 |
Have ever wished that there were a formula for crafting your expertise into a Top Ten article that will showcase your knowledge, cement your credibility and promote your products and services? 1. Find a problem to solve. Think back to conversations you've had with clients, potential clients, colleagues, family, friends and strangers. What are the common problems and challenges that people in your target market face? If you don't have a target market, get one! 2. Brainstorm many ideas. Get pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and rattle off as many ideas as you can think of that will solve that problem. Don't judge, filter or edit at this point, simply capture everything that comes to mind. When you think you're done, write for ten more minutes. Then, walk around for two minutes, come back and write some more. 3. Select the best. Ideally, let some time pass after you've brainstormed, so you can look at your list with fresh eyes. Now filter through all of your ideas and choose your favorite ten points. 4. Refine your writing. Be sure that you're trying to make just one clear point in each item. You can choose to stay conversational and casual with your writing, or you can opt for a more professional style. Either way, read it out loud for a sense of how naturally you've put the words together. 5. Be consistent. Make each of your items is approximately the same number of lines so it's laid out nicely on the page. Also, try and assemble your information consistently. If each point has a definition and an explanation, put them in the same order every time. 6. Make your points "pop". Choose your ten item titles carefully. Many people will only scan your article. If they like what they see in your item titles, they might take the time to read the rest of the article. If they like what they see there, they might take the time to click the link in your author information. 7. Start with a bang. Title your article. Be as clever and creative as you can, but most importantly be clear about what the reader will get by clicking through to read your article. Answer the question "why bother?" 8. Make an offer. At the end of your article, include an author information section (sometimes called a "resource box") where you offer readers the opportunity to find out more about a specific product or service. Whether it's to sign-up for your newsletter, call you for a free consultation or visit your website, be sure to spell out exactly what you'd like the reader to do next (and why they should do it). 9. Recruit new eyes. Have another set of eyes look at your article before it's published. Whether it's a professional editor or not, they may be able to point out things you wouldn't have seen, since you're so "close" to the article. 10. Walk away. While you're waiting for this feedback, give yourself a rest from the article. File it away and work on other things for a day or two. Don't let perfectionism get the better of you! Linda Dessau, 2005. Linda Dessau is a writer and coach. Through her "Newsletter Assist" and "You Talk It, I'll Write It" writing services, she helps coaches and other solo professionals promote their business with email newsletters and create passive revenue streams with written information products. Find out more at: http://www.genuinecoaching.com/writing
MORE RESOURCES:
Sport and entertainmentguardian.co.uk, UK - 5 hours ago... marketing agency for the iGaming sector, Harry Lang understands players, and speaks at all the major gaming conferences, as well as writing articles. ... |
 OneNewsNow |
The Teflon president-electOneNewsNow, MS - 2 hours agoEither they'll blame Bush or 'circumstances beyond Obama's control' while writing articles about how heroically Obama handles them." It's already started. ... |
UNlisted going strong at 15!The Republican - MassLive.com, MA - Nov 10, 2008One day, in the eighth grade, I realized that writing articles could be the perfect way to inform the community about what was going on around them, ... |
Writing-Articles - Google News
|
 |
 |
 |
RELATED ARTICLES
Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone
Speak to an Audience that Reaches across the GlobeAs a professional at home on the platform, you've spent years polishing a compelling message. The presentations you make are honed to perfection.
Letters to the Editor: Having Your Say
Writing a letter to your newspaper's editor is a privilege that Americans have exercised since the early days of journalism. You need not be an expert about the topic at hand, but by adding your voice to the discussion you can help shape people's opinions positively and constructively.
What is a Ghostwriter and How Can I Find One to Hire?
A ghostwriter, as one may think is not a writer from another dimension, but rather a well established writer who researches and writes an article on an assigned topic under someone else's name. Not everybody has the luxury of time and space to write their own content these days, thus giving the term ghostwriter a whole brand new kick.
Web Design Information And Resources
People who have an idea for a website sometimes require help in finding out relevant content to add to their website. This is where article websites are invaluable as you are able to use the articles on your site for free as long as you make all the links live.
Mining Your Experiences for that Article or Book
Chances are good that the next article or book you read is based on the author's experience. In each publication, the author doesn't just relate his or her experience, but explains the benefits that he or she derived from it, such as lessons, suggestions and concepts.
10 Steps to a Magazine Query
IntroductionThere are two ways to submit to magazine editors.One is to send the finished article without it being requested.
Why Link Exchanges are Dead-and What the New Move in Free Traffic Is
It's no secret-link exchanges are dying a painful death. And why you ask? Since March 2005 the new Google algorythm has become very very picky about the quality, quantity and frequency of incoming links to your website.
Article Marketing: Know your Topic
Everyone knows an expert is just a drip under pressure. I want to share a little story, rather innocent on the part of one person that made a difference in the life of a rather well known preacher.
Adsense Authors: Who Are These People?
Adsense is a program designed by Google to help publishers monetize their websites using high contextually-accurate ads. Adwords is the other side of the coin which allows any person to create an account with Google and bid on keywords or key phrases to have their ads appear in either the search results ad placements, or in content sites that display Adsense ads.
Want to Put Your Names on My Article?
There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They let several people pay them for the right to put their names as authors to some articles and, maybe, other types of written work that they write.
How to Write Inspirational Articles for Newsletters
Inspirational articles were once limited to self-help and religious publications, but they are just about everywhere now. (Think about those wildly popular Chicken Soup books or most of the stories in Reader's Digest, for example.
How An Online Writer Can Easily Self-publish Their Way To A Fortune
Online writing is really self-publishing made easier and potentially much more lucrative with much less cost and investment to be made. But what is self-publishing and what does it have to do with online writing?Self-publishing is older than America and through the centuries great fortunes have been made by folks who opted to privately produce and market their own writing.
Article Writing: SEO, Expert Authors and the Dumbification of the Internet
Article authors who use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) keywords to attract attention and falsely position themselves as experts, are like impurities in the water, clogging up the pipes. This is indeed a sorry situation.
Increase Site Page Rank By Writing Free Articles
Are you looking for a better way to promote your website at little or no cost? One simple, yet effective, idea is to write articles about a subject in which you have expertise. Once written, then attempt to distribute these articles for free publication on other resource websites and/or newsletters with, of course, the stipulation that your brief bio and a link to your site remain intact.
How Article Marketing Will Make You a Fortune
Article marketing-the simple act of writing one 400 word article and submitting it to various sites-is the surprise online marketing medium of the past year. For a couple years, new marketers have been advised to promote their businesses by writing and distributing articles.
Writing Articles For Permanent Traffic
Writing articles is possibly the best way to generated free traffic to your site. A short article, submitted to a few places, creates permanent streams of traffic.
15 Questions To Instantly Help You Write A Tips Booklet
1. What is the single most compelling subject from your experience or knowledge that you want the world to know about? If there are several topics, consider which one you are most passionate about.
Article Marketing: Free Speech Means Free Plugs for Your Business
Article marketing works like this. The majority of webmasters are unwilling to pay for fresh content - so some content distribution websites have positioned themselves as the liason between content writers and content seekers.
Why You Should Write Articles or At Least Get a Ghostwriter to Write for You
Overture reports over 1 million queries for article keyword related searches for the month of July 2005 itself. What this could actually mean is that a whole new level of exposure for your name and your services are awaiting you out there to grab.
Crafting Your Optimized Author Bio
Your author bio is a vital part of your article marketing campaign. It must append every article you write, and contains links to your site, sometimes directly from text.
|