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...... How to Write Better Articles
Posted 04-05-2010 at 06:04 PM by Paul Barrs
By Paul Barrs
Yes, I have been fortunate. I’ve been “writing” in one shape or another since I was 8 years old. For me it’s always been a personal love – but I know that this is not the case for most of us. In fact, second only to public speaking, article writing often brings fear to the very soul of many an internet business marketer.
But… it’s vital that you learn how; and you don’t need to continually outsource to get content.
First up, let me just throw in that while yes it is true that the primary benefit for writing and publishing article on your website is to gain content and enable others to publish your work giving you more link opportunities – it is far more beneficial that you begin to build a relationship with your customers / visitors as they come to better know you and trust you. The more they trust you the more likely they are the buy from you. In order foot that t happen, you need to write articles – yourself!
Here are a few hints and tips to better article writing that will help you get started…
1. Without doubt most of us stumble at just the thought of the idea… ‘What should I write? That’s already be done… I ‘d know where to start’. These feeling s are common. When I find myself drawing a blank (which still happens from time to time) I simply go to my favourite article directory and browse through the headlines. I look for a headline that grabs my attention and sparks an idea. I don’t read the article, I just look at the headline and thing, ‘yep, I could write something on that’. There are literally millions of articles published in article directories, so you’ll never be stuck for ideas.
2. How to begin. Look at the first paragraph of this article. In it you’ll see a very brief explanation of why I love articles. It’s personal, it hits a key note, and it builds common ground with the reader. While not always, I like to begin my articles with a short personal story, something that lets my reader know that I’ve got a life too, that I’m not just some pen behind some webpage. I want them to know that I’m human also – that I do have failings and that I do have successes. For me, this is the beginning of relationship building and it’s more important to me than anything else. You can start each of your articles with either something about yourself or something about someone else that you heard.
3. Getting into the content. Once you get started, just write. And when you write, write the way that you speak. Don’t try to write to any particular level, or style or strategy – write the way that you speak. I’m pretty sure that you use speech as a form of communication everyday, so I know that you’ll be able to do this, don’t you? Of course. Writing the way that you speak removes all the closet fears about how an article should look or read. It doesn’t have to do anything else but carry a message. I do that everyday in my normal speech, and I know you can too.
4. How long should it be? I don’t know, how long is a piece of string? How long should a garden hose be to reach the plants that need watering? As long as it needs to be. So how long should your article be? As long as it needs to be for you to say what needs to be said.
[Side note: I don’t need to write more on that above paragraph because it pretty much says all that needs to be said, doesn’t it?]
5. Wrap it up and keep it simple… OK, if I were to try and get all technical I could say a whole bunch of other things about article writing… but I don’t need to, and YOU don’t need me to either. Once you’ve gone though your initial ideas, “put the pen down” and close up the article. Yes, while it’s true that there is no ‘length’ required for a good article, just like in a conversation that goes to long, an article with the same problem will also bore your readers.
So as you write, be sure to finish it when you need to finish it. Personally I don’t recommend that you jot down a whole list of ‘points’ before you begin, because you should be able to write from your heart or your mind so to speak – if you don’t know the topic then don’t write about it. Makes sense hey.
As for editing… well all I do is trust my spell-checker, I don’t go back and edit anything that I write. OK, maybe some of my articles come out crappy, but I know that most turn out well – and the feedback I receive establishes that.
The most important thing is that you write and develop your own style, and like anything, the more you practice it, the easier it gets.
Go for it!
Paul Barrs has been teaching Online Business Success since July 2000. His books, DVD's and audio programs have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people in over 70 countries. This month he is offering his incredibly popular audio program titled, "Getting Started Online (Again!)" as a free gift to visitors at PaulBarrs.com. We highly recommend that you grab it now while you can.
Yes, I have been fortunate. I’ve been “writing” in one shape or another since I was 8 years old. For me it’s always been a personal love – but I know that this is not the case for most of us. In fact, second only to public speaking, article writing often brings fear to the very soul of many an internet business marketer.
But… it’s vital that you learn how; and you don’t need to continually outsource to get content.
First up, let me just throw in that while yes it is true that the primary benefit for writing and publishing article on your website is to gain content and enable others to publish your work giving you more link opportunities – it is far more beneficial that you begin to build a relationship with your customers / visitors as they come to better know you and trust you. The more they trust you the more likely they are the buy from you. In order foot that t happen, you need to write articles – yourself!
Here are a few hints and tips to better article writing that will help you get started…
1. Without doubt most of us stumble at just the thought of the idea… ‘What should I write? That’s already be done… I ‘d know where to start’. These feeling s are common. When I find myself drawing a blank (which still happens from time to time) I simply go to my favourite article directory and browse through the headlines. I look for a headline that grabs my attention and sparks an idea. I don’t read the article, I just look at the headline and thing, ‘yep, I could write something on that’. There are literally millions of articles published in article directories, so you’ll never be stuck for ideas.
2. How to begin. Look at the first paragraph of this article. In it you’ll see a very brief explanation of why I love articles. It’s personal, it hits a key note, and it builds common ground with the reader. While not always, I like to begin my articles with a short personal story, something that lets my reader know that I’ve got a life too, that I’m not just some pen behind some webpage. I want them to know that I’m human also – that I do have failings and that I do have successes. For me, this is the beginning of relationship building and it’s more important to me than anything else. You can start each of your articles with either something about yourself or something about someone else that you heard.
3. Getting into the content. Once you get started, just write. And when you write, write the way that you speak. Don’t try to write to any particular level, or style or strategy – write the way that you speak. I’m pretty sure that you use speech as a form of communication everyday, so I know that you’ll be able to do this, don’t you? Of course. Writing the way that you speak removes all the closet fears about how an article should look or read. It doesn’t have to do anything else but carry a message. I do that everyday in my normal speech, and I know you can too.
4. How long should it be? I don’t know, how long is a piece of string? How long should a garden hose be to reach the plants that need watering? As long as it needs to be. So how long should your article be? As long as it needs to be for you to say what needs to be said.
[Side note: I don’t need to write more on that above paragraph because it pretty much says all that needs to be said, doesn’t it?]
5. Wrap it up and keep it simple… OK, if I were to try and get all technical I could say a whole bunch of other things about article writing… but I don’t need to, and YOU don’t need me to either. Once you’ve gone though your initial ideas, “put the pen down” and close up the article. Yes, while it’s true that there is no ‘length’ required for a good article, just like in a conversation that goes to long, an article with the same problem will also bore your readers.
So as you write, be sure to finish it when you need to finish it. Personally I don’t recommend that you jot down a whole list of ‘points’ before you begin, because you should be able to write from your heart or your mind so to speak – if you don’t know the topic then don’t write about it. Makes sense hey.
As for editing… well all I do is trust my spell-checker, I don’t go back and edit anything that I write. OK, maybe some of my articles come out crappy, but I know that most turn out well – and the feedback I receive establishes that.
The most important thing is that you write and develop your own style, and like anything, the more you practice it, the easier it gets.
Go for it!
============================================
Paul Barrs has been teaching Online Business Success since July 2000. His books, DVD's and audio programs have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people in over 70 countries. This month he is offering his incredibly popular audio program titled, "Getting Started Online (Again!)" as a free gift to visitors at PaulBarrs.com. We highly recommend that you grab it now while you can.
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