How I Write Articles for Profit
BY STEVE SHAW
Most Internet marketers worth their
salt know how effective articles can be to generate promotion for their
websites. 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 website. 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 website, 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
website 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 website URL instead. You get ample chance to
link to your own website 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 website. You have plenty of room to link to your own website 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
Steve Shaw works full time online,
creating systems and software for effective e-marketing. His
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 website.
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