10 replies
Hi everyone,

I have a question about writing articles specifically for syndication.

If you are writing an article for a keyword such as "how to build a chicken coop", do you give them all the information they need in the article or do you use the so-called "useful, but incomplete" technique and refer them to, for example, your free report to get all the info?

Are those "incomplete" articles still enticing enough for people to publish them on their own website?

Thanks a lot!
#article #question
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by fuzzybuzz View Post

    Are those "incomplete" articles still enticing enough for people to publish them on their own website?
    Article syndication is about getting high-quality material in front of highly targeted traffic. The aim is to produce articles that people want to share voluntarily with other people. Whether because it's really entertaining, really controversial, really outrageous, really weird, and/or for whatever other reasons people like to show articles to others. In my experience, "how complete it is" isn't really much of a factor in that at all. In most niches, whether that happens is determined mostly by the quality of the writing.

    What matters, for syndication, is that one way or another you produce content which other people want to share with their readers/viewers because it's unusual enough to be comment-worthy. One way to do that is by making it very informative (i.e. perhaps "not too incomplete") but there are other ways, too. Some described in this thread.

    Places like EZA insist that you "deliver on the title" so you wouldn't be able to call an article "How to build a chicken coop" if it doesn't explain how to build a chicken coop, I suppose? But you can write "Chicken Coops - 3 Common Mistakes To Avoid When You Build One", cover the three common mistakes and then end with your resource-box announcing that in addition to the three mistakes already covered, there are two important points about the construction which many people overlook, and that you've revealed them both on your website ColonelSandersKeepAway.com. Or whatever.

    (For what it's worth, if you're writing for syndication, I would certainly avoid the words "free report" in a resource-box, myself.)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4452645].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author fuzzybuzz
    Thanks a lot Alexa! Would you link them back to a squeeze page or to your main website with articles on them and an opt-in form placed somewhere on the right site or below your articles for example?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4453226].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by fuzzybuzz View Post

      Thanks a lot Alexa! Would you link them back to a squeeze page or to your main website with articles on them and an opt-in form placed somewhere on the right site or below your articles for example?
      I always have a link to my site's landing page, which has a prominently incentivised opt-in above the fold, one or two "featured posts", a product-review (or two), and links to articles which are on other pages. (The opt-in appears on other pages too, but not as prominently as on the landing page).

      I want people to see that it's a content-rich site, but I don't hide from them that I'm also "promoting stuff", once they get to my site. My articles, one of which they've sometimes read elsewhere before arriving, don't make that clear, though, because there's nothing "salesy" or "pushy" about them at all - but of course that's part of why they get so widely syndicated.

      Personally I don't use squeeze-pages, having tested them (with squeeze pages, I built bigger lists but made less income from them over a 6-month period, in each of 4 unrelated niches), but squeeze-pages work well for some people and of course it's a perfectly viable business model to do it that way.

      The easy mistake is to assume that building a bigger list will necessarily lead to bigger income. For me, it was the opposite (in each of 4 separate niches) and there are reasons for that: it helps me to show people the whole site before/while they opt in, not after - that's about traffic demographics.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4453423].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Yogini
    I don't know anything about chicken coops but if I were to publish an article on one of my sites by another author I'd be looking at the quality. If there were some informative points such as covering types of wood to use, size, how many to have in a coop etc etc I would be fine with that and seeing a resource box at end that points to additional factors to consider.

    If however, the whole article was a teaser or just covered one point it would probably seem to thin to publish.

    Debbie
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4453240].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Enis
    I just talk about the problem itself, and don't state in the title that I'm instantly going to solve it.

    I recommend you save the accurate solution in the resource box, why else would they click on the link anyway?!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4453315].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author fuzzybuzz
    Thanks again Alexa - and everyone else of course as well That helped me a lot!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4453861].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author myob
      In addition to what Alexa mentioned, I would prefer always to write a satisfying solution to a small segment of the niche, rather than "useful but incomplete". This will tend to be more readily distributed and syndicated, as you have met the expectations of your article title.

      For example, position yourself as an authority on the feeding and care of chickens. Begin syndicating articles as widely as possible in front of real people in this niche.

      Your articles perhaps could address the range of chicken problems and housing. And, what can really endear yourself to your audience is exposing the cruelty that commercial chicken processors often use, and the cramped over-crowding in these chicken coops.

      You can then emphasize the joy and rewards of raising chickens and offer suggestions for building design. As an example of this being a very real and competitive niche, become familiar with the variety and scope of Clickbank products. For those prospects not so inclined to actually build a chicken coop themselves, Amazon offers an elegant variety of ready made products.

      As an example of a typical competitive niche which you can really dominate with articles, this is a powerful use of article syndication.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4454271].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I have known people to do the teaser and have the article go over like a lead balloon.

    I am with Alexa on this one. Deliver on the title, but be certain to make sure the resource box offers more that would be of interest to that reader.

    The article is just an advertisement (without looking like an advertisement) for the resource box, and publishers don't want to give their readers something that is incomplete. So give the details needed to get the article published, and construct the resource box to get the click.
    Signature
    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4454370].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Melanie Crouse
    Alexa and myob's posts hit the nail on the head.

    When you're writing an article, think about what YOU would want to read if you were the reader. A fluffy article that justs hits on one point and doesn't really tell the reader anything is not going to get picked up by publishers, nor is it going to be enjoyed by readers.

    Make your articles informative, interesting and unique. Don't be afraid to use a little humor, or a personal story or anecdote, or even a controversial viewpoint or statement. These are the things that make your article stand out from the others and are what make publishers want to use your article.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4454754].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Barboza
    I'd like to add that in some niches prospects need some kind of motivation to take action and, therefore, to see results. I don't know if this would work in the chicken coop niche, but in the weight loss, seduction and the make money online niches people usually want to hear that they are able to reach their goals.

    In those cases it is a good idea writing motivational articles as well. People could feel empathy towards you without you giving away your "secrets".

    Keeping in mind that quality beats all the rest, you should mix highly informative with motivational articles and you could see great outcomes.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4454799].message }}

Trending Topics