It's no secret that writing and publishing helpful articles is one of the best ways to promote your business. Writing articles can:
Writing articles for local business publications, trade magazines, newsletters, and Web sites that reach your target audience can be a powerful piece of your marketing plan. But following through can be more difficult than it sounds, as many people hate writing or have a hard time just figuring out where to begin. Plenty of business owners and marketers hire outside firms or freelance writers (like The WriteShop, www.writeshoponline.com) to write articles for them, which can be a time-saving solution. But if you want to write your own articles, it can be tough to know where to begin. These five tips may help you stay focused and get the job done.
1. Narrow your topic. In each article, be sure to address only one main idea -maybe you focus on one problem your readers have, or one solution that may work for them. Trying to cover too many topics in one article just causes confusion. Whenever you find yourself going off on an unrelated tangent, turn that tangent into another, separate article for future use.
2. Write in conversational style. Keep your audience in mind and try to write for them the way you'd speak to them. For most business writing, an informal, conversational style is preferable, especially if your article will be published on the Web. Remember that you want your article to be accessible and understandable for your target audience. Shorter sentences and language that is easy to grasp quickly will have better results than long diatribes full of words that require a dictionary.
3. Offer genuine, helpful information. While your articles are tools to help market your business, they are not advertisements. Don't fill your articles with promotional material about your company, or your readers will quickly lose interest. Instead, offer them real insight, tips, or advice that shows them you know what you're talking about. Their interest in your company and what you can do for them will come; but for the sake of your article, focus on providing information they can use.
4. Be brief. Especially when writing for the Web, brevity is crucial. Before sending any article for publication, read through it several times and cut out any unnecessary words. For instance, the word "that" can be eliminated in most cases. Make sure every word counts, and every sentence is meaningful and helpful for communicating your main idea.
5. Distribute, distribute, distribute. Finally, writing an article doesn't do any good unless you get it in front of your target audience. In addition to publishing your articles on your own Web site or in your newsletter, consider sending them to publishers of print and electronic newsletters, and submit them to Web sites that publish articles on your topic. See the Resource Box below for ideas of specific Web sites where you may want to submit your articles. And remember to always include your contact information so that readers will know how to reach you.
Hopefully, these tips will get you on your way to publishing plenty of articles that will get noticed and yield results. But if you'd like even more direction to get you started, contact The WriteShop for information about our inexpensive special report, "Article Starter: A Resource Guide to Writing Business Articles That Get Results." E-mail us today at info@writeshoponline.com.
Nancy Jackson, owner of The WriteShop, helps companies better market their products and services with powerful written communications including Web content, newsletters, brochures and publications. Subscribe to her free monthly newsletter at info@writeshoponline.com.
whole house cleaning Highland Park ..Writing articles that are available for reprint is an excellent... Read More
Have you been writing and submitting your free reprint articles... Read More
If you're sick of being #987 for your best Google... Read More
Writing for websites -- content, as it is called --... Read More
Writing and leveraging articles is my most successful strategy for... Read More
Ok, today we are going to talk about one of... Read More
One great benefit of article marketing is the generation of... Read More
IntroductionThere are two ways to submit to magazine editors.One is... Read More
How is it possible to turn an idea into the... Read More
Often all the Web Surfer will see is your title,... Read More
The sources of inspiration are all around us, in the... Read More
If you want to increase the amount of visitors to... Read More
Ready to jump on the keyword article bandwagon? Billions of... Read More
Part 1 of a 2-part series To read Part 2... Read More
One of the most effective (and free!) ways to get... Read More
It's not enough to scatter your articles across the internet... Read More
Search Engines are constantly on the "look out" for freshly... Read More
Strategically developing online content helps to ensure a small-business owner's... Read More
Now that you know the secrets to writing great articles,... Read More
The first twenty-five words of your article are the most... Read More
If you're writer, I am sure sometimes you may have... Read More
Do you know one of the most powerful marketing techniques... Read More
Writing an article is not an easy task. You have... Read More
Article marketing is becoming more and more popular, especially as... Read More
Recycling your work is a lot like doing your part... Read More
pet-friendly home cleaners Glenview ..Proven and Exceptional Click-Through ResultsTesting has proven again and again... Read More
Advertisements are one of the biggest indicators of a magazine's... Read More
A true test for many writers that will require your... Read More
[Disclosure: I went into ezinearticles.com very innocently. I... Read More
Article marketing has become very popular of late, especially with... Read More
Okay, so you're getting a feel for this article marketing... Read More
Sometimes when I am communicating with other webmasters and I... Read More
Writing and submitting articles to article banks is a well-known... Read More
One of the most effective (and free!) ways to get... Read More
A great way for self employed professionals to enhance their... Read More
There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They... Read More
Writing articles is one of the most powerful, if not... Read More
There are two primary factors in creating a successful reference... Read More
Writing articles for your site and for the use of... Read More
Writing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of articles and making... Read More
Are you looking for a better way to promote your... Read More
Article Marketing Builds Momentum and TrafficWhen I started submitting articles... Read More
Yesterday I met a 13-year old boy with a devilish... Read More
For me, to decide to start a home business was... Read More
Articles are a fantastic source of links and additional traffic... Read More
IntroductionThere are two ways to submit to magazine editors.One is... Read More
Everyone that publishes a newsletter or ezine knows that the... Read More
I was asked to write an article on a short... Read More
Whether you own your own affiliate website, or subscription website,... Read More
Not doing what, you ask.Writing and submitting articles.Writing articles is... Read More
Article Writing |