make sure I have written down everything I want to cover.
4. Fill In the Content
This is when the real meat of the article is written.
Each of the points I have briefly written down before need filling in. I need to explain what I mean, and go into further depth.
You should not fill your article with affiliate links to sites you want to promote, nor link to your own web site unless absolutely necessary. Publishers do not like it and many will ignore your article. If you want to link to a quality in-context resource, link to the main web site URL instead. You get ample chance to link to your own web site via the resource box at the end of the article (more details below).
Also do not make any part of your article sound like an advert. Publishers are looking for quality articles that will be appreciated by their subscribers, not solo ads for your web site. You have plenty of room to link to your own web site in the resource box.
For the maximum chance of your article getting published, you are looking at an ideal length of around 800 words. I would also ensure it is not less than 600 words, or more than 1000 words - although I must admit I do occasionally write longer ones.
Remember at first this is just a draft. I never expect it to be perfect straight away - I just get my words down and my points across. Once I have got the main body of the article in place, I go back over it and revise as necessary until I am happy with the content.
5. Write Your Resource Box
Many authors struggle with this part, but there really is no need.
The resource box goes right at the end of your article, and provides some information about the author. Think about the reader of the article - they want to know more about who wrote the article.
I include a bit of information about myself, and provide a link to one of my web sites that has some relevance to the article. Ideally a resource box should be brief and contain just two or three sentences. For an example, see the resource box at the end of this article.
Some authors attempt to cram the resource box with more than one link. Rather than achieving more promotional power from their article, it actually has the reverse effect by turning off the publisher, who may have otherwise published your article, and confusing the reader.
6. Leave It Alone
In my experience, this is the most essential stage. I save my article and leave it completely alone for at least a couple of days. So many people are impatient and do not do this, but I find it to be essential in boosting my chances of publication.
The idea is that you come back to it with completely fresh, but critical, eyes. This works like magic for helping to transform a fairly mediocre article with low chances of publication, to a high quality article that is more likely to get picked up by a large number of publishers and reward you with a flood of publicity.
7. The Final Edit
I open up my article again and read it. I usually spot parts of my article that do not flow very well, paragraphs that can be improved or condensed, sentences with words missing, and typos. This is where I polish up my article and ensure it all flows really well.
I have seen many articles that have obviously never gone through this stage, and they will only have a very slim chance of publication. Some minor editing would have improved them immensely. It really is worth that extra bit of effort to get your article up to scratch, otherwise all your hard work in writing the article will be wasted.
Copyright 2004 Steve Shaw
About The Author
Steve Shaw works full time online, creating systems and software for effective e-marketing. His popular e-course provides a lot more information on how you can publish articles for profit, including how to submit them to potential publishers for a flood of publicity to your web site:
=> http://www.takanomi.com/publish-articles.php
same day cleaning service Des Plaines ..If you are an article writer, you may have been... Read More
A ghostwriter, as one may think is not a writer... Read More
The Shortest Distance to Your Home Town Enterprise is Over... Read More
Writing articles is possibly the best way to generated free... Read More
There are times when I want to write an article... Read More
Find definitions from A to G! ~~~~~~~~~~~ A ~~~~~~~~~~~ About... Read More
Writing articles for your site and for the use of... Read More
Writing articles has proven time and time again to be... Read More
Writing articles is one of the best and most effective... Read More
We all know that online publishers earn revenue from our... Read More
Rule number one - You must write ezine articles and... Read More
Ok, today we are going to talk about one of... Read More
Good technical articles are challenging to write. They're time-consuming, demanding... Read More
By now most entrepreneurs realize that the most cost effective... Read More
Determining keywords is a critical step in writing articles online... Read More
Writing and submitting articles to article banks is a well-known... Read More
Here's a really simple way... to promote your online business... Read More
One of the most common blunders by those using article... Read More
You pick a pen, grab a piece of paper and... Read More
Writing quality articles is time consuming for the very best... Read More
Part 1 of a 2-part series To read Part 2... Read More
Every time I run a course on Freelance Writing, students... Read More
The name of the game as far as Internet marketing... Read More
Selling books online means that you need to get interested... Read More
Do you know one of the most powerful marketing techniques... Read More
home cleaning services Mundelein ..Lately, there seems to be some confusion between Article Marketing... Read More
Gasp! I can hear it from the purists now: Matt... Read More
Many internet home business owners today have learnt that one... Read More
Have you been writing and submitting your free reprint articles... Read More
Sometimes when I am communicating with other webmasters and I... Read More
Many people which in online business world find difficulties in... Read More
Are you an Article Marketer? If so, you know that... Read More
If you are going to be writing articles to promote... Read More
[Disclosure: I went into ezinearticles.com very innocently. I... Read More
Writing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of articles and making... Read More
Find definitions from Q to Z... ~~~~~~~~~~~ Q ~~~~~~~~~~~ Query... Read More
Writing articles is by far the most effective online promotion... Read More
There are many ancient writings, which dive into the importance... Read More
Ready to jump on the keyword article bandwagon? Billions of... Read More
Often all the Web Surfer will see is your title,... Read More
Getting people to join your company can be hard work.... Read More
Sharing knowledge on the web can be a very powerful... Read More
Writing articles for your site and for the use of... Read More
Online readers love information, but be sure your information is... Read More
Have you ever seen articles that are not only related... Read More
A lot of great ideas happen when two or more... Read More
MS: John, you must be one of the most prolific... Read More
Publishers and webmasters can spend massive amounts of time just... Read More
If you want to really make your article "SELL" then... Read More
Earlier, I published part 1 of this series, which contained... Read More
Article Writing |