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Article writing - what process do you go through?

by tim_reeves
9 replies
How do you go about writing your articles?

Personally, for a 500 worder:

1) 5-15 mins research, depending on the niche

2) 5 mins planning the article, writing paragraph outlines and writing a title

3) 20-45 mins writing the article

But i'm curious how you guys go through the motions
#article #process #writing
  • Profile picture of the author wahmsuzanne
    I'm out of "practice" so it takes me a lot longer now to push my articles out. The planning part sounds pretty similar to how I get organized - I look forward to more responses too.
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  • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
    Originally Posted by tim_reeves View Post

    How do you go about writing your articles?

    Personally, for a 500 worder:

    1) 5-15 mins research, depending on the niche

    2) 5 mins planning the article, writing paragraph outlines and writing a title

    3) 20-45 mins writing the article

    But i'm curious how you guys go through the motions
    I've been refining my approach with time.

    That sounds about right, as far research, however, I do like to err towards 1,000 Words. (I know...THE word count debate could be reserved for a whole 'nother thread...lol)

    While it's usually recommended, I never really write an outline. I usually just do it as I go.

    20-45 min actually writing the article sounds about right, however, I would highly recommend using a keyword research tool, like Market Samurai.

    It's like they say, it takes the same amount of effect to build an unsuccessful business as it takes to build a successful one. In some cases, it isn't even 'worth' competing with an article. Dependent on how I use my article, I'd hit up clickbank, Amazon, Linkshare, Commission Junction, etc, as well...
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    • Profile picture of the author jjeeezy
      I have a question for you guys. Can you really write about something you don't know anything about at all? In like a couple minutes? Some people seem to be able to do that and it completely baffles me... like writing about gardening.... you'd have to spend hours reading just to come up with good topics to write about because you didn't know anything to start with... Or is it just me?
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      • Profile picture of the author tim_reeves
        Originally Posted by article_ghostwriter View Post

        No, it's not just you! I write on subjects I don't know anything about all the time, but I spend a lot more than five minutes "researching" (aka cutting and pasting!).
        I most certainly do not cut and paste material. I would only ever spend the 5 minutes researching if i have written on the topic before, thus i have already done the core of the research, the 5 minutes is really just to bring me back up to speed.

        Research is defiantly about the quality more than anything else. I have take a couple of courses in speed reading and i can easily read about 20 words a second and take notes at the same time, if you do the math thats over 24,000 words in 20 minutes with a couple of pages of notes. What may take others an hour or so, i can do in a quarter of the time. What i'm trying to get at is that quality research can be done in, what may be seen, as a short space of time; but together with knowing where to find your information and a lot of practice, researching can take less time that you may think.
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  • Profile picture of the author GhWriter
    you have to do some research and know what your market wants. If you have spent a few hours researching your market to find out what they are looking for, then coming up with a topic and writing a single article about that one topic is not that hard.

    You aren't trying to solve all their problems. Usually your articles are meant to encourage them to buy a product that will solve their problems. That doesn't take a lot of knowledge about the specific problem, just knowledge about human psychology and what compels people to take action.
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  • Profile picture of the author Louise M.
    I go through the same steps and it takes me about the same time. The more articles you write, the easier it gets!

    I've already written about stuff I didn't know anything about. Research helps, common sense too.
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  • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
    Good research takes alot longer than 5 minutes. I work fast, and I'll spend AT LEAST 30 or 45 minutes researching for an article. For longer projects, it can take way longer than that.

    I'm a ridiculously fast writer (had to be as a journalist!), and, once I've done the research, I can write a 400-500 word article in about 15 minutes. Then I let it sit for a few hours or so. Come back at it with a fresh set of eyes, spend about 10 minutes checking it over and checking keyword densities, and I'm done.

    The point is - once you have the research done, the writing is the easy part (for me, anyways). The key is getting solid research that's going to actually teach your readers something new. It's not something you can throw together in a couple of minutes.
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  • Profile picture of the author ~kev~
    Originally Posted by tim_reeves View Post

    1) 5-15 mins research, depending on the niche
    I only write about niches that I have 1st hand knowledge of.

    Get idea.
    Start writing.
    Organize paragraphs
    Find stock images - I take all of my own pictures, so its just a matter of finding a good one.
    Resize and watermark images
    Insert images
    Find one of my youtube videos thats related - or go make a new video (I make all of my own videos as well) - insert video into article
    Proof read and spell check
    Publish

    Proof read again, make changes.

    If I decide that the article needs an original video, I'll decide on video location. Then its just a matter of where the video will be filmed at, in the back yard, on the river, in the woods: will I have to walk, drive, or take the boat to the filming location? Which camera do I use, wide screen, wide screen HD or just bring my point and shoot?
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