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 ..Anyone who's been in the business for 2 or 3... Read More
Well maybe it's not that "little known" but some people... Read More
A "Thought Leader" is someone recognized as an authority in... Read More
Writing articles related to your business is a great way... Read More
We all know that article writing is a great way... Read More
There's one key rule that every writer should understand before... Read More
As you write the outline for your next article, there... Read More
Writing articles for online newsletters and websites can be a... Read More
Online writing is really self-publishing made easier and potentially much... Read More
Earlier, I published part 1 of this series, which contained... Read More
One of the most common blunders by those using article... Read More
When I started Ezine-In-A-Box I wanted to help people publish... Read More
There are times when I want to write an article... Read More
Increase your ezine subscribers by submitting articles once or twice... Read More
It is a well-known fact that a key to obtaining... Read More
The name of the game as far as Internet marketing... Read More
It is a well known fact that writing, distributing and... Read More
Writing for the internet requires that you create a large... Read More
Writing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of articles and making... Read More
I've been able to distinguish 3 main categories that people... Read More
Writing for websites -- content, as it is called --... Read More
Lets face it people use articles to send traffic to... Read More
Feeling uninspired? Like you're stuck in a rut with your... Read More
I have seen the question asked so many times. How... Read More
What should be in your article summary? It's otherwise known... Read More
pet-friendly home cleaners Glenview ..Article Marketing Builds Momentum and TrafficWhen I started submitting articles... Read More
Search Engines are constantly on the "look out" for freshly... Read More
There are many different ways to improve link popularity for... Read More
Feeling uninspired? Like you're stuck in a rut with your... Read More
Rule number one - You must write ezine articles and... Read More
When I was first advised to start writing articles, this... Read More
How are you marketing your articles? As a writer prospecting... Read More
1) Don't use all capitals in your title:People don't like... Read More
Many internet home business owners today have learnt that one... Read More
Want your articles to get picked up and reprinted by... Read More
Determining keywords is a critical step in writing articles online... Read More
Yesterday I met a 13-year old boy with a devilish... Read More
Most business owners are overwhelmed with the day to day... Read More
One of the most tried and true methods of self-promotion... Read More
People love to hear stories. They'll identify with what you... Read More
Article distribution is currently booming on the internet. Authors do... Read More
Is Putting your Articles in the Public Domain really a... Read More
Looking to build your freelance writing career but don't know... Read More
This article is dedicated to those who are afraid to... Read More
One of the best ways to build credibility and promote... Read More
I recently became aware that promoting your web site in... Read More
If you write web content, it may be a mystery... Read More
When you frequently post articles on ezines, you might be... Read More
Did you realize that writing and publishing articles online represents... Read More
Proven and Exceptional Click-Through ResultsTesting has proven again and again... Read More
Article Writing |