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.
recurring maid service Wilmette ..The biggest challenge facing any online business today is how... Read More
The sources of inspiration are all around us, in the... Read More
Still following along on the Copywriter's Crash Course in article... Read More
Have you been writing and submitting your free reprint articles... Read More
This is a perennial question among writers and wannabe's. Many... Read More
This may come as a surprise... to you, but writing... Read More
Now that you see that articles are the number one... Read More
Do you know one of the most powerful marketing techniques... Read More
Publicity?you're business can survive without it, but it certainly won't... Read More
Every field or discipline has its own specialized vocabulary and... Read More
A recent debate started me thinking about how some marketing... Read More
There are two primary factors in creating a successful reference... Read More
Writers talk about rejection all the time ? just part... Read More
As an article author, sometimes you can only pull so... Read More
You may be wondering what persuasive writing has to do... Read More
"But I've only been on the Internet 3 months! How... Read More
A great headline can be the difference between having your... Read More
It is important for all webmasters to realize that if... Read More
Congratulations! You've written your first article (or possibly your 10th... Read More
Article Marketing Builds Momentum and TrafficWhen I started submitting articles... Read More
Do you have problems finding ideas for articles and speeches?I... Read More
If you have writing skills and want to use your... Read More
You've already agreed that putting some of your best articles... Read More
Well maybe it's not that "little known" but some people... Read More
If you have an entertainment website then you're always looking... Read More
last minute cleaning help Highland Park ..There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They... Read More
If you're writer, I am sure sometimes you may have... Read More
Sometimes when I am communicating with other webmasters and I... Read More
Publishers and webmasters can spend massive amounts of time just... Read More
Take a look around the Web and you'll find thousands... Read More
Most business owners are overwhelmed with the day to day... Read More
Sometimes when I am communicating with other webmasters and I... Read More
Would it be worth it to master a technique that... Read More
Been reading up on SEO? If so, you know that... Read More
Getting people to join your company can be hard work.... Read More
Writing articles for publication on the Internet is, at the... Read More
Knowing exactly what an editor wants.Unfortunately, many new writers struggle... Read More
It has become common knowledge that the smartest and most... Read More
Are you an Article Marketer? If so, you know that... Read More
As of July 1st, the year was half over! July... Read More
Sharing knowledge on the web can be a very powerful... Read More
We all know that article writing is a great way... Read More
It doesn't really matter who you are; you definitely know... Read More
Writing and submitting articles to article banks is a well-known... Read More
Article marketing is becoming more and more popular, especially as... Read More
There are many ancient writings, which dive into the importance... Read More
In order to answer the question I've just asked in... Read More
There are two primary factors in creating a successful reference... Read More
The sources of inspiration are all around us, in the... Read More
I've been blogging occasionally over the last two months about... Read More
Article Writing |